Chris Kyle, the famed sniper behind American Sniper, was killed by a fellow veteran

Christopher Scott Kyle built a public image as one of the deadliest snipers in United States history, then became a bestselling author and a symbol of the post‑9/11 wars. Away from that spotlight, he spent his final years trying to help other veterans navigate trauma. The man who killed him at a Texas shooting range was one of those he was trying to help, a fellow Iraq War veteran whose mental health struggles would later dominate a murder trial.

From Texas cowboy to celebrated sniper

Long before Hollywood turned his story into a blockbuster, Chris Kyle was known in military circles as a highly effective marksman. Born Christopher Scott Kyle on April 8, 1974, he grew up in Texas, rodeoed as a young man, and eventually enlisted in the United States Navy. According to biographical records, he became a United States Navy SEAL sniper and served four tours in the Iraq War, where his confirmed kills and battlefield reputation made him a figure of both admiration and controversy.

He later described his combat experiences in the memoir “American Sniper,” portraying himself as a dedicated warrior who saw his mission as protecting fellow service members. The book’s success, and the later film adaptation, cemented his status as a cultural touchstone for many Americans who saw him as an embodiment of post‑9/11 military sacrifice. Official accounts state that he was honorably discharged from the Navy and then turned his focus to family life, business ventures, and veterans’ outreach.

A new mission helping wounded veterans

After leaving active duty, Kyle did not retreat from the world of veterans and combat trauma. Reports describe him as a father, husband, and veteran who tried to use his notoriety to raise money and attention for those returning from war with physical and psychological wounds. One profile of American Sniper Chris highlights how he balanced his public image with his roles as father and husband while working with veterans in Texas.

Part of that work involved taking former service members to shooting ranges. Friends and relatives later said Kyle believed that time on the range could create a familiar environment where veterans might relax, talk openly, and reconnect with skills that once defined their identity. During one of those outings, intended as a gesture of support, he and his friend Chad Littlefield crossed paths with the man who would kill them.

The day at Rough Creek Lodge

On February 2, 2013, Kyle and his friend Chad Littlefield drove to the Rough Creek Lodge and Resort shooting range in Erath County, southwest of Fort Worth, Texas. They had arranged to meet 25‑year‑old Eddie Ray Routh, a former Marine and fellow Iraq War veteran, for what was supposed to be a therapeutic outing. A remembrance shared by a Tampa Bay station described how Kyle and his friend had agreed to meet Routh, an Iraq War veteran, at the Texas shooting range that day.

According to the official account of the Murders of Chris, the three men traveled together in Kyle’s truck to the range. Once there, they began shooting with firearms that belonged to Kyle. At some point during the visit, Routh turned one of those guns on the two men who had brought him.

The killings by a fellow veteran

Investigators later concluded that Kyle and Littlefield were shot multiple times at close range. The same official summary states that on that day Kyle and Littlefield were murdered at the Rough Creek Lodge shooting range in Erath County, and that both guns used in the killings belonged to Kyle. The crime shocked both the military community and the public, partly because the victims and the shooter shared the bond of combat service.

Routh, who had served in the Marines and deployed to Iraq, was not an unknown quantity to those around him. Accounts from family members and medical records presented in court described a young man struggling with severe mental health problems. One retrospective on Kyle’s life notes that Routh had frequented mental hospitals over the years and was eventually diagnosed with schizophrenia and post‑traumatic stress disorder, a combination that shaped his behavior in the months before the shooting.

Eddie Ray Routh’s troubled history

The man at the center of the case, Eddie Ray Routh, had enlisted in the Marine Corps and, like Kyle, served in the Iraq War. Unlike Kyle, his post‑service life was marked by repeated psychiatric crises. According to a detailed social media account that drew on trial records, he spent time in mental hospitals and was ultimately diagnosed with schizophrenia and PTSD, a pairing that can produce paranoia, hallucinations, and severe mood swings.

Family members told investigators that Routh’s behavior had grown erratic. He abused alcohol and marijuana, heard voices, and cycled in and out of treatment. At the time of the shootings, he had been prescribed anti‑psychotic medication often used for severe mental illness, according to trial coverage that cited his defense team. Those lawyers later argued that his mental state on the day of the killings met the legal standard for insanity.

Inside the truck and on the range

Much of what is known about the final hours of Kyle and Littlefield’s lives comes from statements Routh gave to law enforcement and from text messages recovered from Kyle’s phone. In one account presented at trial, Routh told authorities that he believed Kyle and Littlefield were not on his side and that he feared they might harm him. He said that when the three men were in the truck heading to the range, he began to feel that they wanted to take his guns and use them against him.

Prosecutors introduced a text message that Kyle sent to Littlefield while they were driving with Routh, reportedly warning his friend that the younger veteran was “straight up nuts.” That message, along with Routh’s later statements, suggested that both sides sensed something was wrong long before the first shot was fired. Yet they still went ahead with the range visit, apparently hoping the outing could ease tension rather than trigger violence.

The flight and arrest

After shooting Kyle and Littlefield, Routh fled the scene in Kyle’s truck. Law enforcement officers launched a search and eventually located him at his sister’s home, where he had driven after leaving the range. During the arrest and subsequent interviews, he made a series of statements that highlighted his disordered thinking. In one account cited in court, he told police he had to kill the two men because they would not talk to him and he believed they were “sucking his soul.”

Those statements became central evidence in both the prosecution’s case and the defense’s argument that Routh was legally insane. They also raised a larger question that still haunts the families of Kyle and Littlefield: whether any intervention, earlier treatment, or different choices that day could have prevented the deaths.

The trial that followed

When the case went to trial in Texas, jurors were asked to weigh two starkly different narratives. Prosecutors argued that Routh knew his actions were wrong, pointed to his flight from the scene, and said he had a history of substance abuse that worsened his symptoms but did not erase his responsibility. The defense countered that his schizophrenia and PTSD, combined with delusions and paranoia, left him unable to distinguish right from wrong at the time of the shootings.

Coverage of the proceedings reported that a jury found Routh guilty of murdering Kyle and Littlefield and rejected the plea of not guilty by reason of insanity. One account of the verdict described how the panel concluded that Routh was criminally responsible for the “American Sniper” killings despite extensive evidence of mental illness. He was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole, a punishment that ensured he would never be released.

Lingering questions about motive

Even with a conviction, the trial did not fully answer why Routh turned on the two men who had taken him to the range. In one pre‑verdict analysis, reporters noted that the families of Chris Kyle and Chad Littlefield were still searching for a clear motive. Routh himself gave shifting explanations, sometimes describing vague fears that Kyle and Littlefield were not who they claimed to be, other times saying that he simply did not trust them.

One account of his police interviews stated that Routh claimed he believed Kyle and Littlefield were “pig assassins” who wanted to harm him, language that reflected delusional thinking rather than a rational plan. Mental health experts who testified at trial differed on whether those delusions meant he met the legal threshold for insanity. The jury’s verdict suggested that, in their view, he understood enough about his actions to be held accountable.

The role of mental illness

Routh’s case has become a reference point in discussions about how the United States handles veterans with serious psychiatric conditions. The social media summary that traced his history emphasized that he had been diagnosed with schizophrenia and PTSD and had frequented mental hospitals over the years. That pattern suggested a system in which he repeatedly reached crisis points, received short‑term care, and then returned to the community without lasting stability.

Trial coverage added that he had been prescribed anti‑psychotic medication, but defense lawyers said his treatment was inconsistent. They argued that his psychosis, not simple anger or malice, drove the killings. Prosecutors responded that many people with similar diagnoses do not commit violent crimes and that Routh’s decision to drink, use drugs, and ignore medical advice contributed to the tragedy. The case highlighted the tension between compassion for mental illness and the need to protect the public.

Chad Littlefield, the friend who stood beside Kyle

While Kyle’s fame drew most of the national attention, the death of Chad Littlefield resonated deeply in Texas and among those who knew him. Public records and memorial posts describe Littlefield as a close friend of Kyle who joined him at the range that day to support Routh. A separate search profile for Chad Littlefield lists him alongside Kyle as a victim in the murders.

Family members later spoke of Littlefield as a devoted husband and father who had simply agreed to help a friend help someone else. His presence at the range underscored that Kyle’s outreach work was not a solo effort but part of a small community of civilians and veterans trying to support those returning from war. The loss of both men in a single violent act left two families and a wider network of friends grieving.

Legal fate of Eddie Ray Routh

The criminal case against Routh moved relatively quickly once he was deemed competent to stand trial. A Texas jury heard testimony about his military service, his psychiatric diagnoses, and his behavior on the day of the murders. In the end, they found him guilty of capital murder and rejected the insanity defense that his lawyers had advanced. One report on the verdict noted that jurors were not persuaded that his schizophrenia and PTSD erased his awareness of right and wrong.