A former FBI agent said it is “clear” that the shooter of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson “trained for his mission” and that the suspect carried out the execution “calmly.”
Former special agent Jennifer Coffindaffer said she analyzed the surveillance footage of the UnitedHealthcare CEO “over and over” to reach her conclusion, which she shared on her YouTube show Break The Case with Jen Coffindaffer FBI on Thursday.
Police appear to be honing in on the identity of the suspect who fatally shot Thompson by the Hilton Hotel on Sixth Avenue in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, on Wednesday morning.
New photos released by the NYPD on Thursday morning revealed the smiling face of a man wanted in the UnitedHealthcare CEO’s killing.
“This person definitely knew this gun, knew it would malfunction and he trained for his mission,” Coffindaffer said of the suspect. “And by the way, he accomplished his mission.”
“This whole thing was done very calmly,” she added.
But Coffindaffer, who specialized in gangs, narcotics and organized crime for 28 years at the FBI, said she does not believe the suspect is a professional marksman.
“So it was either playing this out, and his skill, really honing that in to make this a successful hit, or he could’ve been hired,” she postulated. “But this is no marksman, this is no sharpshooter.”
Coffindaffer added that she believed the suspect was “well versed with this gun and well versed in shooting,” despite the fact that the gun appeared to malfunction.
“I’m very, very convinced he knew it would malfunction after each shot,” she said. “You can go to a firearms range and train and train and train and get good enough to do what he did, which was essentially hit once miss twice.
“Was this a professional marksman? No. Did he have this well planned? Absolutely,” Coffindaffer concluded.
While investigators are working to identify a motive, other experts have said the alleged gunman’s slow, deliberate movements suggest experience with firearms, possibly in law enforcement or the military.
According to police sources, the three words “deny,” “depose,” and “defend” were carved into the live rounds and shell casings found outside the Hilton Hotel.
Police sources confirmed the chilling message to ABC News and the New York Post, adding that three live nine-millimeter rounds and three discharged nine-millimeter shell casings were recovered from the scene.
Several of the bullets were inscribed with one of the three words, they added.
It is not clear what message the killer may have been trying to leave through the inscriptions, with the motive and the identity of the suspect still a mystery.
Coffindaffer weighed in on the significance of the three words, adding that her take was “this shooting was personal.”
“Strong possibility that murder was motivated due to being denied health insurance,” she said in a post on X. “I would look for communication where these words were previously written or said. The person responsible for this murder has said or written this before!”
