American Sniper Shot to Death at Gun Range

Chris Kyle, the man who detailed his 160-some kills during a decade as a Navy SEAL in the book American Sniper, has been killed at a Texas gun range, reports Reuters. Another man, Chad Littlefield, was also shot dead, and the AP reports that authorities have charged a suspect, Eddie Ray Routh, with two counts of capital murder. CNN reports that Routh was a fellow veteran who went shooting with Kyle and Littlefield yesterday with no one else around; the victims' bodies were discovered about two hours later, a sheriff said. "It's staggering to think that after all Chris has been through, that this is how he meets his end, because there are so many ways he could have been killed" during his military service, says Kyle's American Sniper co-author.

"The first time, you're not even sure you can do it," Kyle said in a 2012 interview on how he went about focusing on a target. "But I'm not over there looking at these people as people. I'm not wondering if he has a family. I'm just trying to keep my guys safe. Every time I kill someone, he can't plant an IED. You don't think twice about it." Kyle has a forthcoming book, American Gun—A History of the US in Ten Firearms . (More sniper stories.)