More than 48 hours after an armed assailant shot and killed UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson outside a hotel in midtown Manhattan, police are still going through the evidence and looking for hints.
Investigators have gathered shot shells with mysterious text scribbled on them, found a water bottle that the shooter may have thrown away, and released images of the person they believe to be the shooter. However, the shooter’s identity, whereabouts, and motivation are still unknown.
What we know about the shooting on Wednesday morning is as follows.
Gunman was ‘lying in wait for several minutes’
Around 6:45 a.m. on Wednesday, Thompson, wearing a suit, was heading to the investor meeting for UnitedHealth Group when a shooter came up behind him and shot him at least once in the back and once in the right calf outside the New York Hilton Midtown hotel.
After the initial shooting, a person close fled to safety, and security footage showed Thompson falling forward. The footage showed the gunman clearing a jam in the rifle as he approached Thompson and then firing again. The shooter fled on foot before taking an electric bike after Thompson collapsed to the ground.
According to the police, the shooter was carrying a gray rucksack and was dressed in black leggings and a black sweatshirt. According to someone acquainted with the situation, he is thought to have used a gun with a silencer, CNBC reported.
At Mount Sinai West, Thompson, 50, was declared deceased.
Jessica Tisch, the commissioner of police in New York, stated during a news conference on Wednesday that “many people passed the suspect, but he appeared to wait for his intended target.”
According to her, the gunman was “lying in wait for several minutes,” and the attack was described as a “premeditated, preplanned targeted attack.”
The shooter arrived at the location around five minutes before to the shooting, NYPD Chief of Detectives Joseph Kenny informed reporters.
Thompson received threats before his death, wife says
On Wednesday, Paulette Thompson told NBC News that she was unsure of the type of threats her husband has been receiving.
Her words, “There had been some threats,” “Basically, a lack of coverage, I guess? Details are unknown to me. All I know is that he said that certain individuals had been threatening him.
Commander Jonathan Wetternach said Wednesday that police in Thompson’s hometown of Maple Grove, Minnesota, had not received any reports of threats against him.
Thompson did not travel in a secure manner in spite of the threats.
“Speaking to other employees that traveled with him to New York, it doesn t seem like he had a security detail,” Kenny told the press. “He left the hotel by himself, was walking, didn t seem like he had any issues at all.”
According to the insurance behemoth’s two most recent proxy statements, neither current nor previous executives of UnitedHealth Group get regular company-funded personal protection services. If a company’s annual security expenditures for corporate executives or directors surpass $10,000, they must be reported.
According to former FBI supervisor Rob D. Amico, he thinks Thompson’s death has all the elements of a personal grudge connected to his business.
“Shattered to hear about the senseless killing of our beloved Brian,” Thompson’s family wrote.
In a statement received by NBC station KARE of Minneapolis, the family stated, “Brian was an incredibly loving, generous, talented man who truly lived life to the fullest and touched so many lives.”
Deny, defend and depose written on ammunition
A senior New York City law enforcement official informed on the inquiry told NBC News on Thursday that the phrases “deny,” “defend,” and “depose” were scribbled on round casings discovered at the site.
Whether the texts point to a motivation is unknown at this time.
At the news conference on Wednesday, NYPD Chief of Detectives Kenny stated, “The motive for this murder is currently unknown, but based on the evidence we have so far, it does appear the victim was specifically targeted.” “But at this point, we do not know why.”
Near the site, police also found a cellphone.
Who is the shooter?
Although the gunman is still at large, investigators have learned a few things about him.
According to three senior law enforcement sources familiar with the case, police think he may have taken a Greyhound bus to New York City last month, they told NBC News. From Atlanta, the bus departed.
Officials are searching for a name for the trip scheduled on November 24. According to Greyhound, it is assisting the police with their inquiry.
The shooter stayed at a hostel on Manhattan’s Upper West Side when he was in New York. According to two law enforcement officials informed on the case, police are investigating if the shooter used a phony ID and paid with cash to rent a hotel.
An unmasked photo of the shooter grinning while in the hostel was obtained by the police.
A video that was made public may show the shooter leaving a subway station approximately 30 minutes before to the shooting. According to a senior New York City law enforcement official informed on the inquiry, investigators also discovered that he went to a Starbucks prior to the shooting and bought two protein bars and a water bottle.
According to the official, authorities gathered the things as evidence in the hopes that it would help with the inquiry when detectives found a video that showed where he threw them away.
The police commissioner stated on Wednesday that the gunman left on foot after the shooting and then got on an electric bike. Central Park is where we last saw him.
A prize of $10,000 is being offered by Crime Stoppers for information.
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