Police release new photos as they search for the gunman who killed UnitedHealthcare CEO
Go Deeper.
Create an account or log in to save stories.
Like this?
Thanks for liking this story! We have added it to a list of your favorite stories.
The masked gunman who stalked and killed the leader of a Minnesota-based health insurance company on a Manhattan sidewalk used ammunition emblazoned with the words “deny,” “defend” and “depose,” a law enforcement official said Thursday.
The words were written in permanent marker, according to one of the officials, who were not authorized to publicly discuss details of the ongoing investigation and spoke to The Associated Press on the condition of anonymity.
With the gunman still at large, police also released photos of a person they said was wanted for questioning in connection with the shooting.
Investigators now believe the suspect may have traveled to New York last month on a bus that originated in Atlanta, one of the law enforcement officials said.
Turn Up Your Support
MPR News helps you turn down the noise and build shared understanding. Turn up your support for this public resource and keep trusted journalism accessible to all.
UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, 50, died in a dawn ambush Wednesday as he walked to the company’s annual investor conference at a Hilton hotel in Midtown, blocks from tourist draws like Radio City Music Hall and the Museum of Modern Art. The reason behind the killing remained unknown.
The message left on the ammunition echoes the phrase “delay, deny, defend,” which is commonly used by attorneys and insurance industry critics to describe tactics used to avoid paying claims. It refers to insurers delaying payment, denying a claim and then defending their actions. Health insurers like UnitedHealthcare have become frequent targets of criticism from doctors and patients for complicating access to care.
Investigators recovered several 9 mm shell casings from outside the hotel and a cellphone from the alleyway through which the shooter fled. Inside a nearby trash can, they found a water bottle and protein bar wrapper that they say the gunman purchased from a nearby Starbucks minutes before the shooting. The city's medical examiner was looking for fingerprints.
The killing and the shooter’s movements in the minutes before and afterward were captured on some of the multitudes of security cameras present in that part of the city. The shooter fled on a bike and was last seen riding into Central Park.
The hunt for the shooter brought New York City police Thursday morning to at least two hostels on Manhattan’s Upper West Side, based on a tip that the suspected shooter may have stayed at one of the residences, according to one of the law enforcement officials briefed on the investigation.
The photos police released Thursday of a man wanted for questioning were taken in the lobby of the HI New York City hostel. The man is smiling in one of the photos.
“We are fully cooperating with the NYPD and, as this is an active investigation, can not comment at this time,” Danielle Brumfitt, a spokesperson for the hostel said in an emailed statement.
Police have received a flood of tips from members of the public, many of them unfounded. On Wednesday evening, police searched a Long Island Rail Road train after a commuter claimed to have spotted the shooter, but found no sign of the gunman.
“We’re following up on every single tip that comes in,” said Carlos Nieves, a police spokesperson. ”That little piece of information could be the missing piece of the puzzle that ties everything together.”
Investigators believe, judging from surveillance video and evidence collected from the scene, that the shooter had at least some prior firearms training and experience with guns and the weapon was equipped with a silencer, said one of the law enforcement officials who spoke with the AP.
Investigators also were looking into whether the suspect had pre-positioned a bike as part of an escape plan, the official said.
Security camera video showed the killer approach Thompson from behind, level his pistol and fire several shots, barely pausing to clear a gun jam while the health executive tumbled to the pavement. Cameras showed him fleeing the block across a pedestrian plaza, before getting on the bicycle.
Police issued several surveillance images of the man wearing a hooded jacket and a mask that concealed most of his face, which wouldn’t have attracted attention on a frigid day. Authorities also used drones, helicopters and dogs in an intensive search, but the killer's whereabouts remained unknown.
It was business as usual at the crime scene on Thursday morning, with people walking around the area that had been blocked off by police the day before.
Inside the Hilton hotel, some guests expressed worry. One man said he was attending a retirement party there and brought his wife because he didn’t feel safe going alone. Another guest said she arrived today from Kansas City for a weekend trip but had called the hotel ahead of time to ask if it was safe for her to come.
Thompson, a father of two sons, had been with UnitedHealthcare since 2004 and served as CEO for more than three years.
The insurer’s Minnetonka, Minnesota-based parent company, UnitedHealth Group Inc., was holding its annual meeting with investors in New York 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 was a highly respected colleague and friend to all who worked with him,” UnitedHealth Group 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.”
Thompson’s wife, Paulette Thompson, told NBC News that he told her “there were some people that had been threatening him.” She didn’t have details but suggested the threats may have involved issues with insurance coverage.
Eric Werner, the police chief in Maple Grove, the Minneapolis suburb where Thompson lived, said his department had not received any reports of threats against the executive.
Maple Grove police responded to a report of a bomb threat at Thompson’s home in Maple Grove on Wednesday evening, according to records obtained by MPR News. Law enforcement responded and did not find evidence of a threat, saying it appeared to be a “hoax.”
UnitedHealthcare is the largest provider of Medicare Advantage plans in the U.S. and manages health insurance coverage for employers and state and federally funded Medicaid programs.
MPR News reporter Nicole Ki contributed to this report from New York City.
Dear reader,
Political debates with family or friends can get heated. But what if there was a way to handle them better?
You can learn how to have civil political conversations with our new e-book!
Download our free e-book, Talking Sense: Have Hard Political Conversations, Better, and learn how to talk without the tension.
