Author shot dead on gun range

Best-selling author and former US Navy SEAL Chris Kyle has been shot dead along with another man on a gun range, police in Texas said.

Newspaper reports said Erath County Sheriff Tommy Bryant had confirmed that Kyle, 38, who wrote the book 'American Sniper', and a second man were found dead yesterday afternoon at Rough Creek Lodge's shooting range, west of Glen Rose, about an hour south west of Fort Worth.

The Fort Worth Star-Telegram said witnesses told sheriff's investigators that a gunman opened fire on the men and fled in a pick-up truck belonging to one of the victims.

According to reports, a 25-year-old man was later taken into custody in Lancaster, south east of Dallas. The motive for the killings was unclear.