2 weeks Ago
Man questioned in CEO's killing under arrest on gun-related charges in Pennsylvania A man being questioned in the fatal shooting of UnitedHealthcare’s CEO in New York City is under arrest in Altoona, Pennsylvania, in connection with charges to the gun police recovered, according to a law enforcement official. The man is being held in Pennsylvania, the official said. He would need to be extradited him to New York to face any charges there.
The man was found Monday at an Altoona McDonald’s with a gun and a suppressor like those used in the December 4 homicide, law enforcement officials briefed on the situation tell CNN. Man picked up at Pennsylvania McDonald’s had fake IDs and gun like one used in shooting, sources say The man being questioned by police in connection to the killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson was picked up in a McDonald’s in Altoona, Pennsylvania, after an employee thought he resembled the man in the NYPD’s photos and called the cops, multiple law enforcement officials briefed on the situation tell CNN. Altoona police responded to the call and picked up the man, who they say is 26 years old, and searched him.
In the search, they found a gun with a suppressor — a device that muffles the sound of a firearm — like that used in the homicide and multiple fake IDs, including one that the NYPD believes was used by the suspect in New York City, the officials say. The man is under arrest on charges in connection with the gun recovered by police, according to a law enforcement official. The suspect was in possession of some documents that investigators also want to examine as potentially relating to motive, though further details on the documents were not clear.
Altoona police are waiting for NYPD detectives, who are on their way. This post has been updated with additional details. CNN’s Mark Morales contributed reporting.
Police questioning a man in Pennsylvania in connection with the killing of Brian Thompson Police are questioning a man in Altoona, Pennsylvania, in connection with the shooting and killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, two law enforcement officials familiar with the matter tell CNN. Working off of a tip, police stopped an individual who was traveling by bus and recovered a suppressor — a device that muffles the sound of a firearm — and a number of false ID’s, one of the officials added. That man is now in custody and being questioned.
New York governor condemns online rhetoric about insurance CEO killing New York Gov. Kathy Hochul condemned online rhetoric about the killing of UnitedHealthcare’s CEO as police continue to search for the shooter on Monday. “You can feel what you want about insurance companies; I’m not a big fan, and there’s a lot of people who are suffering because they’ve not had the support they’ve needed when their families or they themselves have been sick,” the governor said, answering questions from reporters after a presentation of the 2025 State of the State Agenda in New York City.
“That is a real feeling, but that will never justify the commentary that is going on out there about the loss of a human being, the assassination of an individual on the streets of New York; we should all be shocked and outraged by that as I am,” she added. Online reaction : UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson’s killing unleashed a flurry of rage and frustration from social media users over denials of their medical claims, a public display of Americans’ pent-up anger at the nation’s complex health insurance industry. Police continue to look into whether words found on the shell casings from the scene — “delay, deny, defend,” according to NYPD Chief Detective Joseph Kenny — may point to a motive.
A 2010 book critiquing the insurance industry is titled “Delay Deny Defend,” a common description of its tactics. The majority of insured US adults had at least one issue, including denial of claims, with their health insurance in the span of a year, according to a survey released in June 2023 by KFF, a nonprofit health policy research group. NYPD detectives left Atlanta and have not identified if suspect boarded bus there Detectives from the NYPD conducted parts of their investigation into the killing UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson over the weekend in Atlanta before returning to New York, two law enforcement officials tell CNN.
The detectives reviewed surveillance footage from the Greyhound bus station in downtown Atlanta, but had not identified the shooter boarding one of the buses from the location by the time they left, according to the officials. The bus that police believe the killer traveled to New York on originated in Atlanta. Medical examiner checking for DNA from some items recovered by police — but so far, no matches Detectives investigating the killing of UnitedHealthcare’s chief executive have recovered possible DNA evidence from items found at the scene and have now turned it over to a lab for testing, according to a senior law enforcement official briefed on the investigation.
However, a partial fingerprint and DNA have so far not yielded matches when compared against respective law enforcement databases, according to a law enforcement official on Monday. Police are testing a fingerprint recovered from a purported burner phone thought to have belonged to the suspect and DNA recovered from a water bottle and energy bar wrapper he is said to have bought — but so far neither have turned up any matches. The official told CNN that NYPD investigators finished processing the items and turned the samples over to the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner for testing Friday.
Why this matters: The various pieces of evidence being uncovered by police are crucial not only for finding the gunman — but also for his prosecution. “The DNA evidence is important. Everything is for courtroom testimony so we can link him to the crime,” retired NYPD Detective Michael Alcazar told CNN on Friday.
In addition to the water bottle and the cell phone, investigators also have a trail of surveillance video sightings as well as ammunition with the words “delay,” “deny” and “depose” written on them left at the scene of the crime, sources told CNN. The NYPD also released new images of the person of interest without a mask at the hostel where they believe he was staying at before the shooting. “Our DNA, our fingerprints are left everywhere — It could be on the countertop of that hostel, so as prepared as you think you might be, there’s mistakes that people make all the time and law enforcement relies on that,” Alcazar said.
How the suspect got to New York City more than a week before the shooting Police are piecing together the suspect’s movements in the days leading up to the fatal shooting of Brian Thompson, UnitedHealthcare’s CEO. Thompson was killed outside a Manhattan hotel on Wednesday, but police say the suspected gunman was in the city for more than a week before that. The suspected gunman traveled on a Greyhound bus that started its route in Atlanta , law enforcement sources told CNN.
Authorities do not know whether the suspect boarded in Atlanta or elsewhere, sources said. The Atlanta Police Department will provide assistance to the NYPD as needed in the investigation, department officials announced Friday . Police believe the assailant arrived at New York City’s Port Authority bus terminal on November 24 — 10 days before the shooting — then checked into the Upper West Side hostel, a law enforcement official said.
After that, he appears to have moved around the city, the official said. The suspected shooter appeared to wear a mask throughout most of his stay at the hostel, law enforcement sources told CNN. He was housed in a multi-person room with two other males, one source said.
However, police did release an image of the suspect on Thursday that shows him at the hostel without a mask. The suspect checked out of the hostel on November 29 and checked back in on November 30, law enforcement sources told CNN. He paid the establishment in cash, according to one source — checking into the hostel using a fake New Jersey driver’s license, a law enforcement official previously told CNN.
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