Police are looking for the shooter who killed Brian Thompson, the CEO of UnitedHealthcare, in what they called a daring and premeditated attack in the centre of New York City.
Just before 7 a.m. on Wednesday, Thompson was heading to the Hilton Midtown to attend his company’s annual investor conference when New York police commissioner Jessica Tisch reported that the masked shooter was “lying in wait” outside the hotel.
CNN uncovered surveillance footage that showed a dark-hooded man with a grey backpack appearing several feet behind the CEO as he approached the building and shot him in the back.
Then, stumbling forward, Thompson turned to the attacker and collapsed on the ground. According to the footage, the shooter approached the CEO calmly and kept shooting, pausing briefly to clear a jam with the rifle before firing once more.
Less than 30 minutes after the event, Thompson was declared dead, and the hunt for the shooter, who escaped into Central Park, is still ongoing Thursday.
Police are looking through security footage and looking for hints that the shooter could have left behind when he fled the area.
According to ABC News, which cited police sources, the shot shells retrieved at the shooting site had the phrases “deny,” “defend,” and “depose.”
CNN has reached out to the New York Police Department, which declined to comment.
The ABC report has not been independently verified by CNN.
What we know about the murder, the current investigation, and reports of threats against business executives is as follows:
Police explore clues left behind after ‘premeditated’ attack
Although the cause of the shooting is still unknown, authorities have called it a “premeditated, preplanned, targeted attack” near West 53rd Street and 6th Avenue in Midtown Manhattan, which is only a few streets from Rockefeller Centre, the site of Wednesday night’s annual Christmas tree lighting ceremony.
Following the shooting, the attacker escaped through an ally, crossed the street from the Hilton, and mounted an electric bike on 55th Street before riding north on 6th Avenue into Central Park, where he was last seen at 6:48 a.m., investigators told CNN.
The gunman’s bike and weapon have not been located despite authorities searching the area. However, they have discovered a phone and a bottle of water that the suspect may have dropped as he ran down the alley.
According to a senior police officer, footage from a nearby Starbucks shows the attacker purchasing two energy bars and a bottle of water about 30 minutes prior to the shooting.
According to investigators, the phone may include fingerprints, DNA, and other identifying information if police specialists are able to unlock it. It may provide information on conversations and searches prior to the incident, even if it is a “burner phone.” Investigators believe there may be DNA evidence in the water bottle as well.
According to law enforcement officials informed on the case, authorities believe the suspect may have ridden the subway from the Upper West Side to Midtown, so they are also investigating whether the bike was prepositioned.
According to the sources, investigators also have footage of the guy on the Upper West Side carrying what looks to be an electric bicycle battery.
The gunman, according to police, is a “light-skinned male” who was last seen with “a very distinctive grey backpack, a black face mask, black and white trainers and a light brown or cream-coloured jacket.” Up to $10,000 is being offered in exchange for information that results in the suspect’s apprehension and conviction.
Experts say the shooter seems to be a skilled marksman who utilised a silencer.
According to police officials who spoke to CNN on condition of anonymity due to the continuing investigation, detectives believe the suspect operated slowly, carefully, and in a manner that showed he was an expert marksman, even though a weapon has not yet been identified.
Although it looks like the gun malfunctioned with every shot, according to firearm experts who have seen the footage, the attacker reacted and confidently removed the jam in the weapon, as if the suspect had received guns instruction from the military or law enforcement.
At a news conference on Wednesday, NYPD Chief of Detectives Joe Kenny stated, “It does seem that he is proficient in the use of firearms as he was able to clear the malfunctions pretty quickly.”
According to a law enforcement officer and firearm specialists, the pistol also seemed to have a silencer added, which can cause firearms to malfunction and jam unless placed with precise modifications.
“Jamming” means that once a bullet is fired, the gun does not load another one into the chamber. In order to clear the “jam” and load another round, the shooter was observed racking the slide back.
According to NYPD Commissioner Tisch, the shooting was a “brazen, targeted attack.” The gunman waited for a number of minutes, then stepped onto the sidewalk from behind a car and aimed at Thompson while he was in full view of other pedestrians and passing cars.
“In this case, we won’t stop until we find and capture the shooter.” Tisch
Wife Claims the CEO was Threatened
The largest insurance business in America, UnitedHealth Group, the parent company of UnitedHealthcare, informed CNN that it was aware of alarming threats against its top executives, even though police have not disclosed a motive for Thompson’s shooting.
The insider claimed that although Thompson’s name was not mentioned by name, the threats did include targeting senior executives within the business.
“There had been some threats” against her husband, Paulette, Thompson’s widow, said NBC in an interview.
“Basically, I don’t know, a lack of coverage? Details are unknown to me,” she remarked. “All I know is that he claimed that some individuals had been threatening him.”
Paulette Thompson refused to speak to CNN about the dangers she detailed.
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