Chris Kyles claim hed fired upon and killed dozens of looters after Hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans in 2005 preceded the other two tales. The story circulated through postings on several web sites and through a number of news articles, as well as being passed from person to person in both the online and offline worlds: The SEALs began telling stories, and Kyle offered a shocking one. In the days after Hurricane Katrina, he said, the law-and-order situation was dire. He and another sniper travelled to New Orleans, set up on top of the Superdome, and proceeded to shoot dozens of armed residents who were contributing to the chaos. Three people shared with me varied recollections of that evening: the first said that Kyle claimed to have shot thirty men on his own; according to the second, the story was that Kyle and the other sniper had shot thirty men between them; the third said that she couldnt recall specific details. Had Kyle gone to New Orleans with a gun? Rumors of snipers — both police officers and criminal gunmen — circulated in the weeks after the storm. Since then, they have been largely discredited. A spokesman for U.S. Special Operations Command, or SOCOM, told me, To the best of anyones knowledge at SOCOM, there were no West Coast SEALs deployed to Katrina. When I related this account to one of Kyles officers, he replied, sardonically, I never heard that story. The SEAL with extensive experience in special-mission units wondered how dozens of people could be shot by high-velocity rifles and just disappear; Kyles version of events, he said, defies the imagination. Read more at snopes/politics/military/kyleclaims.asp#j7sEW6ViJolMgDbm.99
Posted on: Mon, 26 Jan 2015 14:03:38 +0000