...
By Khaleda Rahman
National Correspondent
0
Share
Newsweek is a Trust Project member
See more of our trusted coverage when you search.Prefer Newsweek on Googleto see more of our trusted coverage when you search.
The masked gunman who shot dead the CEO of UnitedHealthcare in a brazen early morning attack on the streets of New York City may have had an accomplice, according to a former FBI special agent.
Brian Thompson, 50, died after being shot at around 6:45 a.m. while walking to the company's annual investor conference at the New York Hilton Midtown from a nearby hotel. The shooter, who wore a jacket, face mask and large backpack, fled through Midtown on foot before pedaling an electric bike into Central Park a few blocks away, police said, and he remained at large on Friday.
Police haven't revealed a motive for the shooting, but said that it appears to have been a targeted and premeditated attack. The words "deny," "defend" and "depose" were reportedly found on shell casings recovered from the scene, echoing a phrase that is popular in the insurance industry.
Read More on U.S.
...
Joseph Kenny, the NYPD chief of detectives, says the shooter arrived outside the hotel about five minutes before Thompson, then waited and ignored other people before he approached Thompson from behind. His pistol jammed after he began firing, but he quickly fixed it and continued firing, Kenny said. The weapon was equipped with a silencer, the Associated Press reported, citing a law enforcement official.
Shortly before the shooting, the suspect was seen purchasing items from a nearby Starbucks. A water bottle and the wrapper of a protein bar were later recovered from a trash can near the scene of the crime and have been sent to the city's medical examiner for expedited fingerprint testing, the AP reported, citing police. CNN reported that a phone possibly belonging to the gunman was found in an alleyway near the scene.
Former FBI special agent Terry Rankhorn said that some aspects of the gunman's behavior "paint a picture of a professional killer like Jason Bourne," who may have used an accomplice to give him a warning when his target was near.
"We see a textbook professional assassination unfold on the video footage," Rankhorn told Newsweek.
The shooter only being in the area for a few minutes prior to Thompson's arrival "implies the use of an accomplice, 'spotter,' who gave the assassin a warning that the target was approaching," he said.
"This lessened the shooter's exposure to the cold and to possible discovery by the police or a curious passerby."
...
The NYPD has been contacted for comment about whether detectives believe an accomplice may have aided the gunman.
Rankhorn added that "when the target arrived, the shooter calmly paced behind, smoothly drew his weapon, took careful aim, and fired a shot into the center of mass on the target."
The gunman "observed a bystander and evaluated them to be of no threat," he said, and "then advanced on his target and fired two more rounds into them."
This "implies an understanding that a single handgun round cannot reliably kill a person, and that is not something of which the general public is aware," he said.
"During the shooting, the assassin calmly and proficiently dealt with apparent malfunctions of his weapon. This implies a high degree of training and practice. After the assassination, the killer calmly walks away and apparently proceeds to an e-bike he had staged for his escape. During the escape, he changed modes of transportation to make his discovery less likely. This implies a solid understanding of how to plan an escape and evasion route."
But Rankhorn noted that professional assassins are "exceedingly rare to the point that they virtually don't even exist" and the gunman made several "amateurish mistakes" such as leaving evidence in the area that could provide law enforcement with valuable forensic evidence.
"Further complicating this case is the fact that the assassin did many things perfectly, but they later made unbelievably amateurish mistakes with things like leaving candy wrappers and water bottles for the police to analyze," he said. "The most serious mistake was leaving a cell phone."
Rankhorn said that "each additional piece of evidence" that law enforcement gather draws them closer to the perpetrator.
"The police now have a firm location of the subject from earlier in the day," he said. "This is very important because this was a time before the murder when the killer would have been less careful about shielding their identity. I am reasonably confident that NYPD will have the identity of the killer within the next few weeks."
View 0 Comments
Submit Correction
View Editorial & AI Guidelines