LAST UPDATE | 5 Dec 2024
BULLETS THAT AN unidentified gunman used to shoot and kill UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson on Wednesday morning in New York City had words written on them, according to law enforcement officials.
The words “deny,” “defend” and “depose” appeared on shell casings recovered from the scene of the shooting in New York City, CBS News has confirmed.
Officials said they are examining whether the words relate to a possible motive involving insurance companies and their responses to claims.
Investigators are still searching for clues that could help them identify the masked gunman who stalked and killed the leader of one of the largest US health insurance companies on a Manhattan sidewalk, then disappeared into Central Park.
UnitedHealthcare chief executive Brian Thompson, 50, died in a dawn ambush on Wednesday as he walked to the company’s annual investor conference at a Hilton in Midtown.
The killing, and the gunman’s movements in the minutes before and afterwards, were captured on some of the multitudes of security cameras present in that part of the city.
One video showed him approach Thompson from behind, level his pistol and fire several shots, barely pausing to clear a brief gun jam while the dying health executive tumbled to the pavement.
Other security cameras captured the initial stages of the gunman’s escape. He was seen fleeing the block across a pedestrian plaza, then escaping on a bicycle into Central Park, where he vanished.
Police used drones, helicopters and dogs in an intense search, but the killer’s whereabouts remained unknown late into the night.
A mobile phone was discovered in an alley along the suspect’s escape route, which police have said they are “working through”.
New York City Police Department (NYPD) commissioner Jessica Tisch said that while investigators had not yet established a motive, the shooting was no random act of violence.
“Many people passed the suspect, but he appeared to wait for his intended target,” Tisch said at a news conference on Wednesday.
“From watching the video, it does seem that he’s proficient in the use of firearms as he was able to clear the malfunctions pretty quickly,” NYPD chief of detectives Joseph Kenny said.
CCTV footage of the shooting appears to show the gunman had fitted a suppressor, also known as a silencer, to his pistol. The attachment is designed to quieten the noise and reduce flash as shots are fired.
The US restricted the sale of suppressors in the 1930s under the provisions of the National Firearms Act. These restrictions were brought in largely as a result of concerns that such weapons were being used to commit crimes.
Police issued several surveillance images of the man, who wore a hooded jacket and a mask that concealed most of his face and would not have attracted attention on a frigid winter day. Some of the photos were taken at a Starbucks coffee shop shortly before the shooting.
The police department offered a reward of up to 10,000 dollars for information leading to an arrest and conviction.
“Brian was a highly respected colleague and friend to all who worked with him,” the insurer’s Minnetonka, Minnesota-based parent company, UnitedHealth Group Inc, said in a statement.
“We are working closely with the New York Police Department and ask for your patience and understanding during this difficult time.”
Mr Thompson’s wife, Paulette Thompson, told NBC News that he told her “there were some people that had been threatening him”.
She did not have details but suggested the threats may have involved issues with insurance coverage.
Eric Werner, the police chief in the Minneapolis suburb where Mr Thompson lived, said his department had not received any reports of threats against the executive.
Investigators recovered several 9mm shell casings from outside the hotel and a mobile phone from the alleyway through which the gunman fled.
They were also searching Mr Thompson’s hotel room, interviewing his UnitedHealthcare colleagues and reviewing his social media, Kenny said.
Police initially said the gunman rode into Central Park on a bicycle from the city’s bike-share programme, CitiBike.
But a spokesperson for the programme’s operator, Lyft, said police officials informed the company on Wednesday afternoon that the bike was not from the CitiBike fleet.
Health care giant UnitedHealth Group was holding its annual meeting with investors to update Wall Street on the company’s direction and expectations for the coming year. The company ended the conference early in the wake of Thompson’s death.
Brian Thompson, a father of two sons, had been with the company since 2004 and served as chief executive for more than three years.
UnitedHealthcare is the largest provider of Medicare Advantage plans in the US and manages health insurance coverage for employers and state and federally funded Medicaid programmes.
Minnesota Governor Tim Walz posted on the social platform X that the state is “sending our prayers to Brian’s family and the UnitedHealthcare team”.
“This is horrifying news and a terrible loss for the business and health care community in Minnesota,” Walz wrote.
With additional reporting from Andrew Walsh
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