Meet Robert O'Neill, Killer of Bin Laden

WASHINGTON — The retired Navy SEAL who says he shot al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden in the forehead publicly identified himself Thursday amid a debate among special operations brethren about whether they should break silence about their secret missions. Robert O'Neill, 38, told The Washington Post in an interview that he fired the two shots that killed bin Laden. He first recounted the story in February 2013 to Esquire magazine, which identified him only as "the shooter." One current and one former SEAL confirmed to The Associated Press that O'Neill was long known to have fired the shots that killed the leader of the international terror group responsible for the Sept. 11 attacks. Defense Department officials confirmed Thursday that O'Neill was a member of SEAL Team Six and was part of the bin Laden raid. But they said they could not confirm who fired the fatal shot, noting that other SEALs on the mission also fired at bin Laden.