Iraq vet charged in killing of ex-SEAL 2 shooting range deaths may have occurred at therapy session for stress of war

Chris Kyle was shot to death at a North Texas shooting range. A suspect is in custody. Chris Kyle was shot to death at a North Texas shooting range. A suspect is in custody. Photo: Paul Moseley, MBO Photo: Paul Moseley, MBO Image 1 of / 5 Caption Close Iraq vet charged in killing of ex-SEAL 1 / 5 Back to Gallery

From his perch in hideouts above battle-scarred Iraq, Chris Kyle earned a reputation as one of America's deadliest military snipers. The Pentagon said his skills with a rifle so terrorized Iraqi insurgents during his four tours of duty that they nicknamed him the "Devil of Ramadi" and put a bounty on his head.

The insurgents never collected, and he returned home to become a best-selling author and a mentor to other veterans, sometimes taking them shooting at a gun range near his Texas home as a kind of therapy to salve battlefield scars, friends said. One such veteran was Eddie Ray Routh, a 25-year-old Marine who had served tours in Iraq and Haiti.

But on Saturday, far from a war zone, Routh turned on Kyle, 38, and a second man, Chad Littlefield, 35, shortly after they arrived at an exclusive shooting range near Glen Rose, law enforcement authorities said Sunday.

The officials said that for reasons that were still unclear, Routh shot and killed both men with a semiautomatic handgun before fleeing in a pickup belonging to Kyle.

"Chad and Chris had taken a veteran out to shoot to try to help him," said Travis Cox, a friend of Kyle's. "And they were killed."

After the shootings, Routh went to his sister's home in Midlothian, about 25 miles southwest of Dallas, where he told her and her husband what he had done, said Erath County Sheriff Tommy Bryant. Routh left, Bryant said, and the couple called local police. Routh arrived at his home in Lancaster, about 17 miles southeast of Dallas, at about 8 p.m. Police arrested him after a brief pursuit. Routh was being held on $3 million bail on one charge of capital murder and two charges of murder.

Erath County jailers used a Taser on Routh on Sunday night after he became aggressive, Bryant said. Routh refused to return his dinner tray to guards. When jailers tried to get it, Routh "was trying to attack them," Bryant said. Routh was placed in a restraint chair in his solitary cell. He is on suicide watch and threats have been made against him, Bryant said.

Difficulty adjusting

More Information The legacy of a modest hero Decorated Iraq war veteran Chris Kyle, a former Navy SEAL and "American Sniper" author, was killed at a Central Texas gun range Saturday. Some of the legacy he leaves behind: Navy record: Kyle enlisted in the Navy in February 1999 and was discharged on November 2009, military records show. During that time, he served four tours in Iraq and received 14 different awards and decorations, including two Silver Stars, five Bronze Stars with Valor, and two Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medals. "I didn't do it for the money or the awards. I did it because I felt like it was something that needed to be done and it was honorable. I loved the guys," Kyle told the Fort Worth Star-Telegram in 2012. From cowboy to sharpshooter: The Dallas Morning News said Kyle grew up in Texas and spent much of his time riding horses and participating on the school rodeo team. The Star Telegram said he tried to join the Navy in 1996 but was rejected after a physical exam showed pins in his arm from a rodeo injury. Three years later, he was working on a ranch in Colorado when the Navy called and wanted to train him as a sniper. No remorse: Kyle told Fox News' Bill O'Reilly in January 2012 that he viewed his Iraqi victims as savages and didn't think of them as human beings. "They live by putting fear into other people's hearts and civilized people just don't act that way," he said. Kyle also said he had no regrets about the people he shot. Asked by O'Reilly if he himself had any PTSD issues, Kyle said, "None of my problems come from the people I've killed." Loss of a hero: The website of Kyle's nonprofit, FITCO Cares, on Sunday read, "The Loss of a Hero," and said the foundation "will always carry the torch" for the military men and women. Texas shootout: Kyle created a security training company, Craft International, after his discharge from the Navy. A civilian training event had been scheduled at Rough Creek Lodge - where he was killed - for the first weekend in March. Source: Associated Press Video

Friends of Kyle said he had been well acquainted with the difficulties soldiers face returning to civilian life and had devoted much of his time since retiring in 2009 to helping fellow soldiers overcome the traumas of war.

"He served this country with extreme honor, but came home and was a servant leader in helping his brothers and sisters dealing with post-traumatic stress disorder," said Cox, also a former military sniper. "Everyone has their own inner struggles, but he was very proactive about the things he was dealing with."

In 2011, Kyle created the FITCO Cares Foundation to provide veterans with exercise equipment and counseling. He believed exercise and the camaraderie of fellow veterans could help former soldiers ease into civilian life.

Kyle, who lived outside of Dallas with his wife and two children, had his own difficulties adjusting after retiring. He was deployed in Iraq during the worst years of the insurgency, perched in or on top of bombed-out apartment buildings with his .300 Winchester Magnum. His job was to provide "overwatch," preventing enemy fighters from ambushing Marine units as they moved through towns.

He did not think the job would be difficult, he wrote in his book, "American Sniper: The Autobiography of the Most Lethal Sniper in U.S. Military History." But two weeks into the war, he found himself staring through his scope into the face of an unconventional enemy. A woman with a child close by had pulled a grenade from beneath her clothes as several Marines approached. He hesitated, he wrote, but then shot.

"It was my duty to shoot, and I don't regret it," he wrote. "My shots saved several Americans, whose lives were clearly worth more than that woman's twisted soul."

Over time, his hesitation diminished and he became proficient at his job, credited for more than 150 kills. He became the scourge of Iraqi insurgents, who put a $20,000 bounty on his head.

Suspect in reserves

Bryant said investigators were still sorting out how the three men had known one another and for how long, but authorities said the Saturday trip was the first time they had been out together at that shooting range. They said they did not know the motive for the killings.

"The suspect's mother was a schoolteacher for a long time," the sheriff said. "She may have reached out to Mr. Kyle to try and help her son. We kind of have an idea that maybe that's why they were at the range, for some type of therapy that Mr. Kyle assists people with."

In a news conference, the sheriff said: "The suspect may have been suffering from some kind of mental illness from being in the military."

Pentagon records show Routh is a member of the Marine Reserves. He was an expert marksman and Marine corporal who had earned several medals, including a Marine good-conduct medal. He served in Iraq from September 2007 to March 2008, Pentagon officials said, and is listed as "individual ready reserve," meaning he could be called back to active duty.

Sheriff investigators said Routh was unemployed and since leaving active military duty had at least one arrest on a charge of driving while intoxicated.

'Proud to be a veteran'

At a book signing in Kerrville last year, resident Bairbre Bible said Kyle took a break from signing autographs to share comforting words with her husband, Jerry, a Vietnam veteran still suffering from post-traumatic stress. "Chris, just in that short meeting, was a very strong and compassionate person," she said. "You felt a warmth and a special energy." Jerry Bible, 76, who has difficulty speaking, added: "We shared personal pain."

In gatherings with veterans, friends said Kyle would deflect the praise of well-wishers and play up the achievements of his comrades. "He wasn't the American Sniper to all of his friends," Cox said. "He was Chris Kyle and he was right alongside you. He was proud to be a veteran and he would do anything he could to serve veterans."

This report contains material from the Dallas Morning News and Associated Press.