‘American Sniper’ author Chris Kyle fatally shot on Texas gun range

The former Navy SEAL was found shot dead with a second man, Chad Littlefield, after a gunman opened fire and was later taken into custody. Kyle wrote a best-selling autobiography detailing his 150-plus kills of insurgents from 1999 to 2009. The gunman was identified as Eddie Ray Routh, 25, who may have been suffering from post traumatic stress disorder, according to local media.

Former Navy SEAL and author of the book “American Sniper” Chris Kyle.

A 25-year-old man was charged with murder in the deaths of former Navy SEAL and "American Sniper" author Chris Kyle and another man at a Texas gun range, the Texas Department of Public Safety said Sunday.

Sgt. Lonny Haschel said in a news release that 25-year-old Eddie Ray Routh of Lancaster was arraigned Saturday evening on two counts of capital murder.

The motive for Kyle's shooting was not immediately known
.

Haschel said Erath County deputies responded to a shooting at the Rough Creek Lodge at about 5:30 p.m. Saturday and found the bodies of 38-year-old Chris Kyle and 35-year-old Chad Littlefield.

Chris Kyle

Police said they believe Routh shot the two men at about 3:30 p.m. and fled. Routh was found at about 8 p.m. Saturday at his residence in Lancaster, police said.

ABC affiliate WFAA-TV identified the suspected shooter as Eddie Ray Routh, 25, who was later captured after Saturday's slayings, the station says.

The motive for the shooting was unclear, although investigators told ABC affiliate WFAA-TV that Routh is a former Marine and expert marksman who is believed to suffer from post-traumatic stress syndrome. He may have killed both men at point-blank range, WFAA reported.

Kyle wrote the best-selling book, “American Sniper: The Autobiography of the Most Lethal Sniper in U.S. Military History,” detailing his 150-plus kills of insurgents from 1999 to 2009.

A Texas sheriff has told local newspapers that Kyle has been fatally shot along with another man on a gun range, Saturday, Feb. 2, 2013.

Kyle was sued by former Minnesota Gov. Jesse Ventura over a portion of the book that claims Kyle punched Ventura in a 2006 bar fight over unpatriotic remarks. Ventura says the punch never happened and that the claim by Kyle defamed him.

Kyle had asked that Ventura’s claims of invasion of privacy and “unjust enrichment” be dismissed, saying there was no legal basis for them. But a federal judge said the lawsuit should proceed. Both sides were told to be ready for trial by Aug. 1.

An aerial image of Rough Creek Lodge, the alleged site of Chris Kyle's shooting.

A childhood friend of Kyle's told the Dallas Morning News that he was at the gun range on Saturday for a charity event on behalf of his Dallas-based security firm Craft International.