Chris Kyle, Author Of 'American Sniper,' Shot And Killed

by UInterviewFebruary 3, 2013, 12:00 amNews >

Chris Kyle, former Navy Seal and best-selling author of American Sniper: The Autobiography of the Most Lethal Sniper in U.S. Military History, was shot dead at a gun range in Glen Rose, Tex., Saturday. He was 35.

In his retirement from service, Kyle liked to devote some of his time to helping fellow war veterans conquer Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD.) He and Chad Littlefield had brought Eddie Ray Routh, 25, to the shooting range in an effort to help him deal with the trauma of wartime. It was at the range that Routh directed his gun and his distress at Kyle and Littlefield, killing them before driving off in a Ford pickup truck. Routh was apprehended by authorities at his Lancaster home. He's been charged with two counts of capital murder, and his bail has been set at $3 million.

As a sniper with the Seals, Kyle racked up over 150 kills — a number for the record books. He was deployed to the Middle East a total of four times, serving in both Iraq and Afghanistan. His tours to the region marked some of the worst months of the wars, including the most hostile time of the insurgency in Iraq. The insurgents gave Kyle the moniker of “Devil of Ramadi,” as he was frequently positioned on the rooftops of bombed out buildings from which he'd pick out and take down his targets.

In 2009, the decorated war veteran published the best-selling novel American Sniper: The Autobiography of the Most Lethal Sniper in U.S. Military History that detailed his time in the service. Kyle started his own not-for-profit, the FICTO Cares Foundation, in 2011, which makes fitness equipment available for wounded veterans. The man who said, “If I could figure out the number of people I saved, that’s something I would brag about,” to NBC News when asked about his number of kills, met his end still simply trying to save people.

—Chelsea Regan

Watch Chris Kyle weighing in on gun control issues below: