Reports are fast circulating that FPS Russia’s business partner and manager, Keith Ratfliff has been murdered in Georgia.
Although no major news media outlet has confirmed these events, the industry is buzzing with conspiracy theories as just a few days ago another prominent figure in the firearms community, John Noveske was killed in a car wreck.
Keith Ratliff is arguably responsible for influencing millions of young firearms enthusiasts through his involvement with YouTube powerhouse FPS Russia whose video segments are often negatively perceived by industry leaders as being unsafe, immature, and contrary to gun-handling safety guidelines.
Keith allegedly possessed a Class 10 firearms manufacturing license and is reportedly the sole provider responsible for granting FPS Russia access to rare and hard to acquire weapons systems. Like it or not, FPS Russia is the most powerful gun-media outlet in existence with each video release reaching millions of viewers.
While he has his detractors, the channel is widely recognized as the bridge that gaps underground industry publications and mainstream media within the firearms community.
According to several blogs, Keith Ratliff, who resides in neighboring Kentucky was found dead in a home in Georgia tied to a chair with a single bullet wound to the head. Authorities were dispatched and subsequently found the victim dead on arrival.
Perhaps the only credible account of Keith’s passing is through another FPS Russia contact known as “Kitty Wandel”. According to a statement released just hours of this writing:
As it seems to be leaking out I will confirm to save more messages and questions coming to me. As I am sure most of you know Keith Ratliff has been with the FPS Russia channel for quite some time now, helping us out with everything from pulling pranks to finding almost impossible weapons to use in videos. It saddens me to confirm that he was indeed found having passed away here in Georgia on Thursday. I do ask for some privacy right now as you can imagine it has shocked us all and our main thoughts and concerns lay with his family right now. Thank you for understanding. - @Paintball_Kitty (Twitter)
Keith Ratliff had previously partnered with Funker Tactical as he helped with the production of our Bullpup Videos and Machine-Gun-Shoot series. He is responsible for conglomerating some of YouTube’s most influential gun-related channels into a network known as “Guns, Guts and Glory”. Truly a pioneer in new media marketing in the firearms industry, Keith’s passing will have rippling effects in the industry.
As with the rest of the industry we await confirmation from local authorities to confirm these reports. Our thoughts and prayers are with his family.
