JUST IN: UnitedHealthcare CEO’s Assassin Left Written Message On Bullets Used In Murder
The words “deny,” “defend” and “depose” were discovered by investigators on the shell casings found at the scene where Brian Thompson, the CEO of major insurance group UnitedHealthcare, was gunned down, according to a report from ABC News.
Thompson was shot to death at point blank range after he was exiting a Manhattan hotel on Wednesday morning. Disturbing footage of the murder shows a masked gunman in a black sweatshirt shooting the healthcare CEO at least twice, once in the back and once in the right calf, NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch said at a press conference. The victim was transported to a local hospital by emergency workers, where he was pronounced dead at 7:12 a.m.
Investigators have yet to determine a motive, though they are treating the killing as a “targeted attack.”
“Many people passed the suspect, but he appeared to wait for his intended target,” Tisch told reporters. “I want to be clear: At this time, every indication is that this was a premeditated, preplanned, targeted attack.”
Surveillance camera footage shows the gunman firing at Thompson (L) and fleeing the scene (M). Police have also released an image of the suspect at a nearby Starbucks (R)
Thompson, 50, was on his way to a for the UnitedHealthcare investors conference, which was scheduled to start at 8 a.m. The conference was set to take place inside the Hilton hotel he was killed outside of, though he was not staying there.
The CEO’s schedule was widely known, police said.
The shooter arrived at the scene about five minutes before Thompson arrived, NYPD Chief of Detectives Joseph Kenny told reporters at the press conference. After Thompson exited his hotel across the street and walked over to the conference, the gunman stepped out behind him before firing, Kenny went on to say.
“The shooter then walks toward the victim and continues to shoot. It appears that the gun malfunctions, as he clears the jam and begins to fire again,” he added.
After the killing, the fled through a nearby alleyway, where a cellphone believed to be linked to the shooter was recovered, police sources told ABC News. He was last seen riding into Central Park on a bike around 6:48 a.m., police officials said at the press conference. Investigators are currently working to determine whether the suspect had prepositioned the bike near the scene.
The gunman flees the scene on an electric bike
Police recovered a water bottle and candy wrapper near the scene and believe they are connected to the shooter. Investigators are currently running tests on the items in order to determine whether any usable DNA or fingerprint evidence can be recovered, ABC News reported. The FBI is also involved in the investigation and is working to recover any usable cellphone data from the gunman.
Detectives do not believe that the gunman was a professional killer, law enforcement sources told ABC News.
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