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# Navy SEAL Claims He Fired Bin Laden Kill Shot

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<!-- video src="https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/NEqsUdDW.m3u8" -->
## Video: Navy SEAL Claims He Fired Bin Laden Kill Shot

[Watch (HLS stream): Navy SEAL Claims He Fired Bin Laden Kill Shot](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/NEqsUdDW.m3u8) (1:57)

![Navy SEAL Claims He Fired Bin Laden Kill Shot](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/NEqsUdDW/poster.jpg?width=720)

_Published 2014-11-07. Who killed Osama bin Laden? The question at the heart of the 2011 raid on bin Laden's compound in Pakistan got a much-contested answer Thursday. A former Navy SEAL stepped forward to claim responsibility for the lethal bullet._


---

Jul 27, 2023 5:29 PM UTC

---

## More From This Series

[All Videos](https://time.com/video/)

['Bin Laden's Bookshelf' Reveals His Life Before Death](/video/pNV8iao3/)

### 'Bin Laden's Bookshelf' Reveals His Life Before Death

[Anatomy of a Raid: Osama bin Laden's Final Moments](/video/A8p4cZgq/)

### Anatomy of a Raid: Osama bin Laden's Final Moments

[Inside the Raid to Kill Osama bin Laden](/video/7wgyaJlk/)

### Inside the Raid to Kill Osama bin Laden

---


## Transcript

Who killed Osama Bin Laden? The question at the heart of the 2011 raid on Bin Laden's compound in Pakistan just got an answer Thursday, when a former navy seal stepped forward to claim responsibility for the lethal bullet. Robert O'Neill, a former member of Seal Team Six, was one of the three US soldiers in the room when Bin Laden was fatally shot. He says his shot was the one that killed bin Laden. O'Neal's identity was first made public by the military blog SoftBrow in protest of his decision to come forward next week in an interview with the Washington Post and FoxNews. And Foxnews' Sheppard Smith wasn't very happy about being scooped.

The man who shot Usama bin Laden is a FoxNews exclusive. For those who are treating it as breaking news [ MUSIC ] We hope you enjoy the program. O'Neill, who's now a public speaker, told the Washington Post he decided to break his silence because his identity had already been leaked. What once was a closely guarded secret had spread widely through military circles. And was known by members of congress and at least two news organizations but O'Neil's account of the fatal moment clashes with that of another former member of the team. Matt Bissanet who's controversial 2012 book No Easy Day detailed Bin Laden's death as well.

Both O'Neil and Bissanet agreed that 3 seals fired shots at Bin Laden. But Disenet claims the teams' point man killed Bin Laden. O'Neill maintains, that shot missed and that his was the lethal blow. And both men are being centured for speaking out by the Navy's leadership which penned a stern open letter last week denouncing, willful or selfish disregard for our core values in return for public notoriety and financial gain. A former Seal told CNN, all of the disclosures about the raid have roiled the usually tight- knit Seal community. It's a brotherhood, and it is a. [ MUSIC ] Tight group that is very professional and they take their job very seriously and this is not a good light to be shone on us.

O'Neill first gave his account of the raid in a 2013 interview to Esquire.

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