The secret intelligence of the Saudis as do our CIA know how to kill effectively with no trace. If they wanted him dead by order of the king (actually not a bad idea) it would not have been done in the embassy. I do not know why he was killed there but it sure as hell was not by orders of the Saudi King, he is not stupid.
If he did order his death, it would be the one bullet to the head by a very skilled agent that would not be caught. It would take a little time and patience but one skilled person could do this easily.
This whole thing seems to be an effort to discredit the Saudi King and make him a pariah. He is pro western and is slowly liberalizing Saudi. The Wahhabis hate this. There is a Wahhabi in the center of this.
“This whole thing seems to be an effort to discredit the Saudi King and make him a pariah. He is pro western and is slowly liberalizing Saudi. The Wahhabis hate this. There is a Wahhabi in the center of this.”
I share that same suspicion, although you mean Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman “MBS” rather than the Saudi King.
It looks like it was done to embarrass MBS and break western support for him.
On the other hand, some intel people who know the Middle East tell me that a ham-fisted operation like this isn’t surprising to them. They don’t consider the Saudis to be slick assassins like the Russians.