Police are closing in on a suspect in the “brazen, targeted” shooting of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson Wednesday morning.
New York police have searched the HI New York City Hostel in the Upper West SIde where they believe the suspected shooter was staying, according to CNN. Investigators believe the suspect checked into the hostel using a fake New Jersey ID, the New York Post reports, citing law enforcement sources.
“We are fully cooperating with the N.Y.P.D. and, as this is an active investigation, cannot comment at this time,” Danielle Norris, a spokeswoman for the hostel’s parent company Hostelling International USA, said in a statement.
Authorities have also published images of the suspected shooter in which he isn’t wearing a mask.
Investigators, meanwhile, found bullet casings at the scene with the words “deny,” “defend” and “depose” written on them, ABC News reports. They also recovered a candy wrapper and water bottle believed to belong to the suspect. Investigators have been able to lift one smudged fingerprint from the bottle, CNN reports.
The words are similar to a popular phrase in the insurance industry: “Deny, delay, defend.”
A 2020 book by Jay Feinman about the insurance industry bears a similar title: Delay Deny Defend: Why Insurance Companies Don’t Pay Claims and What You Can Do About It. The book describes itself as an “expose of insurance injustice and a plan for consumers and lawmakers to fight back.”
Feinman did not comment when contacted by The Independent.
Fingerprint and DNA tests are continuing.
The New York Police Department is also urging residents to continue sending in tips. Officers searched a Long Island Railroad train on Thursday — and while it didn’t turn up any evidence, they emphasized the importance of information from the public.
“The train stopped. They searched the train and nothing was found,” a spokesperson for the police department said. “We are getting Crime Stoppers tips...It’s helping. We are following up on every single tip that’s come in.”
The shooter had been hiding behind a car outside the Hilton hotel in Midtown Manhattan for about five minutes when Thompson exited Wednesday, police said. The suspect was spotted at a nearby Starbucks on West 56th Street and 6th Avenue shortly before the shooting.
Police said Thompson’s schedule for Wednesday was widely known, ABC News reports.
The shooter, who was wearing a mask, approached Thompson from behind and shot him in the right calf and back at 6:46am.
Video of the incident shows the shooter walking up behind Thompson before shooting him multiple times, then calmly crossing the street. The footage also shows there was a bystander who witnessed the shooting and ran away as the suspect fired at Thompson.
Police do not believe the shooter was a professional.
He fled on an e-bike, according to authorities.
Police described the shooter as a white man wearing a black hoodie and black pants and carrying a gray backpack. It’s believed the suspect used a gun with a silencer. A food cart vendor near the scene of the shooting told NBC News that he did not hear any gunshots.
There is a $10,000 reward for information on the suspect.
New York City Mayor Eric Adams said police are still finding more “pieces to the puzzle” as of Thursday.
“We feel that we’re moving at a steady pace, and we’re going to have someone apprehended,” Adams said.
UnitedHealth Group, which owns the insurance company, was holding its annual investor conference Wednesday. The company canceled the event following the shooting. Thompson was scheduled to speak there at 8am.
Thompson’s wife, Paulette Thompson, told NBC News her husband had received threats.
“There had been some threats,” she told the outlet. “Basically, I don’t know, a lack of [health insurance] coverage? I don’t know details. I just know that he said there were some people that had been threatening him.”
She added: “I can’t really give a thoughtful response right now. I just found this out and I’m trying to console my children.”
UnitedHealth Group was aware of concerning threats against its executives ahead of Wednesday’s shooting, CNN reports, citing sources with knowledge of the investigation.
The two homes, which are less than a mile apart in Maple Grove, Minnesota, were targeted on Wednesday evening, The Minnesota Star-Tribune reports. The threat was sent via e-mail to multiple people who then notified police. Thompson and his wife had been living in separate homes in Maple Grove for years, The Wall Street Journal reports.
The threats were not credible and considered an instance of “swatting,” police said.
“No devices or suspicious items were located during the investigation,” a Maple Grove police spokesperson said in a statement. ”The case is considered an active investigation, while the incident appears to be a hoax.”
