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UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson was shot dead in Midtown Manhattan. Police are using surveillance footage, facial recognition, and forensic evidence to identify and apprehend the suspect.
UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson (L)/ His attacker (R) (Photos: New York City Police Department via AP)
Moments before UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson was shot dead in broad daylight in New York on Wednesday, his attacker appeared to be “lying in wait for several minutes”. He then was seen approaching Thompson from behind and opening fire, the Associated Press quoted New York City Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch as saying.
“Many people passed the suspect, but he appeared to wait for his intended target,” Tisch said, adding that the shooting “does not appear to be a random act of violence.”
Fifty-year-old Brian Thompson was shot from a close range at nearly 6.45 am local time, while he was walking alone to the New York Hilton Midtown from a nearby hotel.
The assailant remains at large, sparking a search that included police drones, helicopters and dogs.
As the investigators reviewed a surveillance video, they saw the accused emerging from behind a parked car, pointing a gun at Thompson’s back, and then firing multiple times from several feet away.
The gunman could be seen continuing firing, interrupted by a brief gun jam, as Thompson stumbles forward and falls to the sidewalk. He then walks past Thompson and out of the frame.
Now, the police were taking the help of CCTV videos which captured the shooter wearing a jacket, a face mask and carrying a large backpack.
Soon after his job was done, he fled through Midtown on foot before pedalling an electric bike into Central Park a few blocks away.
BRIAN THOMPSON SHOOTER SPOTTED AT STARBUCKS
Minutes before the shooting, the accused had stopped at a nearby Starbucks, according to additional surveillance photos released by the police.
To nab him, they have now issued a poster showing a surveillance image of the man pointing what appeared to be a gun and another image that appeared to show the same person on a bicycle.
The investigators were also using facial recognition software to try to find a match, BBC reported.
Several nine mm shell casings were also recovered from outside the hotel and a cell phone from the alleyway through which the shooter fled.
They were also searching Thompson’s hotel room, interviewing his UnitedHealthcare colleagues and reviewing his social media, a police official told AP.
Investigators also said they would search Thompson’s room at the nearby Marriott, which is down the street from where the incident took place, according to BBC.
They have also offered a reward of up to $10,000 for information leading to his arrest and conviction.
BRIAN THOMPSON’S WIFE MAKES BIG REVELATIONS
According to a report with NBC News, Thompson’s wife, Paulette Thompson said her husband had told her that “there were some people that had been threatening him”.
Though Paulette did not have details on who the “people” may be, she suggested the threats may have involved issues with insurance coverage.
The killing shook a part of New York City that is normally quiet at that hour, happening about four blocks from where tens of thousands of people were set to gather for Wednesday night’s tree lighting.
