Timeline of the search for UnitedHealthcare CEO shooter
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 search for UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson’s killer since Thompson was ambushed Wednesday outside a Midtown Manhattan hotel has stretched beyond New York City. While still looking to identify the suspect, the FBI has offered a $50,000 reward for information leading to his arrest and conviction. That’s on top of a $10,000 reward offered by the NYPD.
Authorities said Monday a man with a gun thought to be similar to the one used in the killing of Thompson was taken into police custody Monday for questioning in Pennsylvania. The man is being held in the area of Altoona, Pennsylvania, about 233 miles west of New York City.
Over the weekend, police divers were seen searching a pond in Central Park where the killer fled after the shooting. Officers have been scouring the park for days for any possible clues and found his bag there Friday.
Police have released two additional photos of the suspected shooter that appeared to be from a camera mounted inside a taxi. The first shows him outside the vehicle and the second shows him looking through the partition between the back seat and the front of the cab. In both, his face is partially obscured by a blue, medical-style mask.
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.
The gunman used a fake ID and paid cash during the 10 days he was in the city, NYPD Chief of Detectives Joseph Kenny told reporters Friday. He also kept his face covered except while checking in at a hostel. He was captured on some of the thousands of surveillance cameras blanketing Manhattan, allowing police to build a timeline of his movements.
Here's what we know so far about what the NYPD describes as a planned attack.
Nov. 24
10:11 p.m. — The suspected shooter arrives in New York City on a Greyhound bus at the Port Authority terminal. The bus originated in Atlanta and made six or seven stops on the way to New York. Police could not immediately determine where he got on the bus.
The man then takes a taxi to the area of the New York Hilton Midtown and is there for about a half hour.
About 11 p.m. — The man takes a taxi to the HI New York City Hostel at 891 Amsterdam Ave., where he stays until the morning of the shooting. He presents an ID that police believe to be fake. Two roommates in a shared room that had bunkbeds never saw his face, police said, because he kept his mask on.
When speaking with an employee in the hostel lobby, he briefly pulled down his facemask and smiled — a moment captured on surveillance images that have been widely circulated by police.
Nov. 29
The man was checked out of the hostel, where guests are automatically checked out if they don’t show at the desk by a certain time. Police don’t believe he stayed someplace else and checked back into the same hostel the next day.
Dec. 4
About 5:30 a.m. — The suspected shooter leaves the hostel well before dawn.
5:41 a.m. — He appears on video at 54th Street and Sixth Avenue walking back and forth in the area of the Hilton hotel where United Healthcare’s parent company, UnitedHealth Group, is holding its annual investor conference.
Police deduce that he rode a bicycle to the Hilton because it took him such a short time to get there. “Could he have stolen the bike? These are things we’re still looking into,” Kenny said.
At some point, he went to a nearby Starbucks and purchased a bottle of water and at least one energy bar before returning to the hotel.
6:44 a.m. — He shoots Thompson as the executive arrives alone, on foot, having walked from a hotel across the street. The man flees.
6:48 a.m. — The man enters Central Park by bicycle at the 60th Street and Center Drive entrance. It's in the park and away from security cameras that police believe he discards a gray backpack.
6:56 a.m. — He leaves the park at West 77th Street and Central Park West, still on the bicycle.
6:58 a.m. — He passes another camera on 85th Street and Columbus Avenue, still on the bicycle.
7 a.m. — He's at 86th Street, no longer with the bicycle.
7:04 a.m. — He enters a taxi northbound at 86th Street and Amsterdam Avenue.
7:30 a.m. — He's near the George Washington Bridge and the bus terminal there. It offers commuter service to New Jersey and Greyhound routes to Philadelphia, Boston and Washington.
After the attack, investigators find the words “delay,” “deny” and “depose,” written in permanent marker on ammunition at the scene. The words mimic a phrase used by insurance industry critics.
Dec. 6
Kenny and Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch reveal that investigators believe the gunman left New York City on a bus. Investigators say he entered the George Washington Bridge Bus Station but have not found video of him leaving or getting on a bus.
“It could possibly be a disgruntled employee, or a disgruntled client," Kenny says of a possible motive in a briefing.
Police find what they say is the man's backpack. Its contents are not disclosed.
Dec. 7
Police continue to search Central Park; scuba divers are seen scouring a pond. The NYPD releases additional photos showing the suspected shooter next to and in the back seat of a taxi. In both images he is seen wearing a blue, medical-style face mask.
Despite recovering a fingerprint from the Starbucks purchase and sending items for DNA testing, police have yet to publicly identify the suspect.
On Saturday, Minneapolis-based UCare announced its headquarters will be closed next week.
The decision comes after the nonprofit health plan company received a threatening phone call on Friday. UCare spokesperson Wendy Wicks said the firm reported the call to police and that the decision to close its office is out of an “abundance of caution.” UCare employs about 1,600 people.
Fencing was also installed around the headquarters of United Healthcare in Minnetonka. The company did not issue a comment on the fence installation.
Dec. 8
Scuba divers are again seen at a Central Park pond. Police decline to comment on the investigation.
Dec. 9
9:14 a.m. — Police in Altoona, Pennsylvania, are dispatched to a McDonald’s to respond to reports of a male matching the description of the suspect in the shooting.
Police arrest 26-year-old Luigi Nicholas Mangione with a weapon consistent with the gun used to kill the head of the largest U.S. health insurer, New York’s police commissioner said Monday.
Late Monday, Manhattan prosecutors filed murder and other charges against Mangione, according to an online court docket. He remained jailed in Pennsylvania, where he was charged with possession of an unlicensed firearm, forgery and providing false identification to police.