Police say the man who was killed on a busy street in New York City Monday looks to have been lured to his death by his killers, numerous sources are reporting.
The murder of Brandon Woodard, which happened in broad daylight in an active, tourist-heavy area of Manhattan, "certainly appears to have been planned," Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly told reporters.
Kelly added that based on security videotape, detectives suspect Woodard was lured into an ambush.
The shooting occurred shortly after Woodard checked into his hotel near Columbus Circle. The 31-year-old had just arrived in New York after buying a one-way ticket from Los Angeles Monday.
According to police the entire murder was captured on CCTV.
"In the video, the gunman wanted in the shooting death yesterday of Brandon Lincoln Woodard, 31 of Los Angeles, is seen 10 minutes before the shooting," said the NYPD in a statement.
"The shooter, who appears to be bald and may have a beard, exited a late model Lincoln sedan, initially bare-headed, but soon pulled the hood of his jacket over his head. Ten minutes later, at approximately 2:00pm, the shooter walked up behind Woodard and fired. In [a still from the video], the gunman is seen behind Woodard a moment before the shooting, pulling the weapon from his jacket pocket."
"The victim was walking westbound on West 58th Street," NYPD spokesman Paul Browne said. "The shooter walked up behind him and shot him at close range.
"At one point the victim looked behind him then continued walking before he was shot. There was no rush. He just walked up to him, shot him and walked away," he added.
Police say other cameras in the area recorded the killer waiting for Woodard for at least 40 minutes. After reviewing the footage from the area they believe they have a picture of the gunman.
The NYPD is currently still examining three phones Woodard was carrying when he flew to New York City on Sunday. Two of the phones were found on his body and another was left in his luggage back in his hotel room.
According to authorities, Woodard had been described as a promoter, but investigators are still trying to determine why he was in the city.
Ballistics evidence may point to a lead in the case. According to police, the 9mm semiautomatic used to kill Woodard was the same weapon used to last month to shoot up the outside of a home in Queens where no one was hurt.
Authorities are also investigating possible connections to drug dealing, and Woodard's ties to the music industry. He once claimed Usher's bodyguards beat him up.
Woodard was reportedly an aspiring rapper. His father, speaking to the New York Daily News, also added that he was in law school.
The grad student has a criminal past, according to New York 1, including charges for cocaine possession and hit-and-run driving.
Woodard leaves behind a four-year-old daughter in Los Angeles.
While Woodard was flying for Los Angeles to New York, he most recently lived in Chicago, according to NBC.
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