December 4, 2024, UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson fatally shot in New York City
What we covered here
• UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson was shot and killed in Manhattan on Wednesday morning in a “brazen, targeted attack” as he walked toward the company’s annual investor conference, New York police said. “I want to be clear: At this time, every indication is that this was a premeditated, preplanned, targeted attack,” NYPD commissioner Jessica Tisch said.
• The gunman remains on the loose. The NYPD released footage of the hooded suspect at a nearby Starbucks before the shooting. And police officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said he may have dropped some vital clues while fleeing.
• A motive is unclear, and police haven’t announced one. But a source with knowledge of the investigation told CNN that UnitedHealthcare’s parent company, UnitedHealth Group, was aware of concerning threats against its high-level executives.
Police have video of the suspect in uptown Manhattan prior to the shooting
Police have video of the suspect early in the morning, prior to the shooting, on Manhattan’s Upper West Side carrying what appears to be a battery for an electric bike, according to law enforcement officials briefed on the investigation.
Investigators believe that the suspect may have taken a subway from the Upper West Side to Midtown. They are also looking into whether he had an electric bike pre-positioned in that area.
Police found a water bottle and a phone in a nearby alley after the shooting, officials say
Police officials described some of the clues they are working with as they try to put a name and a face to the person behind the mask who killed UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson in Manhattan on Wednesday morning.
Investigators, speaking on the condition of anonymity because of the ongoing nature of the investigation, told CNN that as the suspect crossed the street after the shooting, he may have dropped vital clues.
Detectives believe a phone found in the alley the gunman ran through may have belonged to the shooter. Police also found a bottle of water that detectives believe the gunman purchased just minutes before the shooting at a Starbucks around the corner.
One senior police official said video from the Starbucks shows the man, barely visible under a black hood and wearing a surgical mask, buying two power bars and a bottle of water.
The phone could yield fingerprints or DNA, and if police technicians can unlock the phone, it may offer the suspects identity. Even if it is a “burner phone” it could give investigators more information about communications and searches before the shooting.
The water bottle may also offer DNA, according to investigators. Two pieces of evidence police are still searching for are the gun and the bicycle the gunman used to flee.
Detectives believe shooter was an experienced marksman, police officials say
Detectives believe the suspect in the shooting of the UnitedHealthcare CEO operated slowly, deliberately, and in a way that suggested he was experienced marksman, according to police officials speaking to CNN on the condition of anonymity because of the ongoing investigation.
Surveillance video shows the gunman as he leveled his semi-automatic pistol and fired at his target from 20 feet away. The gunman shot UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson in the back and the leg, police said previously.
Even as his gun jammed three times, the shooter calmly and quickly cleared the jams and continued firing as he walked closer to his target.
Firearms experts who have studied the video say it appears that the gun malfunctioned with each shot. “Jamming” refers to the gun not loading another bullet into the chamber after its fired. The gunman is seeing racking the slide back to clear the “jam” and load another round.
He reacts in the way that someone with firearms training from law enforcement or the military would be trained to react to such an issue. The gun appears to be fitted with a silencer, which can cause weapons to malfunction and jam unless they are installed with specific modifications.
Supect in shooting of UnitedHealthcare CEO did not flee on a Citi Bike, law enforcement source says
The e-bike used by the suspect who shot and killed UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson was not a Citi Bike, a law enforcement official tells CNN.
As CNN previously reported, the suspect fled — first on foot, then on an e-bike — and was last seen in Central Park early this morning, according to police.
Some background: Earlier Wednesday, NYPD Chief of Detectives Joe Kenny said the suspect fled on a Citi Bike that had a GPS system. “We’re still tracking video. The last we see with him on that bike is in Central Park,” he said at a news conference. “There are GPS on those bikes. We’ll be working with the company.”
Post a Comment