Robert J. O'Neill (U.S. Navy SEAL) claimed to have fired the shots that killed Osama bin Laden in 2011.
Usama bin Mohammed bin Awad bin Laden ( [ oʊˈsɑːmə_bɪn_ˈlɑːdən ] أسامة بن محمد بن عوض بن لادن , ; March 10 , 1957 -- May 2 , 2011 ) was the founder of , the organization that was responsible for the September 11 attacks on the United States , along with numerous other mass-casualty attacks worldwide . Robert J. O'Neill (U.S. Navy SEAL) . A former U.S. Navy SEAL and special warfare operator , O'Neill is best known for claiming to have fired the head shots that killed Osama bin Laden during the raid on his Abbottabad compound on May 1 , 2011 .