New York Police community affairs officers enter the HI New York City Hostel, Thursday, Dec. 5, 2024, in New York, where police say the suspect in the killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson may have stayed.
Yuki Iwamura/AP
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Yuki Iwamura/AP
The manhunt for the person responsible for the fatal shooting of the head of one of the country’s largest health insurers in New York City entered its third day Friday as investigators parsed newly discovered clues.
UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson was in Manhattan for an annual investor conference when early Wednesday morning, he arrived at a Midtown Hilton hotel and the suspect walked up to him from behind and fired off several rounds.
Thompson, 50, was struck “at least once in the back and at least once in the right calf,” NYPD Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch said Wednesday.
The suspect had been waiting outside the hotel and fled the scene on foot before getting on a bike. The suspect was last seen, via surveillance video, entering Central Park, which is more than 800 acres.
NYPD released photos of the suspect with a hood and a mask that was pulled down in some instances.
🚨UPDATE: Below are photos of a person of interest wanted for questioning regarding the Midtown Manhattan homicide on Dec. 4. This does not appear to be a random act of violence; all indications are that it was a premediated, targeted attack.
The full investigative efforts of… pic.twitter.com/K3kzC4IbtS
— NYPD NEWS (@NYPDnews) December 5, 2024
“This does not appear to be a random act of violence; all indications are that it was a [sic] premediated, targeted attack,” NYPD said.
Law enforcement officials have not announced a formal motive for the shooting. But investigators found casings of the bullets on the scene with the words “deny,” “defend” and “depose” written on them, and police were exploring whether the words, used by health insurance industry critics, indicate a motive.
UnitedHealth Group released a statement late Thursday, saying it has been “touched by the huge outpouring of kindness and support in the hours since this horrific crime took place.”
It is aiming to support “Brian’s family” and ensure “the safety of our employees; and working with law enforcement to bring the perpetrator to justice,” it said.
Since Wednesday’s shooting, the company has faced a deluge of online complaints, outrage over the state of U.S. healthcare, and anger over denied medical claims.