HOUSTON – It's been one week since former President George H.W. Bush's former cardiologist, Dr. Mark Hausknecht, was gunned down by a bicyclist near the Medical Center July 20.
A retired FBI agent who spent 22 years as an investigator, Dennis Franks walked the same route as Hausknecht before he was killed to look for any clues left behind.
"The shooter was probably close enough from this point, you could've even taken him in this area but (the shooter) chose to wait," he said.
Franks said there are many signs that this was planned.
"Take the location, it's right by a construction site. Very active construction site at that," Franks said.
KPRC spoke with a construction worker who told us they were using power tools to shoot nails into iron that day, which tend to sound like gunshots.
"To get into the shooter's mind, if it was a planned event, if it was a planned hit, if you will, then they would know this area is very busy (and) very loud," Franks said.
Franks notes that it’s something that someone with sinister plans may have used to their advantage.
“They used gunpowder in the shell to fire the nails into steel so that sound itself, it would sound like a gun firing,” Franks said. “Is it coincidental? I don't know.”
Then there's the precision of the shooting. Dr. Hausknecht was shot while riding his bike.
“When the target is moving that takes skill,” Franks said.
The Harris County Medical Examiner’s initial findings state that Dr. Hausknecht was shot in the torso, the upper left extremity and the head. It suggests to Franks that the shooter was someone who had training.
“It could be that just the shooter has a certain amount of training but that's typically a tactical training. It’s typically a military or law enforcement training. Two shots to the chest one to the head and that's usually the training you come out ... boom, boom, two shots to the torso and, boom, one to the head in that order.
What strikes Franks is the tragedy of the situation -- that a doctor who saves lives loses his life in a senseless tragedy.
The case remains unsolved. If anyone has any information on this case, you are asked to call the Houston Police Department.
Mapping the route
KPRC2 reporter Leigh Frillici retraces the final moments of Hausknecht and his killer, according to police. Below there is also a map of the route taken by the doctor and the gunman.