NPR’s Ailsa Chang talks with David Sarni, a retired NYPD detective and adjunct professor at John Jay College of Criminal Justice, about the hunt for the gunman who killed the UnitedHealthcare CEO.
AILSA CHANG, HOST:
It’s Day 2 in the frantic search for the man suspected of killing UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson. Thompson was fatally shot yesterday in Manhattan in what police are calling a brazen, targeted attack. The New York Police Department says several shell casings found at the scene had cryptic words etched into them. These included the words deny, defend and depose. The details are chilling, and with the suspect still at large, all of this raises questions about how complicated high-profile investigations are conducted.
For more, we have called David Sarni. He’s a retired NYPD detective and adjunct professor at John Jay College of Criminal Justice in New York. Welcome.
DAVID SARNI: Thank you for having me.
CHANG: Well, let’s talk about some of the details that have surfaced already. The suspect got away on an eBike. As we said, there were shell casings at the scene of the crime. There are images of the suspect, ’cause, you know, there are cameras all over Manhattan. And I think a lot of people may be wondering at this point, why has it taken so long to find him? What’s your sense?
SARNI: Well, anytime you do an investigation, it’s not immediate. And I say this because, you know, we are very stuck on this whole vast type of case. They’re not that way. It’s not a TV show where, you know, you have to develop a piece of the puzzle to this investigation. And the suspect fled the scene, went into the park. And the reality is, when he left, nobody knew who he was. There was an – unfortunately, a description that came out that was wrong, originally. So I don’t know where that came from.
CHANG: Originally, right.
SARNI: Yeah. And then you have a secondary one. And now he’s already five minutes out. So that five – five minutes is a long time when you think about it. You know, it takes two minutes for the police to arrive. Within that time, he’s already fleeing the scene and fled the scene. Cops are actually going to the scene at that moment. So if he’s not described and if they don’t see him, they’re not stopping him. So he’s just an average citizen riding his bike.
CHANG: Given that it has been well over 24 hours since the crime, what would be going through your mind if you were actively investigating the case yourself? What would be going on through your mind at this point?
SARNI: I’m always like, OK, why did it happen now? So you’re going to develop that motive. And the motive is going to come out. And it’s been coming out slowly but surely. There are a lot of issues that people have been disgruntled with with the healthcare system, whatever that’s going to be. But, again, you’re looking for the perpetrator. And now we’re looking at post and pre. So you have to – you know, maybe he’s not identified. We have technology, facial recognition and the like, but, again, nothing is absolute. It’s (inaudible). That’s the thing.
CHANG: Did this strike you – from what you have seen so far reported, did this strike you as a professional hit, the way the shooter behaved?
SARNI: What you see originally, there’s a proficiency in the shooter, that the shooter was confident in having the victim, go to the scene, walk past him and shoot him from some distance. And not only that. There is an individual standing to the right, or a possible witness. The shooter was so either focused or proficient in his firearm that he wasn’t worried about striking or shooting anyone else. But then you look at the pre stuff. And the pre stuff shows, if he’s a professional…
CHANG: Yeah.
SARNI: …He wouldn’t be wearing something that’s very – or having a bag that’s very unusual. You wouldn’t be going to the Starbucks prior to a shooting. You know, these are things that come into play. So the proficiency of the shooter is there. Professionalism, you know, it doesn’t seem to be at this point. But again, we’re speculating.
CHANG: What will you personally be paying attention to over the next few days?
SARNI: I always say this. The public is important when it comes to assisting the police in these type of investigations. Because we’re doing our fact base, but people might have been – you know, we’re looking at video and things like that. People said, oh, no, I spoke to him yesterday. These are things you look at. And that’s what you’re hoping that those tips will be – another part of the puzzle to solve this and apprehend the person who did this.
CHANG: Do you think New York City is an easy place for someone to disappear into?
SARNI: You can disappear for a while in New York City, but we – you know, a lot of times we have perpetrators leave the city because, you know, the manhunt is on, the hunt is on, and detectives and cops are looking for you. And the best place to be is out of the city. So is there a chance he left the city at this time? We don’t know. But I will tell you, every avenue is being explored at this time to determine if he’s left the city or not.
CHANG: That is retired NYPD detective David Sarni. Thank you so much.
SARNI: Thank you, too.
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