UnitedHealthcare CEO shooting latest: ‘Net tightening’ on suspect as police say they have ‘huge amount of evidence’
UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson’s killer may have left the city, police said, after investigators recovered the suspect’s backpack in Central Park
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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
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When a medical insurance CEO was gunned down in the street, some people celebrated his death
When the CEO of one of the largest medical insurance companies in the United States was gunned down on the streets of Manhattan on Wednesday, his death quickly turned into a larger conversation about the much-reviled industry in which he worked.
Brian Thompson, a 50-year-old father of two, had been in New York City for a conference when he was killed in what police believe was a targeted shooting.
Among hundreds of posts on social media about the shocking murder, many people were moved to talk about the injustice of the health insurance industry. Often the dark jokes on X, Instagram, Reddit and TikTok spoke to how cruel medical insurance companies can be to their customers. Some even wrote folk songs about the event.
Read Richard Hall’s full analysis below.
Reactions to the killing of insurance CEO reveal a deep anger over US healthcare
The reaction to Thompson’s murder reveals a deep anger among many Americans about the unfairness of the US health insurance industry, Richard Hall writes
UnitedHealthcare removes leadership pages after CEO’s death
UnitedHealthcare is believed to have removed a page listing its executives on the company’s about us page after its chief Brian Thompson was gunned down in the street on Wednesday.
The health insurer has appeared to pull down a page listing senior staff, in what is assumed to protect the identity of its personnel, according to a report by 404 Media.
Other major insurers, including Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield and CareSource are believed to have also removed pages from their website, according to reports.
Flags fly at half-mast outside of UnitedHealthcare HQ
Everything we know about UnitedHealthcare CEO murdered in Manhattan
UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson was fatally shot in what police called a “brazen targeted attack” in Manhattan early on Wednesday.
A massive manhunt is underway for the unidentified shooter, who fled the scene on a bike. Police searched a hostel in the Upper West Side where they believe the suspect was staying, CNN reported Thursday morning.
Katie Hawkinson and Madeline Sherratt detail everything we know so far about the fatal attack on the 50-year-old insurance CEO:
Who is Brian Thompson – the slain CEO of UnitedHealthcare?
The CEO’s wife said he received threats before the fatal shooting
Hostel worker asked suspect to pull down mask to ‘see his pretty smile’
Brian Thompson’s killer was asked by a female hostel worker to pull his mask down to “see his pretty smile,” a high-ranking NYPD officer told CBS News.
The New York Times has identified the lodgings as the HI New York City Hostel on Amsterdam Avenue near 104th Street in Manhattan, sources told the outlet. The suspect is said to have used a fake New Jersey identification book the room upon arriving on November 24, a senior law enforcement official told the newspaper.
It was at that hostel where the assailant was recorded on surveillance cameras revealing his face, after having a conversation and apparently flirting with the woman on the front desk.
Manhunt for New York CEO shooting suspect enters third day
Hostel where suspect stayed ‘identified’: report
The hostel where the suspect who shot dead Brian Thompson stayed has allegedly been identified, according to a report.
The New York Times has identified the lodgings as the HI New York City Hostel on Amsterdam Avenue near 104th Street in Manhattan, sources told the outlet.
He is said to have used a fake New Jersey identification book the room upon arriving on November 24, a senior law enforcement official told the newspaper.
The suspect was then was said to have checked out of the hostel on November 29, before once again checking back in on November 30, where it is assumed he stayed until Thompson’s shooting.
The Independent has contacted the hostel for more details.
New York CEO shooting map: Movements of gunman who killed Brian Thompson
The manhunt for the gunman who killed UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson in a shooting in the heart of Manhattan has now entered its third day, with the killer still at large.
With the gunman’s identity unknown and the motive still a mystery, authorities are trying to piece together the killer’s movements that morning – and where he went next.
James Liddell tracks the gunman’s latest movements.
New York CEO shooting mapped: Movements of Brian Thompson gunman
With the gunman’s identity unknown and the motive still a mystery, authorities are trying to piece together the killer’s movements that morning – and where he went next
Timeline of Brian Thompson’s shooting and killer’s getaway
The gunman who shot dead the CEO of UnitedHealthcare Brian Thompson at point blank range on Wednesday was filmed across Manhattan before and after the attack.
- 5:00 a.m: Suspect recorded walking outside the Frederick Douglass Houses, a public housing project on the Upper West Side
- 6:15 a.m: Gunman leaves the 57th Street F train stop before heading to Starbucks at West 56th Street and 6th Avenue in Manhattan. He buys water and two energy bars
- 6:19 a.m: Suspect recorded walking west down 55th Street, a block away from the New York Hilton Midtown
- 6:29 a.m: Assailant walks through parking lot at 54th Street
- 6:44 a.m: Thompson is seen in video walking toward the Hilton
- 6:46 a.m: Gunman shoots Brian Thompson outside the New York Hilton Midtown on 6th Avenue
- 6:48 a.m: Suspect headed north on 6th Avenue towards Central Park on e-bike
- 7 a.m: Assailant cycling out of the park on West 85th Street. He is not seen again and his identity is unknown
- 7:12 a.m: Thompson was then rushed to Mount Sinai West hospital where he was pronounced dead
ICYMI: NYPD releases unmasked photo of smiling suspect in UnitedHealthcare CEO killing
Photographs showing the face of the suspect who fatally shot UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson in midtown Manhattan have been released as New York City cops continue to search for the identity of the alleged killer.
On Thursday, the NYPD shared two photographs of the killer, including one with the suspect flashing a smile.
“Below are photos of a person of interest wanted for questioning regarding the Midtown Manhattan homicide on Dec. 4.” the NYPD said in a statement.
James Liddell has the full story below.
NYPD releases unmasked photo of smiling suspect in UnitedHealthcare CEO killing
Police continue to zero in on the identity of gunman as they release two photographs of his face