Although the NYPD has yet to catch the killer who shot UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson in front of a hotel early Wednesday with several witnesses, experts believe the man was not a hitman. Not much is known about the killer but he left a trail of clues and was captured on several CCTV footages leading experts to conclude that this was someone who made up his mind about what he did. That’s it.
The killer had to fire several shots
Experts who analyzed the CCTV footage claimed that although the killer was skilled with a gun, he could not have been a trained shooter as he had to fire many shots and a shot in the calf is not a sign of professional fare, they believe. “Forgive me for exaggerating on very little evidence, but it seems like the kind of guy who made up his mind that he’s doing the right thing,” said David Shapiro, a professor at John Jay College of Criminal Justice in New York, and a former FBI special. The agent told the NYT. “He didn’t look like a scared guy.” The killer may have had military or law enforcement training, or perhaps he is a hunter or practiced in a range.
The CEO killer didn’t have a perfect escape plan
Police are yet to make any breakthrough in the case but experts believe that the killer did not have a proper escape plan. Riding an e-bike to Central Park doesn’t impress experts as a murder-avoidance plan. Choosing midtown Manhattan to assassinate the CEO is a rash idea where there are cameras everywhere.
The killer left a trail of clues
Before the shooting, the man stayed at a hostel on Manhattan’s Upper West Side where he shared a room with other guests. He let the CCTV camera catch his smiling face as his mask slipped off. Reports said he took off his mask and smiled while apparently flirting with the hotel receptionist. Before the murder, he stopped at a Starbucks where he bought coffee, a bottle of water and two PowerBars.
The three words “Deny”, “defend” and “depose” were engraved on the casing of the bullet fired by the killer — the same as the title of Jay M Feinman’s 2010 book ‘Delay, Deny, Defend’.
Gary Jenkins, a former Kansas City police investigator, told the NYT that he was likely “someone with an ax to grind”.