Rob Furlong Rob Furlong ( born 1976 ) , is a former sniper with the 3rd Battalion , Princess Patricia ' s Canadian Light Infantry , best known for holding the previous record for the longest confirmed sniper kill in combat , at . Furlong ' s shot , taken in the Shah - i - Kot Valley during Operation Anaconda in March 2002 , exceeded the previous record set by his teammate Master - Corporal Arron Perry by . Furlong ' s record was surpassed in November 2009 by British sniper Craig Harrison who shot two Taliban fighters consecutively at a range of . Early life . Born in Fogo Island , Newfoundland , Furlong taught himself to fire a rifle ambidextrously . Career . In March 2002 , Furlong participated in Operation Anaconda in Afghanistan ' s Shah - i - Kot Valley as a member of the 3rd Battalion of Princess Patricia ' s Canadian Light Infantry ( PPCLI ) . His sniper team included MCpl . Graham Ragsdale ( Team Commander ) , MCpl . Tim McMeekin , MCpl . Arron Perry , and Cpl . Dennis Eason . A group of three al - Qaeda fighters were moving into a mountainside position when Furlong took aim with his Long Range Sniper Weapon ( LRSW ) , a . 50 - caliber McMillan Brothers Tac - 50 rifle , loaded with Hornady A - MAX 750 gr very - low - drag bullet s . He began firing at a fighter carrying an RPK machine gun . Furlong ' s first shot missed and his second shot hit the knapsack on the target ' s back . The third struck the target ' s torso , killing him . The distance was measured as . With a muzzle speed of , each shot reached the target almost four seconds after Furlong fired . This feat is not typical for the effective range with a high first - hit probability of the employed rifle on non - static targets ( see maximum effective range ) . The shot was aided by the ambient air density in the Shah - i - Kot Valley where Corporal Furlong operated , which is significantly lower than at sea level due to its 2 , 743 meter ( 9 , 000 ft ) mean elevation . In December 2003 , PPCLI snipers Master Corporal Graham Ragsdale , Master Corporal Tim McMeekin , Corporal Dennis Eason , Corporal Rob Furlong and Master Corporal Arron Perry were awarded the Bronze Star by the U . S . Army for their actions in combat during Operation Anaconda , March 2 – 11 , 2002 . Rob Furlong held the record of longest kill shot recorded in history until November 2009 when his record of was beaten by British CoH ( Corporal of Horse ) of the Household Cavalry of the British Armed Forces Craig Harrison who set the new record at . Later career . Just days after Furlong ' s record - making shot , MCpl Arron Perry became the subject of a military police criminal investigation into inappropriate conduct during their deployment in Afghanistan . The Canadian Forces National Investigation Service ( NIS ) , the major crimes unit of the Canadian Forces Military Police , also became involved in the investigation . As the months wore on , there emerged so many conflicting accusations and explanations that no charges were ever laid . During the investigation , Furlong and his fellow snipers were questioned . The experience made Furlong decide to leave the Canadian military . After his resignation from the military , Rob Furlong became a police officer . Furlong was terminated from the Edmonton Police Service in August 2013 for urinating on a fellow officer and other misconduct .