2 weeks Ago
What we know about the fatal shooting of UnitedHealthcare's CEO in Manhattan Police are searching for the man who fatally shot UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson as he walked to a hotel hosting his company’s annual investor conference on Wednesday morning. Here’s what we know: The investigation: Detectives found a phone in the alley the gunman ran through that may have belonged to him. They also found a bottle of water that they believe the suspect bought at a Starbucks shortly before the shooting.
The suspect was seen on video before the shooting carrying what appeared to be a battery for an electric bike. Investigators believe that the shooter may have taken a subway from the Upper West Side to Midtown and are looking into whether the electric bike he used to flee was pre-positioned nearby. An experienced shooter: Police recovered three live 9mm rounds and three discharged 9mm shell casings from the scene.
The words “deny,” “defend” and “depose” were found on the casings, ABC News reported, citing police sources. Detectives believe the gunman operated in a way that suggested he was an experienced marksman , police officials told CNN. The shooter also used what appeared to be a silencer on the gun.
Threats to Thompson: The motive remains unclear, but Paulette Thompson told NBC News there had been “some threats” against her husband. A source told CNN that there were concerning threats against UnitedHealth Group. Thompson’s name was not mentioned, but the threats did talk about going after high-level executives.
Security team: Thompson was named UnitedHealthcare CEO in 2021. The company is part of UnitedHealth Group, America’s largest insurance company . A source said the entire leadership team at UnitedHealth Group is supported by an in-house security team, which was at Wednesday’s event.
Call for information: Police are encouraging anyone with information about the shooting to come forward. NYPD Crime Stoppers has announced a reward of up to $10,000 for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the shooter. Police believe that the gunman is a “light-skinned male” who was last seen in Central Park early on Wednesday morning.
He was wearing “a light brown or cream-colored jacket, a black face mask, black and white sneakers and a very distinctive gray backpack.” Analysis: Chilling surveillance video holds clues about skilled marksman targeting CEO A gunman steps from the shadows behind a parked SUV just as UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson walks by, oblivious to the assassin lying in wait. Surveillance video shows the gunman quickly raising his pistol and firing, striking Thompson from behind.
The insurance company CEO goes to the ground as a bystander flees — the shooter paying the bystander no attention. If this was a targeted attack as officials say, the ability of the shooter to predict Thompson’s early morning movements will be key to identifying a psychological profile and motive of the apparent assassin. The graphic video appears to depict a gunman with at least some sophistication in using a firearm equipped with a suppressor device that muzzles the loud sound of gunfire.
While a standard semi-automatic handgun is designed to repeatedly fire rounds with each press of the trigger, the apparent attachment of a suppressor appears to require more intervention by the shooter to manually prepare each round to be fired, which he handles deftly. At one point in the video, the gun seemingly jams, and the shooter quickly resolves the malfunction and continues to fire before fleeing. The method of attack, posture of the shooter, and his ability to quickly resolve the gun’s malfunction depict a skilled marksman.
Members of law enforcement and the military, for example, routinely practice so-called “immediate action drills” — tests to see how quickly an officer in a simulated gunfight can clear a weapon of a malfunction and then rapidly get the firearm back on target and ready to fire. As NYPD officials continue to build out their profile of the shooter, the second-by-second clues visible in the chilling final moments of Thompson’s life provide insight into the actions of a gunman who was not new to the use of a firearm in a high-stress situation. It raises questions about whether he was acting on his own grievances or as a trained assassin enlisted by someone else.
Words found on shell casings at the scene of Brian Thompson shooting, ABC News reports The words “deny,” “defend” and “depose” were found on the shell casings discovered at the scene where Brian Thompson, the CEO of UnitedHealthcare, was fatally shot, ABC News reported, citing police sources. CNN has reached out to the New York Police Department, who declined to comment. A motive for the shooting remains unclear.
Here's a timeline of how the shooting of UnitedHealthcare's CEO unfolded, according to police UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson was shot outside the New York Hilton Midtown hotel, where his company’s annual investors’ conference was scheduled to take place. He walked across a street toward the hotel more than an hour before the conference’s scheduled start time — and was gunned down during his brief commute, the New York Police Department said. “The shooter arrived at the location on foot about five minutes prior to the victim’s arrival.
He stands along the building line as numerous other people and pedestrians pass him by,” NYPD Chief of Detectives Joe Kenny said. Here’s the rest of the timeline: At 6:44 a.m.
Thompson walked toward the Hilton after leaving his hotel across the street, Kenny said. The gunman came up behind Thompson and shot him in the back, he said. “The shooter then walks toward the victim and continues to shoot.
It appears the gun malfunctions as he clears the jam and begins to fire again,” Kenny said. At 6:46 a.m.
“patrol officers from Midtown North Precinct responded to a 911 call of a person shot in front of the Hilton hotel located at 1335 Avenue of the Americas. This is between West 53rd Street and West 54th Street,” the chief said. At 6:48 a.
m. officers arrived and found Thompson on the sidewalk in front of the hotel with gunshot wounds to his back and leg. He was taken to the hospital by EMS.
After the shooting, the gunman fled “northbound into an alleyway between 54th Street and 55th Street,” walked west on Avenue of the Americas and eventually got onto an e-bike. Also at 6:48 a.m.
the suspect rode the bike into Central Park, Kenny said. At 7:12 a.m.
Thompson was prounounced dead at the hospital, Kenny said. What we know about Brian Thompson's career Brian Thompson , the CEO of UnitedHealthcare, who was fatally shot in Midtown Manhattan on Wednesday in what New York police called a “brazen, targeted attack,” was a longtime leader in corporate America, a model student and star high school athlete — and he had been caught up in a high-profile insider trading lawsuit this year. Thompson, 50, lived in Minnesota and was visiting New York for UnitedHealthcare’s annual investors conference before he was killed.
Here’s what to know: Career: Thompson was appointed chief executive of UnitedHealthcare in 2021 and had been at the company since 2004. Prior to being named chief executive of UnitedHealthcare, Thompson worked as CEO of the company’s government programs business, which includes its Medicare and retirement businesses. UnitedHealthcare is part of UnitedHealth Group, America’s largest insurance company.
Education: Thompson graduated from the University of Iowa in 1997 with a bachelor’s degree in business administration with a major in accounting. He graduated as valedictorian, according to his LinkedIn. He was a Collegiate Scholar, Carver Scholar, State of Iowa Scholar and Faculty Scholar.
Thompson graduated from South Hamilton High School in Jewell, Iowa, in 1993. Allegations of fraud: Thompson in May was sued for alleged fraud and illegal insider trading. The Hollywood Firefighters’ Pension Fund filed a lawsuit against UnitedHealth Group, CEO Andrew Witty, Executive Chairman Stephen Hemsley and Thompson, alleging the executives schemed to inflate the company’s stock by failing to disclose a US Justice Department antitrust investigation into the company.
The lawsuit claimed Thompson knew about the investigation as early as October 2023 and sold 31% of his company shares, making a $15 million profit, 11 days before the Wall Street Journal reported the probe, sending UnitedHealth’s stock sinking 5%. CNN’s Kara Scannell contributed to this report..
