Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in 2017 told a top aide he would use “a bullet” on Jamal Khashoggi, the Saudi journalist killed last October, according to a report by The New York Times on Thursday.

The crown prince was expressing frustration at Khashoggi’s criticism of the Saudi government and reluctance to return to his native country from the United States, where he had been living in self-imposed exile, the Times reported, citing current and former U.S. and foreign officials with knowledge of intelligence reports.

The intelligence reports offer some of the most direct evidence of the role the crown prince may have played in Khashoggi’s slaying, which sparked weeks of international outrage and protest.

CIA officials had determined in November that Mohammed likely ordered the journalist’s assassination, based on “an understanding of how Saudi Arabia works.”

“This would not and could not have happened” without MBS’ involvement, an official told The Wall Street Journal.

The Washington Post, for which Khashoggi had been a columnist, reported on Oct. 10 that Mohammed had personally ordered an effort to lure the journalist back to Saudi Arabia.

The kingdom has denied Mohammed had prior knowledge of the killing at a Saudi consulate in Turkey and said in January it would seek the death penalty for five people allegedly involved.