New details are surfacing about the ambush in the Democratic Republic of Congo that left former Green Beret and UFC star Tim Kennedy with bullet wounds and raised the possibility that he could lose his leg.
According to a breakdown given on a recent broadcast from the channel Valhalla VFT, Tim Kennedy was working in Africa as a private contractor, reportedly connected to Erik Prince’s security network, when his team was ambushed in the Eastern Highlands. One member of the team, Justin Coniglio, a former New Zealand SAS soldier who had only recently left the service, lost his life. Tim Kennedy and at least one other contractor were wounded.
The hosts said Tim Kennedy was hit four times, in the foot, ankle, femur and trapezius. The panel, which included a former Air Force pararescueman identified as a medical expert on the show, said a 7.62 round to the femur is one of the worst outcomes for a leg wound because of how much soft tissue, blood flow and connective structure gets destroyed in that area.
Making matters worse, the hosts said Tim Kennedy reportedly had a tourniquet on for close to five hours before reaching higher level medical care, since there is no quick evacuation window in that part of Congo. The panel’s medical voice explained that prolonged tourniquet time cuts off oxygen to the tissue, causing it to become necrotic, and that releasing the tourniquet too late can send a surge of acidity back into the body, leading to systemic complications.
The hosts reviewed what they described as x-ray style graphics representing the type of femur injury consistent with the reported wound, noting that the knee ligaments and tendons attach in that same region and would likely be severed or no longer connected. They said Tim Kennedy had been fitted with an external fixation device, a temporary stabilizing frame used to keep bone fragments from moving before more comprehensive orthopedic surgery can be done.
The group pointed out that losing a limb after a bullet wound often does not happen immediately. They described cases of other operators who kept their leg initially, only to go through years of surgeries before ultimately choosing amputation because the limb never fully healed or regained function. They noted Tim Kennedy is approaching 50 years old, which they said complicates recovery compared to a younger patient.
Unverified social media posts referenced during the show claimed Tim Kennedy was recovering at Walter Reed, though the hosts cautioned that detail had not been confirmed through any official channel. Neither Tim Kennedy, Erik Prince nor New Zealand’s government had issued a public statement at the time of the discussion.
The panel said the full picture of what happened, including who else was involved and why the team was moving away from the location it was reportedly contracted to protect, is still unclear and likely to take weeks to fully come out.
