Internet searches for the book "Delay, Deny, Defend" spiked after authorities discovered that bullets used in the killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson had been engraved with the three words.
Searches for "delay deny defend book" began spiking around 6 a.m. Thursday, and after a brief dip, continued to rise in the hours since, according to Google Trends.
Related searches included "delay deny defend meaning" and "bullet," which saw smaller but increased search patterns around the same time.
Prior to Thursday, the search only saw a small bump in mid-November according to a query as far back as Nov. 5, but otherwise popped up little to no times.
The searches come after authorities discovered live 9-millimeter rounds and three discharged casings engraved with words "deny," "depose," and "defend," as reported by the Associated Press. The words appear to resemble the title of Jay Feinman's book "Delay, Deny, Defend," which criticizes the practices of insurance companies.
Re: media inquiries: No comment
— Jay Feinman (@JayFeinman) December 5, 2024
Feinman publicly shared that he would be offering "no comment" on the bullets' engravings in a post to X Thursday.
Thompson was shot multiple times and killed in an apparent targeted attack Wednesday morning in New York City. Video footage of the attack shows the gunman shooting the CEO in the back, before Thompson falls to the ground and is shot again by the gunman.
A motive has not yet been identified for the attack, however, Thompson's wife said that he had been receiving "threats," as reported by NBC News.
The suspect was described by police as a light-skinned male wearing a light brown or cream colored jacket, a black face mask and black and white sneakers, and carrying a gray backpack. The gunman is believed to have escaped on an e-bike.
