The masked gunman who killed the chief of one of many largest U.S. medical insurance firms in entrance of Manhattan surveillance cameras remained at giant Friday because the nation’s largest police division hunted for him.
UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, 50, died within the ambush early Wednesday. Thompson was strolling to the corporate’s annual investor convention at a Hilton in Midtown, blocks from vacationer attracts like Radio Metropolis Music Corridor and the Museum of Trendy Artwork.
The phrases “deny,” “defend” and “depose” have been discovered emblazoned on the ammunition, echoing a phrase utilized by insurance coverage trade critics, two regulation enforcement officers stated Thursday, talking to The Related Press on the situation of anonymity as a result of they weren’t approved to publicly focus on particulars of the investigation.
Police additionally stated they discovered a water bottle and protein bar wrapper from a trash can close to the scene of the ambush and suppose the suspect purchased them from a Starbucks minutes earlier than the taking pictures. The objects have been being examined by town’s health worker.
What occurred?
Police stated Thompson was heading to the corporate’s annual investor convention on the New York Hilton Midtown round 6:45 a.m. when an individual walked up behind him and shot him.
Thompson was alone and had no bodyguards, police stated.
Officers discovered him on the bottom with wounds to his again and proper calf, in line with Joseph Kenny, the NYPD chief of detectives. The CEO was pronounced lifeless at a close-by hospital at 7:12 a.m.
What do we all know in regards to the shooter?
Kenny stated the shooter wore a black face masks, black-and-white sneakers and a particular grey backpack.
He arrived outdoors the resort about 5 minutes earlier than Thompson did, then waited and ignored different pedestrians earlier than he approached Thompson from behind.
After the assailant started to fireside, his 9 mm pistol jammed, however he shortly mounted it and stored firing, Kenny stated.
“From watching the video, it does appear that he’s proficient in the usage of firearms as he was capable of clear the malfunctions fairly shortly,” Kenny stated.
The shooter bumped into an alleyway close to the resort and later acquired on an e-bike that he took into Central Park.
Police initially stated the shooter rode into Central Park on a bicycle from town’s bike-share program, CitiBike. However a spokesperson for this system’s operator, Lyft, stated police officers knowledgeable the corporate Wednesday afternoon that the bike was not from the CitiBike fleet.
Kenny stated police discovered a cellphone within the alleyway, however it was unclear if it belonged to the shooter.
What do we all know in regards to the search?
Investigators imagine that the killer might have traveled to New York final month on a bus that originated in Atlanta and that sooner or later he checked right into a hostel, regulation enforcement officers stated.
Police and federal brokers have been accumulating data from Greyhound in an try and establish the killer and are working to find out whether or not he purchased the ticket to New York in late November, one official stated.
Police launched photographs Thursday, taken contained in the HI New York Metropolis hostel on Manhattan’s Higher West Facet, of an individual they stated was wished for questioning within the taking pictures.
Investigators imagine the suspect used a pretend New Jersey identification card when he checked in on the hostel, stated one official who spoke with the AP.
Workers on the hostel stated they remembered a person who virtually all the time wore a masks when interacting with them. That particular person wore a jacket that seemed just like the one worn by the person pictured in surveillance photographs launched after the taking pictures, the official stated.
Spokesperson Danielle Brumfitt stated the hostel is cooperating with the police and might’t touch upon the investigation.
Who was Brian Thompson?
Thompson was the chief government of UnitedHealthcare, the insurance coverage wing of mum or dad firm UnitedHealth Group Inc.
He had labored on the Minnetonka, Minnesota-based firm for 20 years and led its insurance coverage division since 2021. He was one of many firm’s highest-paid executives, with a $10.2 million annual compensation package deal.
Thompson stored a low profile, with UnitedHealth Group Inc.’s CEO Andrew Witty taking over a extra public-facing position that included testifying earlier than Congress.
Thompson began his profession as an authorized public accountant and graduated from the College of Iowa. He lived within the Minneapolis suburb of Maple Grove and was the married father of two sons in highschool,
Maple Grove Police Chief Eric Werner stated his division had not acquired any experiences of threats towards the manager.
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Related Press writers Mike Balsamo in Washington and Jake Offenhartz in New York contributed to this report.
