In the darkness before dawn, the killer stepped onto a sidewalk, took aim and opened fire.
His first shot hit the back of the target he had been stalking, the multi-millionaire CEO of the largest health insurance company in the world.
Then the shooter cleared a jam in his weapon and fired more rounds before escaping on an E-bike.
Who is this brazen assassin now on the run? An aggrieved health insurance policy holder or a cold-blooded hit man? Or will some other profile and motive soon be revealed?
Here’s everything police and witnesses have reported so far about the tall, thin, light-skinned killer dressed in black who struck before sunrise in one of the busiest neighborhoods of Manhattan:
The Shooter and the Hit
Surveillance photos released by police show the suspected gunman stopping before the attack at a nearby Starbucks where he reportedly purchased coffee, water and nutrition bars.
Later, surveillance video shows the gunman “lying in wait” for around five minutes on 54th Street and Avenue of the Americas outside the Hilton, blending into the morning buzz of the busy commercial and theater district.
The shooter is dressed all in black: hat, jacket, ski mask, pants, sneakers (with white soles) and a gray backpack.
Police describe him as 6’1” with a tall, thin build. Sources told ABC News Thursday morning that authorities appear to be closing in on the gunman’s identity and are seeking a warrant for a place in the city where he may have been staying.
CNN also reported Thursday that police searched a hostel on the Upper West Side where the shooter could have stayed, though it’s not clear what—if anything—the search turned up.
The shooter’s target, CEO Brian Thompson, was scheduled to speak at a UnitedHealthCare investor conference in the Hilton and his schedule was widely known.
The shooter appears to have staked out Thompson at the hotel entrance on 54th Street.
Around 6:40 a.m., surveillance video shows the assassin strike, appearing to use a classic “Isosceles stance” with feet planted shoulder-wide and both hands on a gun. Standing behind Thompson who is walking away, the killer shoots his target in the back, methodically clearing a gun jam and then firing again. The CEO collapses, fatally wounded in the back and calf.
The weapon, equipped with a silencer, left witnesses baffled—no one even heard gunfire amid the morning chaos
Police recovered three spent shell casings, three live rounds at the scene and, intriguingly, a dropped cell phone in a nearby alley where the shooter fled on foot.
The shell casings were inscribed with the words “deny,” “defend,” and “depose,” according to ABC News. A New York Times report separately said the words found on casings included “delay” and “deny,” noting that they could be “possible references to ways that health insurance companies seek to avoid paying patients’ claims.”
A 2010 book on the subject was titled Delay, Deny, Defend: Why Insurance Companies Don’t Pay Claims and What You Can Do About It. Its author, Rutgers Law School Professor Emeritus Jay M. Feinman, declined the Daily Beast’s request for comment.
Police also found a water bottle and a nutrition bar wrapper in the trash where the suspect waited for Thompson, according to reports.
Getaway on Two Wheels
In an escape worthy of The Day of the Jackal, the Peacock suspense series about a professional assassin starring Eddie Redmayne, police say the shooter fled the scene on foot and an E-bike.
Cops initially said the killer rode off on a Citi Bike—part of a fleet of rentable bicycles that are outfitted with GPS technology—but law enforcement later backtracked and said the earlier information about the bike model was incorrect.
The gunman’s getaway route first took him on foot through an alleyway next to the famous Ziegfeld Theater across the street from the Hilton, then he hopped onto a bike, riding half a mile up Avenue of the Americas into Central Park where he was last seen on surveillance video at 6:48 a.m., according to ABC News.
The Target
Thompson was a married father of two from Minnetonka, Minnesota, with a long career in healthcare.
He was a 20-year veteran of UnitedHealthcare, which he joined after seven years as a management consultant at PWC. Thompson worked at the helm of different UHC business segments, including the Medicare division, before becoming CEO of the company worth $610 billion and ranked #8 on Fortune’s Global 500 list.
Thompson reportedly made around $10 million per year and had been accused of insider trading in a lawsuit brought by the City of Hollywood Firefighters’ Pension Fund, the Daily Mail reported, which centered on allegations that he had made $15.1 million by unloading shares before a Department of Justice probe into UnitedHealthcare was announced.
Democratic Senator Elizabeth Warren had asked the SEC to investigate the claims, Dow Jones reported. UnitedHealthcare had filed a motion to dismiss the case a week ago, public records show.
Why Was Thompson Killed?
New York Chief of Detectives Joseph Kenny refused to speculate on Wednesday morning. “The motive for this murder is currently unknown but based on the evidence we have so far, it does appear the victim was specifically targeted,” Kenny told reporters. “But at this point, we do not know why.”
Thompson’s widow, Paulette, revealed that he’d received threats—possibly linked to his role running the a giant healthcare insurance company with 52 million customers around the world and 90 percent in the U.S.
“There had been some threats,” she told NBC News. “Basically, I don’t know, a lack of coverage? I don’t know details. I just know that he said there were some people that had been threatening him.”
Could the assassin be a disgruntled policy-holder enraged over denied claims? An employee nursing a grudge? Or was this corporate rivalry or sabotage?
Experts point to the killer’s shooting stance, use of a silencer (which is illegal in New York) and skill clearing his weapon malfunction as potential evidence of an experienced marksman or even a professional.
But detectives seem more inclined to believe that too many mistakes were made for the crime to have been a professional hit.
Would a seasoned assassin allow his likeness to be captured on Starbucks surveillance photos, drop his phone, or leave behind DNA or fingerprints on a water bottle and nutrition bar wrapper? These clues suggest that the killer could have been an amateur driven by rage, revenge, or some other motive.
The Big Picture
Was this murder the ultimate act of fury against America’s health insurance system? Or a crime of passion? Or the calculated elimination of a high-powered executive? No one knows, yet.
What’s clear is the shooter’s boldness—a broad-daylight murder on one of the busiest streets in Manhattan. And now, an epic manhunt is underway in America’s biggest city.
Police are offering a $10,000 reward for information and urged the public to call Crime Stoppers at 1-800-577-TIPS with any tips.
