UnitedHealthcare CEO shooting: Here’s what we know so far

It’s all hands on deck for the New York Police Department as officers are working to catch the suspect in the fatal shooting of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson.

The suspect has so far eluded the NYPD, but detectives have managed to put together a rough timeline of events.

Here’s what we know so far.

Brian Thompson, a resident of Minnesota, was in New York City for an investor conference, NYPD said in a press conference Wednesday. The investor conference was due to start at 8 a.m. Eastern.

According to detectives, the shooter is said to have arrived at the location, outside the Hilton Hotel at 1335 Avenue of the Americas, on foot around five minutes prior to Thompson, who was staying at another hotel across the street.

New York City Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch said this “does not appear to be a random act of violence.”

“The victim was in New York City to speak at an investor conference. It appears a suspect was lying in wait for several minutes,” Tisch said.

Based on video footage of the area, police found that at 6:44 a.m., Thompson walked towards the Hilton Hotel from his hotel.

“The shooter steps onto the sidewalk from behind a car. He ignores numerous other pedestrians, approaches the victim from behind and shoots him in the back,” NYPD’s chief of detectives, Joe Kenny, told reporters Wednesday just hours after the shooting.

According to police, the shooter’s gun malfunctioned. He cleared the jam and shot again. Tisch said the suspect shot Thompson at least twice — once in the back and once in the right calf.

Kenny said this could indicate that the shooter was proficient in the use of firearms.

At 6:46 a.m., patrol officers responded to a 911 call about a person shot in front of the Hilton Hotel. Two minutes later, they found Thompson, 50, lying on the sidewalk with a gunshot wound to the back and the leg.

Thompson was taken to Roosevelt Hospital, where he was pronounced dead at 7:12 a.m., NYPD said.

Kenny said the shooter “appears to be a light-skinned male.”

In video evidence collected by police, he can be seen wearing a light brown or cream-coloured jacket, a black face mask, black and white sneakers and “a very distinctive gray backpack.”

After firing shots at Thompson, police said the shooter fled on foot northbound into an alleyway between 54^th Street and 55^th Street.

Once at West 55th Street, the shooter continued to walk westbound on Avenue of the Americas, where he got onto an electric city bike and rode northbound on the Avenue of the Americas towards Central Park.

The last visual police have of the shooter was at 6:48 a.m., where he was seen riding the bicycle into Central Park at Center Drive.

The NYPD released an image they said is of “a person of interest wanted for questioning” on Thursday.

“At this time, every indication is that this was a premeditated, pre-planned, targeted attack,” Tisch said.

Kenny said, “Based on the evidence we have so far, it does appear that the victim was specifically targeted. But at this point, we do not know why.”

Police could not confirm if any words were exchanged before the shooting, since the video did not have any audio.

NYPD is speaking to Thompson’s colleagues and family members, scanning social media accounts for any specific threats made against him and speaking to law enforcement in Minnesota.

Multiple U.S. media cited law enforcement sources saying the shell casings from the attack had the words  “deny,” “defend” and “depose” written onto them.

The Associated Press cited a law enforcement official in their report of those details. CBS News cited law enforcement officials, ABC News cited police sources and NBC News cited “a senior New York City law enforcement official briefed on the investigation.”

Global News has not independently confirmed that reporting.

Those U.S. reports cited sources suggesting the words could be a potential reference to tactics critics of insurance companies say those firms use to avoid paying out claims, and could suggest a potential motive — though police have so far not commented on any potential motivation.

Police said they are working with the bike rental company to trace the GPS on the bike. They are also trying to trace a witness, who was standing next to Thompson while he was shot.

Kenny said a cellphone was recovered in the alleyway, which they will forensically process to determine whether it connects to the shooting.

Police officers, both uniformed and in plainclothes, will be deployed through the city.

Tisch said they have increased the reward on the suspect to US$10,000 and have asked the public to come forward with any information they may have to NYPD Crime Stoppers by calling 800-577-TIPS.

 

Social media users reacted to the killing, with the term ‘CEOs’ trending on the social media website X.

Steven Downing, associate professor of criminology and media at Ontario Tech University, said some posts were celebratory in nature.

“I’ve seen very little sort of post being sympathetic to the victim,” he said. “Certainly, there is a anti-elitist sentiment that we’re seeing here.”

Downing said that while this is a tragedy for those who knew Thompson, the social media reaction indicates a broader anti-elite social sentiment.

He said there are also posts “valourising” the shooter.

“I saw a tweet specifically mentioning Robin Hood. The parallels are not exact, but there is this class element embedded in that, like an us versus them,” he said.

Downing said this may reflect people’s frustration with the health insurance industry in the United States. A thread on a Reddit community, inviting people to share their worst experiences with UnitedHealthcare drew hundreds of comments, mostly negative, and over a thousand upvotes.

“There seems to be some effect here where people are sharing their own narratives,” Downing said. “People are strangely bonding over this.”

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