UnitedHealthcare CEO taking pictures newest: New footage exhibits Brian Thompson’s killer ditching object in trash
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A manhunt continues for the masked gunman who killed UnitedHealthcare CEOBrian Thompson outside a New York City hotel as police officials say they have “reason to believe” that he has left the city.
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.
“It’s a very busy bus terminal, we want to make sure we have the right bus. But we’re working through that right now, this is all new information,” he said.
Police officials believe the suspect arrived in Manhattan on November 24 on a bus that originated in Atlanta, several days before he opened fire on the CEO outside the New York Hilton Midtown.
“We have reason to believe that the person in question has left New York City,” Commissioner Jessica Tisch said on Friday, adding that police released photos of the person not wearing a mask, described as the “money shot” because they want a “wider audience to see the picture outside of New York City,” she said.
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. He was captured on video several times around the city before the brazen killing in what police say was a “targeted attack.”
New footage on Friday showed the suspect ditching an object on some trash bags near the scene of the crime shortly before the attack.
Police are examining bullet casings found at the scene, which were inscribed with the words “deny,” “depose,” and “defend” — terms possibly linked to health insurers’ tactics to avoid paying claims.
Thompson, a father of two sons who lived in a Minneapolis suburb, had been with Minnesota-based UnitedHealthcare since 2004 and served as CEO for more than three years.
Police searching for shooter’s backpack in Central Park
A dozen officers were searching for the shooter’s backpack near the intersection of 65th Street and Center Drive in Central Park on Friday, the New York Times reported.
The backpack appeared to be left behind by the gunman on Wednesday after he shot and killed CEO Brian Thompson. Video shows the gunman exiting the park without the bag.
Police on Friday searched trash cans, grates, storm drains and leaf piles in the park. It’s not clear if anything has been found yet.
Atlanta police assisting NYPD in UnitedHealthcare CEO shooting investigation
The Atlanta Police Department said Friday that they are assisting the New York City police department “as needed” as part of the investigation into the killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson.
On November 24, more than a week before the shooting, the suspect traveled on a Greyhound bus from Atlanta to New York by bus, law enforcement sources told Fox News.
“As of this afternoon, on December 6, 2024, the Atlanta Police Department was contacted by the NYPD and will now be providing assistance as needed. The NYPD is the lead agency in this investigation so please direct all questions to their Public Affairs Office. The Atlanta Police Department will not be able to provide interviews or answer any questions regarding this investigation.”
The manhunt for the shooter continues.
Investigators say shooter ‘definitely planned this out’
The gunman who killed UnitedHealthcare CEO “definitely planned this out,” authorities told CNN on Friday as the manhunt continues.
NYPD Chief of Detectives Joseph Kenny said they video of the suspect about 30 minutes before the shooting, “walking and wandering around the hotel area before he committed this act.”
“He knew what time the victim was going to be walking by. He knew what hotel this conference was going to be in,” Kenny said.
Investigators are still going through footage as the NYPD has access to “tens of thousands of cameras” around the city, New York City Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch said, something she said has been “huge” in the investigation.
Investigators say shooter ‘definitely planned this out’
The gunman who killed UnitedHealthcare CEO “definitely planned this out,” authorities told CNN on Friday as the manhunt continues.
NYPD Chief of Detectives Joseph Kenny said they video of the suspect about 30 minutes before the shooting, “walking and wandering around the hotel area before he committed this act.”
“He knew what time the victim was going to be walking by. He knew what hotel this conference was going to be in,” Kenny said.
Investigators are still going through footage as the NYPD has access to “tens of thousands of cameras” around the city, New York City Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch said, something she said has been “huge” in the investigation.
CEO of UnitedHealth Group addresses employees’ safety concerns after shooting
Andrew Witty, the CEO of UnitedHealth Group, the parent company of UnitedHealthcare, released a video on Thursday addressing employees’ safety concerns after the shooting of CEO Brian Thompson.
“I want to reiterate just how immeasurably sad the tragic passing of Brian really is to his family, to his friends, to all of his work colleagues and, frankly, to the American health care industry within which Brian was an innovator and somebody who endlessly put patient interests first to try and improve health care for everybody,” Witty said in the video obtained by CNN.
He described the circumstances of Thompson’s death as “profoundly shocking and disturbing.”
Witty told the employees that the company has heightened security measures at its facilities nationwide, including security checks before people enter campuses.
New video emerges of CEO shooting suspect
The suspect in the CEO shooting was captured on video dumping something on a pile of trash minutes before the killing of Brian Thompson.
Police say there may be DNA on whatever he dumped that could help them learn his identity.
The man is seen walking on West 55th Street toward the Hilton at 6:19 a.m. on Wednesday, according to footage obtained by Newsweek.
He walks past the first pile of blue plastic bags near the Stage Star Deli at 105 West 55th Street and then pauses in front of a pile of white plastic bags. The video at the deli captures the man as he leans forward and places some small object on one of the bags and continues walking.
Thompson was gunned down outside the Hilton at 6:45 a.m.
Police have ‘reason to believe’ suspect in CEO killing left NYC
Police say they have a “reason to believe” that the person of interest in the killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson has left New York City, according to police commissioner Jessica Tisch.
Tisch told CNN on Friday that police released the photos of the suspect not wearing a mask on Thursday because they want a “wider audience to see the picture outside of New York City.”
New video shows UnitedHealthcare CEO shooter leaving subway station
Do you know the suspect?
Police are urging anyone with information about the shooter to send in tips.
Some of the tips that are being investigated have come in via TikTok.
One posted a TikTok video and sent it to the tip line proclaiming, “I think that’s the guy,” according to the police.
Another tipster, Phil Watson, sent photos of a man he called a “dead ringer” for the suspect to the police, with arrows to point out facial resemblances, according to the New York Times.
“I think they are overwhelmed,” Watson wrote in an email to The Times.
Carlos Nieves, the department’s assistant commissioner of public information, says they have received hundreds of tips – but they want more.
Tips can be called into the tip line at 800-577-TIPS — or online.
Hostel where suspect stayed is cooperating with police
Spokesperson Danielle Brumfitt said the hostel where the suspect stayed before the shooting is cooperating with the police and can’t comment on the investigation.
Police released photos Thursday, taken inside the HI New York City hostel on Manhattan’s Upper West Side, of a person they said was wanted for questioning in the shooting.
Investigators believe the suspect used a fake New Jersey identification card when he checked in at the hostel, said one official who spoke with the AP.
Employees at the hostel said they remembered a man who almost always wore a mask when interacting with them.
That person wore a jacket that looked like the one worn by the man pictured in surveillance images released after the shooting, the official said.
Source: independent.co.uk
