How quick it is to remove the traces of a murder, a brazen assassination at that.
Not 12 hours since UnitedHealthcare chief executive Brian Thompson was gunned down in midtown Manhattan and pressure washers were hosing down what was left of the crime scene outside the Hilton hotel.
Police removed their bollards and ripped down flimsy “do not cross” cordons. West 54th Street in Midtown Manhattan returned to its usual bustle.
But the killer who committed this extraordinary attack is still on the run.
Police have issued photos from surveillance cameras of a masked man in a dark anorak, his hood pulled over his head carrying a grey backpack.
In one, he’s on the e-bike he took to make his getaway north into Central Park where the trail ran cold.
In another, he’s taking aim, the gun in his bare hands and extended with what looks like a silencer. It is the moment he shoots Thompson in the back, at close range.
The police have also released CCTV footage from that moment. It makes for difficult viewing.
The gunman opens fire, then steps forward and fires again at Mr Thompson, who lies crumpled against a wall, hitting him at least once in the right calf, according to New York’s police department. He then makes an almost casual exit, sidling through the parked cars and down a wide alleyway on the other side of the street.
This was a brazen, premeditated attack. That is what the police said and it is what the CCTV footage shows.
Thompson was on his way to an investor conference due to start at 9am at the Hilton in Midtown. There is a witness who appears to be a woman at the hotel entrance, standing in the right-hand corner of the frame, who makes a run for it when the attack happens. The assassin makes no attempt to target her.
There are three surveillance cameras on the hotel awning above these three and tens of thousands more across New York City. The gunman didn’t care.
He seemed to know when Mr Thompson would be arriving even though he was early for the event. The killer was there and waiting. He took his shot.
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‘We’re not used to this’
New York experiences crime like a periodic tidal wave roiling already turbulent seas. Certainly the perception now is that crime is especially high.
“It’s crazy, all these things are happening,” says Rohan Royal, who lives just three blocks away from where the attack took place. “New York City is the city of opportunity. It’s not the city of assassinations and dead people. It’s the city where your dreams are meant to come true.”
He advocates training in martial arts if you want to keep yourself safe. But martial arts won’t protect you from a bullet in the back and this assassination was a far cry from your average mugging attempt.
“We’re not used to this, it’s very sad,” says Irina Prokovieva. “I work here very often and my health insurance is UnitedHealthcare so I wanted to take a look.”
She pauses: “I don’t know whether it’s related or not but I received a notification recently that my health insurance would increase in January, to almost $700 a month. I thought it was incredible, but I’m a retiree which is why my health insurance is more than for most people.”
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Questions remain over motive
It is a reminder that though Thompson may not have been a household name, the business he ran is.
UnitedHealthcare is the nation’s largest health insurer, touching the lives of millions of Americans, in good ways and in bad.
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For now we have no idea whether the gunman was a hired assassin or a man with a personal vendetta.
We have no idea of his motive or of the motive of those who may have paid him.
He had the look of a professional, or one certainly familiar with a gun, but there are millions of Americans who are familiar with guns.
All we do know is he is still on the run after an extraordinary killing, vanished into the many millions who call NYC their home.
