Brian Thompson Updates: New Unmasked Images Released of Smiling UnitedHealthcare CEO Suspect
he NYPD have released new, unmasked images of the suspect who shot and killed UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson in midtown Manhattan on Wednesday morning. The surveillance footage pictures show the suspect smiling, while wearing a black face mask around his neck, and a green, hooded jacket. It is the first time we have seen the suspect without a mask covering his face. Police have not confirmed where the pictures were taken but CNN reports that investigators recently pulled new surveillance images from a hostel on 103rd and Amsterdam Avenue in Manhattan. The suspect, who was reportedly staying in a multi-person room with two other men, appears to have worn his mask most of the time during his stay, but CCTV captured at least one moment where he was unmasked, CNN reported. Police have been hunting the suspect since he fled the murder scene on an e-bike after what they called a “premediated, targeted attack.” Authorities say Thompson’s gunman may have also left a message for investigators on the bullet casings. The words “deny,” “defend” and “depose” were found on three shell casings recovered from the scene, ABC reports.
New York celebrated drop in crime day before UnitedHealthcare CEO murder
A day before the fatal shooting of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, New York City officials announced that crime had fallen by nearly 6 percent in November.
Drops in murder, robbery, and burglary offenses were behind the 5.7 percent decline, according to a New York City Police Department briefing Tuesday.
As part of the announcement, the NYPD said shootings were down by 61 incidents at the same time in 2023 (841 against 902), with 37 fewer victims.
Read in full from Dan Gooding on Newsweek.
No name for suspect yet
The police have yet to reveal the name of the suspect in connection with the Brian Thompson death.
Authorities have also said that they are in pursuit of several leads.
Journalists gather outside New York hostel where the suspect reportedly stayed
Dozens of journalists are gathered outside the New York International Hostel in Manhattan – where the UnitedHealthcare CEO suspect reportedly stayed before the murder of Brian Thompson.
In a pictured, shared by the New York Times, a police flier with the surveillance footage pictures of the shooting can be seen pinned to a nearby lamppost.
Shooter ‘proficient in the use of firearms,’ NYPD says
Joseph Kenny, the NYPD chief of detectives said that the person who killed Brian Thompson seemed “proficient in the use of firearms.”
The pistol jammed after the shooter began to fire on Wednesday, but he fixed it quickly—something that indicates his proficiency with the weapon, according to Kenny.
“From watching the video,” Kenny said, “it does seem that he’s proficient in the use of firearms as he was able to clear the malfunctions pretty quickly.”
Police have an ‘image of suspect without the mask’ from hostel
The NYPD finally have a usable image of the UnitedHealthcare CEO suspect without a mask, CNN reports.
Police were able to pull the image from surveillance footage at a hostel on 103rd and Amsterdam Avenue in Manhattan, law enforcement sources say.
He was reportedly staying in a multi-person room with two other men.
The suspect appears to have worn his mask most of the time during his stay, but surveillance footage captured at least one moment where he was unmasked.
NYPD releases new photo of suspect in connection with Thompson’s death
The NYPD has released a new image of the suspect they’re searching for in connection with the killing of Brian Thompson.
Andrew Yang: ‘The killing of Brian Thompson is truly awful’
Former presidential candidate Andrew Yang shared some words about the killing of Brian Thompson.
“The killing of Brian Thompson is truly awful – I feel for his family and friends. I hope the killer is brought to justice as quickly as possible. Violence is never the answer.”
‘Deny,’ ‘defend,’ and ‘depose’ – What it could mean
The unidentified masked shooter who followed and murdered UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson in Manhattan yesterday used ammunition with the words “deny,” “defend,” and “depose,” according to a law enforcement official on Thursday.
According to NYPD Chief of Detectives Joseph Kenny, investigators found multiple 9 mm round casings outside the hotel as well as a smartphone in the passageway through which the gunman escaped.
Some reports indicate that the phrases refer to a book released in 2010 regarding health insurance claims. The book, Delay, Deny, Defend: Why Insurance Companies Don’t Pay Claims and What You Can Do About It, discusses how insurance companies deny requests for medical treatment. Amazon describes it as an “expose of insurance injustice.”
$10,000 reward offered for UnitedHealthcare CEO suspect
Police are offering a $10,000 reward for information that leads to an arrest in the murder of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson.
The New York Police Department have released multiple CCTV images of the suspect who was wearing a hooded jacket with his face mostly covered. He was also carrying a backpack.
If anyone has information about the suspect, contact @NYPDTips at 1(800)577-TIPS.
Police investigating if gunman escaped on unmarked e-bike, not Citi Bike as previously suspected
The NYPD are now investigating if the UnitedHealthcare CEO murder suspect escaped on unmarked e-bike, rather than a Citi Bike as previously suspected.
A spokesman for Lyft, which operates Citi Bike in New York, said yesterday that the gunman did not use Citi Bike, although police have not yet confirmed, the New York Times reports.
Brian Thompson’s killer becomes focus of “deny, defend, depose” crypto
A new memecoin has launched called “Deny. Defend. Depose,” words that were reportedly found inscribed on three bullet casings found at the scene of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson’s murder in midtown Manhattan on Wednesday.
According to crypto trading website Dexscreener, the new coin was created shortly before midnight EST on December 4, with a photograph of the man police are searching for in relation to Thompson’s shooting as its profile picture.
Thompson was gunned down shortly before 7 a.m. on Wednesday by the Hilton Midtown in what the New York Police Department (NYPD) said was likely to have been “a premeditated, preplanned, targeted attack.” First responders rushed the CEO to Mount Sinai West hospital after the attack, where he was pronounced dead at 7:12 a.m. ET. NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch said Thompson was shot in both the back and right calf during the assault.
The Dexscreener exchange shows that as of 5:45 a.m. ET on Thursday 802 people held “Deny. Defend. Depose” coins, which were valued at $0.0479 each, with a total market cap of $79,000.
Memecoins are a form of cryptocurrency that are typically created as a joke or prank, in contrast to more serious online currencies such as Bitcoin and Ethereum. However, on occasion memecoins can pick up significant value as was the case with Dogecoin, which was promoted by celebrities including Elon Musk and Snoop Dogg.
The new currency was created shortly after ABC News reported three shell casings bearing the words “deny,” “defend” and “depose” had been recovered from the murder scene by police. The network cited “police sources” and Newsweek contacted Dexscreener and the NYPD for comment by email and telephone respectively on Thursday outside of regular office hours.
Read the full story by James Bickerton on Newsweek.
NYC councilman says cops working around the clock to catch suspect before holidays
New York City Council member Keith Powers said today that police are working around the clock to catch the Brian Thompson gunman before millions of tourists descend on the city for the holidays.
“It’s scary because it really feels like it was a plotted out attempt to, and obviously, to take someone’s life,” Powers told CNN.
He added that he had “confidence” that police would catch the suspect as he assured visitors the city was safe.
“We want people to be coming into Manhattan, certainly that part of Manhattan. So we want to assure people that there are safety measures in place, and we also have to make sure we apprehend the suspect so that people can have real confidence that he’s not still out there,” he said.
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Mayor Eric Adams: ‘We feel we’re moving at a steady pace’
Mayor Eric Adams said in an interview on Morning Joe that law enforcement was on “the right path” in finding Brian Thompson’s masked killer.
“We feel we’re moving at a steady pace,” Adams said. He also added that he was briefed this morning.
Map reveals how Brian Thompson killing unfolded
UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, 50, was on his way to speak at UnitedHealth Group’s investor conference at the Hilton Hotel, at 1335 Avenue of the Americas, in Midtown Manhattan on Wednesday morning when he was shot and killed.
The suspect was caught on camera at a Starbucks on Sixth Avenue, near the Hilton Hotel, at 6.17am, around 25 minutes before the shooting.
At 6.39am he walked over to the Hilton Hotel where he “lay in wait” for several minutes before Thompson.
After shooting Thomson multiple times, the gunman fled the scene, heading “northbound into an alleyway between 54th Street and 55th Street,” and walked west on Avenue of the Americas, and eventually got onto an electric bike and rode toward Central Park.
Police are now working to use the bike’s GPS system to trace the suspect’s moves after he entered the park.
Police search Manhattan hostel they suspect gunman was staying at
Police have searched a hostel on the Upper West Side of Manhattan as the manhunt for UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson continues.
Investigators believe the suspect may have been staying at the hostel before the shooting, CNN reports.
Details of what was found in the search have not yet been released.
CCTV footage of UnitedHealthcare CEO murder shows shooter was ‘calculated’
The murder of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson appears to have been a professional assassination, a former FBI agent has said.
Jennifer Coffindaffer, who specialized in gangs, narcotics and organized crime in the FBI, was reacting to the killing of Thompson on a New York City street on Wednesday.
“Whoever murdered Brian Thompson was calculated. It was well planned. The killer knows firearms,” Coffindaffer wrote on X, formerly Twitter, on Wednesday.
Read in full from Sean O’Driscoll on Newsweek.
Brian Thompson Shooting Timeline
The manhunt continues for the suspect after the CEO of UnitedHealthcare, Brian Thompson, was fatally shot in New York in what police are calling a “premeditated, preplanned targeted attack.”
This timeline, below, plots how the shooting unfolded…
6:17 a.m.
The suspect is seen at a Starbucks on Sixth Avenue, near the Hilton Hotel. The NYPD released images of the suspect at the Starbucks wearing a hooded jacket with his face mostly covered. He was carrying a backpack.
6:39 a.m.
The suspect arrives at the scene of the shooting outside the Hilton Hotel. Tisch said the gunman was “lying in wait” for several minutes before Thompson arrived at the scene. “Many people passed the suspect, but he appeared to wait for his intended target,” Tisch said.
This image provided by the New York City Police Department shows the suspect sought in the the killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson outside a Manhattan hotel where the health insurer was holding an investor… More AP
6:44 a.m.
Thompson is steps from the Hilton’s entrance for annual investor day in Midtown Manhattan. Police said this is when an assassin wearing a dark hoodie and gray backpack stepped from behind a parked car in the predawn darkness, before pursuing Thompson for a few steps and shooting him with a 9-millimeter pistol. Police said the suspect fired “several rounds,” striking Thompson at least once in the back and at least once in the right calf.
According to CCTV footage, the gun appeared to jam after every shot, with the shooter reloading the weapon. The footage also shows that the suspect continued to shoot at Thompson as he fell to the ground. Kenny, the chief of detectives for the NYPD, declined to say when asked whether he believed the killer was a professional. But he noted the apparent ease with which he cleared a jam while firing the pistol. “It does seem he’s proficient in the use of firearms,” Kenny said.
Meanwhile, James Stejskal, a former Army Special Forces soldier and military historian who reviewed a video of the shooting, told the Wall Street Journal that the gun appeared to be fitted with a silencer and that the shooter appeared well trained in using the weapon.
The suspect fled the scene shortly after the shooting, heading “northbound into an alleyway between 54th Street and 55th Street,” and walked west on Avenue of the Americas, and eventually got onto an electric bike and rode toward Central Park. Kenny said the bike had a GPS system and police are working on gathering more details from the company.
6:46 a.m.
Officers respond to a 911 call of a person shot in front of the Hilton hotel located at 1335 Avenue of the Americas, according to Kenny.
6:48 a.m.
Officers arrive at the scene and find Thompson on the sidewalk in front of the hotel with gunshot wounds to his back and leg. He was taken to the hospital by EMS.
7:12 a.m.
Thompson is pronounced dead at Mount Sinai West hospital.
8:23 a.m.
Maple Grove police arrive at the home of Thompson’s wife, Paulette Thompson, to notify her of the death. Thompson and Paulette had been living in separate homes less than a mile apart in suburban Maple Grove for several years, according to the Wall Street Journal.
She told NBC News on Wednesday her husband had been receiving threats. “There had been some threats,” she said. “Basically, I don’t know, a lack of coverage? I don’t know details. I just know that he said there were some people that had been threatening him.”
The police departments in Maple Grove, where Thompson lived, and in Minnetonka, where UnitedHealth is based, both said they had received no complaints about threats to Thompson, according to the Wall Street Journal.
Thompson was among three United executives named in a May lawsuit filed by a Florida pension fund, alleging the company concealed a Justice Department antitrust investigation from shareholders while insiders sold stock, including $15 million worth of shares held by Thompson personally. He had not responded to the allegations in court prior to his death.
9 a.m.
Andrew Witty, chief executive of UnitedHealth Group, UnitedHealthcare’s parent company, interrupts the proceedings at the investor conference to announce that the event was being canceled due to “a very serious medical situation with one of our team members.”
“And as a result, I’m afraid we’re going to have to bring to a close the event today,” he added. “I’m sure you’ll understand.”
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