Day 3: Manhunt continues for suspect in UnitedHealthcare CEO's killing

• UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson was fatally shot in New York City on Wednesday, the police said.
• The NYPD said Thompson, 50, appeared to be killed in a targeted attack.
• Police released new images of the suspect Thursday.

Images released on Thursday by the NYPD gave the clearest picture yet of the suspect in the fatal shooting of the CEO of UnitedHealthcare, Brian Thompson.

The insurance executive was fatally shot outside Manhattan's New York Hilton Midtown hotel early Wednesday morning in what the police said appeared to be "a brazen, targeted attack."

Friday marks the third day of an intense manhunt for the shooting suspect, whose image was captured on surveillance cameras in the hours before Thompson was shot multiple times on the sidewalk outside the hotel.

Thompson was set to speak at UnitedHealth Group's 8 a.m. investor conference when a hooded gunman opened fire from behind, striking him at least once in the back and at least once in the right calf, the police said.

"This does not appear to be a random act of violence," the New York Police Department's commissioner, Jessica Tisch, told reporters Wednesday at a press conference hours after the shooting, which the police said took place at 6:46 a.m. outside 1335 6th Avenue.

"It appears the suspect was lying in wait for several minutes," Tisch said.

The police said the gunman fled the scene first on foot and then on an electric bike.

The suspect, identified from surveillance footage, was seen on street surveillance footage riding the bike into Central Park on Wednesday morning, the police said. The NYPD is offering a $10,000 reward for tips leading to the gunman's arrest.

The manhunt continued into Friday, a day after police released stills from surveillance video. The new images showed the suspect's face unmasked for the first time.

Investigators are still pursuing additional leads. According to multiple reports, they are conducting forensic tests on a discarded cell phone, protein bar wrapper, and water bottle in hopes they'll yield DNA or fingerprint evidence.

How he arrived in New York is also becoming clearer.

According to multiple reports, authorities believe he may have traveled to the city ten days before the shooting, on November 24, on a bus that originated in Atlanta and dropped him off at Manhattan's main bus depot, the Port Authority Bus Terminal. It was not yet clear where along the route he boarded the bus.

The new surveillance video images were captured at a hostel on New York's Upper West Side, a law enforcement official told CNN, when an employee asked the man to lower his face mask.

"That little flirtation between the two of them, in some good-humored way, actually yielded what is so far the most significant clue to identifying him," CNN's chief law enforcement and intelligence analyst, John Miller, said.

The new photos will speed the chase considerably, Salvatore Tudisco, a retired NYPD homicide detective, told BI.

Tudisco led the city's last big manhunt for a murdered CEO, Gokada founder Fahim Saleh, whose killer was captured in three days by traces on credit card, cell phone, and surveillance camera evidence.

"That's the best option — to send it across the country, and someone will know him," the ex-detective said of the latest images.

A facial-recognition trace will be less of an option, he added, because the hostel surveillance images do not show the suspect's full face.

"The ears are missing. The eyes, too," he said. "Facial recognition works better when the perp is facing forward."

Investigators can still try to run the photo through state driver's license and arrest databases, he said, though some states require a judge to issue a warrant before state drivers licenses can be used as evidence in an arrest and beyond.

On Friday, The New York Times reported that the suspect used a fake New Jersey ID to book a room at the hostel, citing an unnamed senior law enforcement official.

Shooter was 'proficient in the use of firearms,' police said

UnitedHealth Group, the parent company of UnitedHealthcare, said in a statement, "We are deeply saddened and shocked at the passing of our dear friend and colleague Brian Thompson, the CEO of UnitedHealthcare."

"Brian was a highly respected colleague and friend to all who worked with him," the statement said. "We are working closely with the New York Police Department and ask for your patience and understanding during this difficult time. Our hearts go out to Brian's family and all who were close to him."

The NYPD's chief of detectives, Joseph Kenny, said at the press conference that the shooter arrived on 6th Avenue about five minutes before Thompson.

"The shooter steps onto the sidewalk from behind the car. He ignores numerous other pedestrians, approaches the victim from behind, and shoots him in the back," Kenny said. "The shooter then walks toward the victim and continues to shoot."

Kenny added that the shooter's weapon appeared to jam during the attack.

"From watching the video, it does seem that he's proficient in the use of firearms, as he was able to clear the malfunctions pretty quickly," Kenny said.

A law-enforcement source with knowledge of the matter told BI that the surveillance footage showed a hooded gunman dressed in black with a gray backpack initially opening fire from about 20 feet behind Thompson as the CEO walked in the direction of the hotel.

"He definitely knew where he was going to be," the source said of the shooter.

The law-enforcement source, who is not authorized to talk to the press, said the gun appeared to be equipped with a silencer.

The police said officers found Thompson unconscious and unresponsive two minutes after the shooting. Emergency responders rushed him to Mount Sinai Hospital, where he was pronounced dead at 7:12 a.m.

Police have not identified a motive

The shooting occurred blocks from Midtown holiday tourism landmarks, including Radio City Music Hall and Rockefeller Center, whose Christmas tree lighting took place Wednesday night.

By late Wednesday morning, six evidence cups remained on the taped-off section of the sidewalk where the shooting happened.

"That's covering the shell casings," an officer at the scene told BI, declining to give their name because they were not authorized to talk to the media.

UnitedHealth Group canceled its "investor day" conference shortly after reports of the shooting broke.

Investigators have not yet determined a motive for the killing.

Kenny said investigators were combing through Thompson's social media and interviewing employees and family members and would be talking to law enforcement in Minnesota, where Thompson lived and where UnitedHealth Group and UnitedHealthcare are based.

Thompson's wife, Paulette Thompson, told NBC News in an interview that her husband had been receiving threats.

"Basically, I don't know, a lack of coverage?" she said. "I don't know details. I just know that he said there were some people that had been threatening him."

The police department in his hometown of Maple Grove, Minnesota, told BI it hadn't been notified of any threats he might have received. Theresa Keehn, the Maple Grove police administrator, initially said Maple Grove had no record of calls for service to his house, but the department later said it had responded to a 2018 call from Paulette Thompson. An incident report said she had been walking to bed when she saw the front door deadbolt turn and grew afraid someone was inside the house. The police did not find anyone inside the house.

An unnamed senior law enforcement official told NBC News that shell cases found at the scene were inscribed with the words "deny," "defend," and "depose." BI has not independently confirmed the description of the evidence, and an NYPD spokesperson didn't return a request for comment.

Jay M. Feinman, an author and legal professor who specializes in insurance law, torts, and contract law, wrote a similarly titled book "Delay Deny Defend: Why Insurance Companies Don't Pay Claims and What You Can Do About It."

The book is dubbed an exposé of insurance injustice and explains how people can be more careful when shopping for insurance policies and what to do when pursuing a disputed claim.

The NYPD said Thompson arrived in New York City on Monday and was staying at a hotel across the street from where he was shot.

Police in Maple Grove, Minnesota, told BI homes of Thompson and his wife in a suburb outside Minneapolis were targeted with fake bomb threats Wednesday evening, more than 13 hours after the shooting.

Thompson was remembered as a 'hardworking Midwest guy.'

Thompson spent 20 years at UnitedHealth Group and served as CEO of UnitedHealthcare, the health-benefits unit, since April 2021.

While announcing his promotion, the company said Thompson would "drive continued growth across the global, employer, individual, specialty, and government benefits business while continuing the company's focus on ensuring access to high-quality, affordable healthcare."

Leaders in the healthcare industry shared their condolences in the hours after Thompson's death.

UnitedHealth's shares were broadly unchanged after the shooting. They've gained about 12% in the past 12 months, less than the 32% increase in the S&P 500 but outperforming competitors including CVS Health, Humana, and Elevance Health. During its third-quarter results in October, it gave what UBS called a "more conservative than usual" outlook for fiscal 2025. Ahead of Wednesday's investor day, it gave more detailed guidance for next year, forecasting revenue of $450 billion to $455 billion and adjusted earnings of $29.50 to $30 a share. The company also suffered a ransomware attack that disrupted pharmacy deliveries earlier this year.

By Wednesday afternoon, UnitedHealth Group had removed the names of its executives from its website, an archived version of its site shows. Some executives also appeared to have deleted their LinkedIn profiles, though it's not clear when.

Thompson had previously served as CEO of the group's government programs, running its programs for Medicare and Medicaid recipients.

Minnesota's governor, Tim Walz, the 2024 Democratic vice-presidential nominee, said in a statement on the social-media site X that the shooting death was "horrifying news and a terrible loss for the business and health care community in Minnesota."

"Minnesota is sending our prayers to Brian's family and the UnitedHealthcare team," Walz said.

Thompson's former brother-in-law, Bassel El-Kasaby, told Business Insider that Thompson was "a good guy, very successful and very humble — just a decent, hardworking Midwest guy."

"Whoever did this is a coward and a loser," El-Kasaby said.

Correction: December 4, 2024 — An earlier version of this story misstated Thompson's work history at United Health. He worked at the company for 20 years but was not an executive there for 20 years.

Update December 6, 2024: This story was updated as the manhunt continued.