Former NYPD inspector and Fox News contributor Paul Mauro said the type of weapon used by the gunman who murdered UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson outside a Hilton hotel in midtown Manhattan on Wednesday could work to his advantage police, and addressed rumors that the suspect may have worked as a contract killer.

“There’s speculation that it’s a contract killer, that it’s a professional killer and all those things… I would just hesitate and tell people to be aware of the fact that professional assassins are mostly in films. That doesn’t exist.” “It really does exist,” Mauro told Fox News Digital. Mauro says everything we know at the moment is just speculation.

In a video obtained by Fox News Digital, Thompson is seen walking along a sidewalk outside the Hilton Hotel in midtown Manhattan early Wednesday morning when a masked man gunned him down before fleeing the scene.

“What we know so far is that he was very calm, he knew the route exactly… But that doesn’t mean it wasn’t a contract killing. Things like this happen. The idea that this is a ‘professional shooter’ I’m skeptical of,” Mauro said.

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According to Fox News sources, UnitedHealth CEO Brian Thompson was shot and killed in New York City on Wednesday, December 4, 2024. (FOX 5 New York/WNYW | UnitedHealth)

Mauro said what makes this case even more interesting is the type of weapon that was used.

“Now it looks like it either has a very long barrel or a silencer. Silencers are de facto illegal and very, very difficult to obtain. So a lot of them are homemade. “That means it could just be a… cross-country pistol,” Mauro described.

“The gun appears to be re-hung after each shot. Unusual.”

He added that such weapons exist and are designed to suppress noise, but that there are also additional features that can be added to prevent the slide of a semi-automatic weapon from breaking.

“This means that after shooting, you have to pull the bolt out of the weapon in order to fire again. He does that in the video, which argues that he may have added something and therefore modified the gun.” “These are kind of after-market things that you can add to the gun,” Mauro said.

“So what I would say is someone who is knowledgeable about weapons, and this weapon in particular seems to be a rare type of weapon. And that’s a data point that police can track.”

SHOCKING VIDEO SHOWS UNITEDHEALTHCARE CEO BRIAN THOMPSON BEING SHOT ON THE STREET OF NYC

Signs posted in Midtown Manhattan ask for the public’s help in finding the suspect wanted in the shooting of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson on Wednesday, December 4, 2024. (Fox News)

Multiple law enforcement contacts told Fox News that they believed the weapon used in the murder was similar to a “Welrod,” a repeating pistol with a silencer that was first used in World War II.

“I would bet my pension that this is the weapon used on the United CEO. It is very, very quiet and requires manual switching after each shot. “Professionals’ choice for close-up, quiet work,” the source told Fox News.

The forensic pathologist Dr. Michael Baden also told Fox News Digital that the first point in terms of forensic pathology is to determine whether the bullets passed through.

“Once the bullets are in and out, they really need to look for the bullets at the crime scene and not wait until after the autopsy,” Baden said.

Baden said this was crucial for investigators because the streets could be cleared by then so they couldn’t figure out where the bullets went and what path they took.

He added that Thompson likely died so quickly because his lung was damaged, but that investigators would know more in the next 24 to 48 hours.

UNITEDHEALTHCARE CEO FATALLY SHOT OUTSIDE MANHATTAN HOTEL IN ‘TARGETED’ ATTACK, SUSPECT AT LARGE

This map shows the reported path taken by the suspect in the shooting of United Healthcare CEO Brian Thompson.

“They’ll know how many shots were fired, if any went in and out, they’ll recover the bullets and get more information in addition to what they already have on the shell casings,” Baden said. “The unfired bullets are interesting, but irrelevant to the claim that they came from his gun – if they find the gun.”

The host was the Hilton Hotel UnitedHealthcare Police said Thompson had been in town since Monday from Minnesota and lived across the street.

Mauro believes that since Thompson had been there since Monday, the shooter would have had other options to take action against Thompson, but convention appears to be the starting point.

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New York City Crimestoppers is offering a total reward of up to $10,000 for information leading to an arrest and indictment.

Anyone with information is asked to contact Crime Stoppers at 1-800-577-TIPS or in Spanish, 1-888-57-PISTA. Tips can also be submitted on the Crime Stoppers website at crimestoppers.nypdonline.com.

Fox News’ Michael Ruiz, Danielle Wallace, Greg Wehner and Bill Melugin contributed to this report.