The gunman who fatally shot UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson outside a New York City hotel on Wednesday is still at large – but police appear to be honing in on the suspect’s identity as their search intensifies.
Thompson, a 50-year-old Minnesota resident, was due to speak at an investor meeting when he was gunned down at point-blank range around 6:45 a.m. outside the New York Hilton Midtown on 6th Avenue in what police are calling a “targeted attack.”
The suspect was last seen cycling out of Central Park on West 85th Street just before 7 a.m. Wednesday about 12 minutes after cycling into the park on an e-bike, according to footage obtained by NBC News.
As a manhunt continues a day later, police have asked the public for help and offered a $10,000 reward for information, but there are still many unanswered questions about who the suspect is and where he could be.
Who is the shooter?
The gunman was lying in wait for Thompson outside the Hilton on Wednesday morning before opening fire. His name has not been released, nor is there a clear picture of his face. At this point, nobody has taken responsibility for the slaying.
The suspect was captured on camera at a nearby Starbucks. Images from surveillance footage show the suspect to be a man wearing all black, with a black face mask, black and white sneakers and carrying a gray backpack.
Police say the attack on Thompson was targeted but it’s unclear if the two knew each other.
“He appeared to wait for his intended target,” New York Police Department commissioner Jessica Tisch said Wednesday during a press conference. “I want to be clear: At this time, every indication is that this was a premeditated, preplanned, targeted attack.”
During his escape, the gunman appeared to drop a water bottle he had purchased from Starbucks 30 minutes before the attack, which could provide vital DNA evidence in helping identify the suspect.
The alleged killer left behind a cryptic message, with the words “deny,” “depose,” and “defend” were allegedly inscribed on live rounds and shell casing left outside.
What was the motive?
Police have not released an official motive for the shooting - but many have speculated the killing might be connected to Thompson’s role in running one of the nation’s largest health insurance companies.
Police described the killing as a “targeted attack,” and it was later revealed that the gunman left behind a cryptic message at the scene.
According to police sources, the three words “deny,” “depose” and “defend” were carved into the live rounds and shell casings found outside the Hilton Hotel.
Several of the bullets were each inscribed with one of the three words.
The words are similar to the book Delay, Deny, Defend: Why Insurance Companies Don’t Pay Claim and What You Can Do About It by Rutgers Law School Jay Feinman which offers a scathing analysis of the U.S. insurance industry.
Why did he not have security with him?
Thompson was the chief executive of UnitedHealthcare, the insurance wing of parent company UnitedHealth Group, Inc.
He had worked at the Minnetonka, Minnesota-based company for two decades and led its insurance division since 2021. He was one of the company’s highest-paid executives, with a $10.2 million annual compensation package.
His wife said he had recently received threats from angry customers over complaints she believed may have had to do with “a lack of coverage.”
“I don’t know details,” Paulette Thompson told NBC News. “I just know that he said there were some people that had been threatening him.”
Despite the alleged threats, Thompson did not have security with him on the morning of the shooting.
However, the Associated Press reported that Thompson kept a low profile, with UnitedHealth Group Inc.’s CEO Andrew Witty taking on a more public-facing role that included testifying before Congress.
Eric Werner, chief of police for Maple Grove, Minnesota,- where Thomspon lived - said his department had not received any reports of threats against the executive.