In an interview conducted by Phil Bronstein of the Center for Investigative Reporting and published online today by Esquire magazine, the SEAL Team Six member, referred to only as "the Shooter," gives the first eyewitness account in which the al Qaeda leader is described as a direct threat right up until the moment he was killed in early May 2011 in his compound in Abbottabad, Pakistan.
"I'm just looking at him from right here," the SEAL said, moving his hand about 10 inches from his face, according to Esquire. "He's got a gun on the shelf right there, the short AK he's famous for. And he's moving forward... He's got a gun within reach. He's a threat. I need to get a head shot so he won't have a chance to clack himself off [blow himself up]."
"In that second, I shot him, two times in the forehead. Bap! Bap! The second time as he's going down. He crumpled onto the floor in front of his bed and I hit him again, Bap! same place... He was dead. Not moving. His tongue was out. I watched him take his last breaths, just a reflex breath," the Shooter said.
While media outlets, the White House and other people involved in the mission may grapple over exactly what happened in bin Laden's last moments -- none of the handful of public accounts tell precisely the same story and even two men in the Shooter's account disagree -- much of the Shooter's reported tale focuses not on the crowning achievement of his long special operations career, but on his fear of transitioning from military to civilian life. Unable to put "I killed Osama bin Laden" on his resume, the Shooter told Bronstein he's unsure of how he's going to support his family.
Leaving the Navy four years before his 20-year pension kicked in, and declining to continue active duty in a "support role" or as a reservist, the Shooter is left without income until he can find a new gig. But finding employers who can understand, much less use, the kinds of executive skills he and his comrades have developed is difficult, he said. While many go into private contracting, the Shooter said he no longer wants to carry a gun professionally.
"I still have the same bills I had in the Navy," he reportedly said. "I just want to be able to pay all those bills, take care of my kids, and work from there... I'd like to take the things I learned to help other people in any way I can."
ABC News has been unable to confirm that the "Shooter" is indeed the man who killed bin Laden and the Navy said today it could not corroborate any new details about the secret mission. The Navy said that when it comes to the Shooter's after-service predicament, "it would be difficult to determine the degree to which our transition programs succeeded."
"Navy SEALs continue to serve and fight bravely in Afghanistan and around the world, accomplishing critical missions that keep our nation safe," a statement from the Navy said. "We take seriously the safety and security of our people, as well as our responsibility to assist Sailors making a transition to civilian life."
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-Adapted from ABC News
