Ex-Marine charged with sniper’s death

Shooting suspect Eddie Ray Routh facing murder charges on for allegedly gunning down former Navy SEAL sniper Chris Kyle and his friend Chad Littlefield in Glen Rose, Texas on Saturday.

AFP/Washington

An Iraq war veteran was facing murder charges yesterday for allegedly gunning down two men, one of whom was a former Navy SEAL sniper whose exploits in the same conflict were detailed in a best-selling book.

Chris Kyle, who wrote American Sniper: The Autobiography of the Most Lethal Sniper in US Military History, and his friend Chad Littlefield were shot dead at a firing range in Glen Rose, Texas on Saturday, authorities said.

The two men are believed to have taken the suspected gunman, former US Marine Eddie Routh, 25, to the range where the shooting took place.

Captain Jason Upshaw of the Erath County Sheriff’s Office said on Sunday that Kyle and Littlefield died of gunshot wounds and that Routh had been charged with two counts of murder and one count of capital murder.

Kyle, 38, was credited with more than 150 confirmed kills during a decorated decade-long service career that included four tours in Iraq.

Sheriff Tommy Bryant said Routh was believed to be suffering from “some type of mental illness,” or post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and that his mother may have contacted the veterans support foundation that Kyle was involved with.