NEW YORK – The masked gunman who stalked and killed the top of one in all the biggest U.S. medical health insurance corporations on a Manhattan sidewalk used ammunition with the words “deny,” “defend” and “depose,” a police official said Thursday.
The official was not authorized to publicly discuss details of the continued investigation and spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity.
UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, 50, died Wednesday in an ambush as he walked to the corporate's annual investor conference at a Hilton hotel in Midtown, just blocks from tourist attractions similar to Radio City Music Hall and the Museum of Modern Type removed.
The words on the ammunition could have been a reference to strategies utilized by insurance firms to avoid paying damages.
Investigators recovered several 9mm shell casings outside the hotel and a cellphone from the alley through which the shooter fled, NYPD Chief Detective Joseph Kenny said earlier.
The murder and the shooter's movements within the minutes before and after were captured by a few of the quite a few surveillance cameras in that a part of town.
Investigators consider, based on surveillance video and evidence collected on the scene, that the shooter had not less than some firearms training and experience with firearms and that the weapon was equipped with a silencer, the official said.
1 from 10
Investigators are also looking into whether the suspect had prepositioned a bicycle as a part of an escape plan, the official said. The suspect fled on a bicycle and was last seen riding into Central Park.
Authorities conducted DNA and fingerprint evaluation on items found nearby, including a water bottle they consider the suspect could have discarded, the official said.
Surveillance camera video showed the gunman approach Thompson from behind, point his pistol and fire several shots. He barely paused to clear a temporary weapons jam because the dying health manager fell to the bottom.
Other surveillance cameras recorded the early stages of the shooter's escape. He was seen fleeing the block across a pedestrian mall after which escaping on his bicycle. Police used drones, helicopters and dogs in an intensive search, however the killer's whereabouts remained unknown.
Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch said that while investigators haven’t yet determined a motive, the shooting was not a random act of violence.
“Many people walked past the suspect, but he appeared to be waiting for his intended target,” Tisch said at a news conference Wednesday.
“It appears from the video that he is knowledgeable about firearms as he was able to troubleshoot the malfunctions fairly quickly,” Kenny said.
Police released several surveillance images of the person, who was wearing a hooded jacket and a mask that covered most of his face and wouldn’t have drawn attention on a chilly winter day. Some of the photos were taken at a Starbucks coffee shop shortly before the shooting.
“Brian was a valued colleague and friend to all who worked with him,” the Minnetonka, Minn.-based insurer’s parent company, UnitedHealth Group Inc., said in an announcement. “We are working closely with the NYPD 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 who had threatened him.” She didn’t provide details but suggested the threats could have been related to insurance coverage issues.
Eric Werner, the police chief within the Minneapolis suburb where Thompson lived, said his department had not received any reports of threats against the manager.
Investigators also searched Thompson's hotel room, interviewed his colleagues at UnitedHealthcare and checked his social media, Kenny said.
Police initially said the shooter rode a motorcycle from town's bike-sharing program CitiBike into Central Park. However, a spokesman for this system operator Lyft said law enforcement officials informed the corporate Wednesday afternoon that the bike was not from the CitiBike fleet.
Healthcare giant UnitedHealth Group held its annual meeting with investors to update Wall Street on the corporate's direction and expectations for the approaching 12 months. The company ended the conference early after Thompson's death.
Thompson, a father of two sons, had been with the corporate since 2004 and served as CEO for greater than three years.
UnitedHealthcare is the biggest provider of Medicare Advantage plans within the United States, administering medical health insurance coverage for employers and state and federally funded Medicaid programs.
Governor of Minnesota. Tim Waltz posted on social platform X that the state “directs our prayers to Brian’s family and the UnitedHealthcare team.”
“This is terrible news and a terrible loss for Minnesota’s economy and health care,” the Democrat wrote.
___
Balsamo reported from Washington.
Originally published:
image credit : www.mercurynews.com