UnitedHealthcare CEO shooting latest: ‘Net tightening’ on suspect as ‘Monopoly money’ found in Central Park backpack
UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson’s killer may have left the city, police said, after investigators recovered the suspect’s backpack in Central Park
The latest headlines from our reporters across the US sent straight to your inbox each weekday
Your briefing on the latest headlines from across the US
Your briefing on the latest headlines from across the US
A manhunt continues for the masked gunman who killed UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson outside a New York City hotel as police uncover more evidence that is potentially linked to the suspect of interest.
Investigators uncovered a backpack in Central Park that is believed to have belonged to the suspected shooter late Friday. New York City Mayor Eric Adams said Saturday “the net is tightening” around the suspect.
Meanwhile, New York City Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch told CNN that investigators have a “huge amount of evidence” in their search for the suspect.
This includes DNA evidence, fingerprints and a “massive camera canvass” of the suspect’s movements, Tisch told the outlet.
Police have video of the man entering the Port Authority Bus Terminal after fleeing the scene of the shooting on a bicycle, but no video of him exiting, leading them to believe he left the city, Chief of Detectives Joseph Kenny told CNN.
The gunman was masked during the shooting and used a fake New Jersey ID to book a room at the HI New York City Hostel, but pulled down the covering during a flirty exchange with a clerk. Police say he arrived in New York after taking a Grayhound bus that originated in Atlanta, Georgia last month.
Who is Brian Thompson? Everything we know about UnitedHealthcare CEO murdered in Manhattan
Three cryptic words were carved into bullets used to kill UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson
The unanswered questions: UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson’s murder leaves trail of unknowns
‘I wanted to convey the rage’: Folk singer goes viral with song about Brian Thompson killing
Why did Brian Thompson not have security with him?
Brian Thompson was the chief executive of UnitedHealthcare, the insurance wing of parent company UnitedHealth Group, Inc.
He had worked at the Minnetonka, Minnesota-based company for two decades and led its insurance division since 2021. He was one of the company’s highest-paid executives, with a $10.2 million annual compensation package.
His wife said he had recently received threats from angry customers over complaints she believed may have had to do with “a lack of coverage”.
“I don’t know details,” Paulette Thompson told NBC News. “I just know that he said there were some people that had been threatening him.”
Despite the alleged threats, Thompson did not have security with him on the morning of the shooting. Eric Werner, chief of police for Maple Grove, Minnesota, where Thomspon lived, said his department had not received any reports of threats against the executive.
Andrew Witty, CEO of UnitedHealthcare’s parent company UnitedHealth Group, addressed employee concerns about safety, according to a meeting recording shared by CNN.
“I know people are nervous around security and safety, and you will be seeing during the rest of the day, over the weekend and next week, a continued hardening of our security defenses on site across the country,” Witty said.
Full story: Leaked video shows UnitedHealth Group chief complaining about ‘vitriolic’ coverage of Brian Thompson shooting
Three days after UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson was fatally gunned down by a masked man lying in wait outside a Midtown Manhattan hotel, the head of the insurer’s parent company addressed anxious staff in a video sent to all US employees.
In it, UnitedHealth Group CEO Andrew Witty told underlings that their work was “critical” in preventing the US medical system from providing “unnecessary” care he claimed would eventually drive up costs to an “unsustainable” level – as he complained about the “vitriolic” media coverage of the shooting.
Read more:
UnitedHealth Group chief complains about media coverage of Brian Thompson shooting
‘I encourage you to tune out that critical noise that we’re hearing right now,’ UnitedHealth Group chief Andrew Witty told employees
Have police named a suspect in the murder of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson?
New York City Mayor Eric Adams revealed Saturday that police do not want to reveal if they’ve identified the suspect’s name.
“We don’t want to release that now,” Adams said of the suspect’s name. “If we do, we are basically giving a tip to the person we are seeking and we do not want to give him an upper hand at all. Let him continue to believe he can hide behind the mask. We revealed his face. We’re going to reveal who he is and we’re going to bring him to justice.”
He also added that the “net is tightening” around the suspect as police continue to gather evidence.
Who is Brian Thompson? Everything we know about the UnitedHealthcare CEO and his murder in New York City
UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, 50, a father of two, was shot at point-blank range near the New York Hilton Midtown on Wednesday morning just before a scheduled investor meeting.
Here’s everything we know about the health insurance leader — and the suspected gunman who killed him four days ago:
Who is Brian Thompson – the slain CEO of UnitedHealthcare?
The manhunt for the killer of the CEO has now stretched into its third day
ICYMI: Police uncover suspected backpack of gunman who killed UnitedHealth CEO Brian Thompson
On Friday evening, police in New York City found a backpack in Central Park that they believe was worn by the gunman who fatally shot UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson earlier this week.
The masked gunman, whose identity is still unknown, could be seen wearing a backpack in security footage that captured the methodical shooting outside of a hotel in Midtown, Manhattan on Wednesday morning. Moments after the gunman shot Thompson he took off on a bike and headed into Central Park. Video footage later captured him leaving the park and taking a taxi to a bus terminal, without the backpack.
While searching a wooded area at the southern end of the park, police discovered a dark backpack nestled between two boulders, law enforcement officials told CNN. This was the second time police searched the park looking for it.
Read on:
Police uncover suspected backpack of man who killed UnitedHealth CEO Brian Thompson
Security footage captured the gunman wearing a backpack during the shooting but then without it while exiting Central Park
What was the shooter’s motive?
Police have not released an official motive for the shooting - but some have speculated the killing might be connected to Brian Thompson’s role in running one of the nation’s largest health insurance companies.
Investigators believe the suspect “could possibly be a disgruntled employee or a disgruntled client,” according to NYPD Chief of Detectives Joseph Kenny.
Officials described the killing as a “targeted attack”, and it was later revealed that the gunman left behind a cryptic message at the scene. The words “deny,” “depose” and “defend” were carved into the ammunition the shooter used.
The words are similar to the book Delay, Deny, Defend: Why Insurance Companies Don’t Pay Claim and What You Can Do About It by Rutgers Law School Jay Feinman. The book’s blurb describes it as an “expose of insurance injustice and a plan for consumers and lawmakers to fight back.”
Watch: Surveillance footage shows UnitedHealthcare CEO shooting suspect exiting subway station
ICYMI: Major break in search for UnitedHealthcare CEO’s killer came from a flirty moment with hostel receptionist
By lowering his mask and flashing a “flirtatious” smile to a hostel front desk clerk, the suspect in the fatal Brian Thompson shooting has given police their biggest break yet.
Clear surveillance images released by the New York Police Department on Thursday showed the “person of interest wanted for questioning” unmasked in Wednesday’s killing of the UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson as the manhunt enters its third day.
The images reportedly capture the moment the suspect was “flirting” with a female worker of the hostel in the city’s Upper West Side where he was staying, law enforcement officials told ABC News.
Read on:
Major break in search for UnitedHealthcare CEO’s killer came from a flirty moment
The surveillance images reportedly capture the moment the suspect was flirting with a female worker of the hostel where he was staying
Full story: NYPD probes theory UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson’s killer could be ‘disgruntled employee or client’
Investigators believe the person who fatally shot UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson outside a Midtown Manhattan hotel earlier this week “could possibly be a disgruntled employee or a disgruntled client,” according to NYPD Chief of Detectives Joseph Kenny.
“This isn’t ‘Blue Bloods,’” Kenny said at a press conference on Friday, referring to a popular TV show starring Tom Selleck. “We’re not going to solve this in 60 minutes. We’re painstakingly going through every bit of evidence that we can come across.”
Keep reading:
NYPD: UnitedHealthcare CEO’s killer could be ‘disgruntled employee or client’
The ‘net is closing in’ on the as-yet unidentified gunman, New York City Mayor Eric Adams said Saturday
‘I wanted to convey the rage’: Folk singer goes viral with song about Brian Thompson killing
“I wanted to throw my two cents in and try and try and convey that rage,” artist Joe DeVito told The Independent’s Richard Hall.
Read the full story here:
Folk singer goes viral with song about Brian Thompson killing
‘I wanted to throw my two cents in and try and try and convey that rage,’ Joe DeVito, the artist behind the song, speaks to Richard Hall