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THE assassin who executed CEO Brian Thompson outside a Manhattan hotel was a professional hitman, an ex-army intel officer has claimed.

The masked gunman calmly approached the insurance boss before shooting him in cold blood and fleeing the scene.

Speaking exclusively to the Sun, he revealed the three clues that suggest the hooded shooter was a pro.

He said: “It’s very clear that this was a professional assassination.

“Because the way an individual, came into profile in the CCTV pictures that we’ve seen, having let his victim walk past him and then pull a gun out with a rather large silencer on it and fire a number of rounds.

“We saw the gun jamming, and he cleared the jam very professionally, um, killing his victim as he wanted to do, and then moved off, but in a way that he hid his identity.

“He had clearly checked the area out for where the CCTV coverage was beforehand. And what’s interesting is there are reports to say that there are words on some of the shell cartridges that have been found by the police. So there was a clear message being sent.

“So this was very professionally put together. The individual was aware of how to handle a weapon.

“This was someone who knew what he was doing. And in the nerves of the moment and using a weapon with a silencer.

“First round hit his victim in the calf. Second round hit him in the chest, which is where you’d be aiming for.”