Cops are probing whether the weapon used to kill United Healthcare CEO Brian Thompson was a “veterinary” gun commonly used to euthanize animals, an NYPD official said.
The murder weapon used in the assassination of Thompson “appears to be a larger handgun” similar to the style of a veterinary gun, NYPD Chief of Detectives Joseph Kenny said.
“It’s a weapon commonly used on farms and ranches. If an animal has to get put down, the animal can be shot without causing a loud noise,” Kenny explained Friday.
The weapon is believed to be a modernized version of a World War-II style gun called a Welrod, sources said. Modern versions of the firearm are known as VP-9 or Station 6.
Investigators traveled to Connecticut as they worked to find out where the murder weapon came from, but the lead proved a dead end, sources told The Post.
Authorities are checking to see how many of these weapons have been bought and sold, sources said.
The police official’s remarks were echoed by retired NYPD Captain John Monaghan, who called the gun a “unique weapon” during an interview with CNN on Saturday.
“When he fires that shot, the next thing that happens is not him trying to fire a second shot and having the gun jam – that’s not what occurs,” Monaghan said while surveillance video of the slaying played on the screen.
Former NYPD Lieutenant Darrin Porcher, who also appeared on the program, noted that the gun appears to be a nine millimeter.
Thompson, 50, was gunned down at 6:44 a.m. as he was approaching an investor event at the Hilton Midtown without any security detail.
The manhunt for the killer is in its fourth day.