UnitedHealthCare CEO Brian Thompson was shockingly gunned down outside of a New York City hotel on Wednesday, as he prepared to enter the hotel for the company’s investor day. The murder was caught on surveillance video, as the shooter appeared to use a gun with a silencer, before fleeing on a bike.
Now, police are reportedly “closing in” on a suspect in the killing.
CNN reported Thursday that police have searched a hostel on the Upper West Side of Manhattan, where they believe the suspect was staying with two other men. The hostel was located at 103rd and Amsterdam Avenue.
A different story, from ABC News, found that police appeared to be “closing in on an identity of the man.”
Police appear to be closing in on an identity of the man suspected of gunning down UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson in Midtown Manhattan, sources told ABC News on Thursday.
More: https://t.co/opVCV2p9Gu pic.twitter.com/vu1aRTib7u
— ABC News Live (@ABCNewsLive) December 5, 2024
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Police have said that they believe the killing was premeditated, but that the shooter was not a “professional killer.” New video was also released of the suspect on a bike, heading into Central Park. The park is between where the shooting took place and the hostel that was searched by police.
At the crime scene, a bottle and wrapper were left behind, which included possible DNA evidence, police said. Also found at the scene were bullet casings with words on them, including the words “deny,” “defend” and “depose.” This was scene as an indication that Thompson was shot by someone angry at the insurance industry, and at UnitedHealthCare specifically.
Also Thursday, the media released the first images that appear to show the suspect’s exposed face.
BREAKING: Newly released photos reveal suspect’s full face in NYC killing of UnitedHealth exec Brian Thompson https://t.co/zROhQj91UB pic.twitter.com/giMQT7Msxf
— 1010 WINS on 92.3 FM (@1010WINS) December 5, 2024
This led to speculation that the killer must not be a professional, mostly because no professional hitman would be so careless as to allow his face to be shown near security cameras. However, there has been some doubt raised over whether “hitmen,” as shown by the movies, really exist. Murder-for-hire plots, in which someone hires an acquintance to carry out a murder, are more common, but outside of organized crime and despotic government regimes, actual professional killers are mostly a myth.
Photo courtesy of Political Tribune media library.
