UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson killed in Midtown Manhattan by masked gunman in December 2024

Here is a BBC article with some background on Mr. Thompson. One of the things he was being investigated for was insider trading.


Part of the article below -


CEO of the US's largest private health insurer​

Mr Thompson, who lived in a suburb of Minneapolis, Minnesota, was named chief executive of UnitedHealthcare in April 2021.

He made $10.2m (£8m) from the company last year. In 2022, he made $9.8m and in 2021 he made $9.6m.

He started at the health insurance provider in 2004, and has held multiple leadership roles, including CEO of the company’s government programmes division.

UnitedHealthcare is the largest private insurer in the US.

Prior to starting at UnitedHealthcare, Mr Thompson was a manager at PwC for a number of years, according to his LinkedIn account.

He graduated from the University of Iowa in 1997 with a bachelor's in business administration, it adds.

Allegations of fraud​

Mr Thompson had been facing insider trading allegations.

A class-action lawsuit filed by a pension fund in May 2024 alleged that Mr Thompson sold $15m of his UnitedHealth Group shares when he knew that the company was under investigation by the US Department of Justice.

Officials were looking into whether the company violated US antitrust law, according to an investigation made public by a report in the Wall Street Journal in February.

The BBC has contacted UnitedHealth Group - the parent company of UnitedHealthcare - for comment.

UnitedHealth is a huge company with interests in insurance, health care providers, pharmacy services and health data. In 2023 it had more than $371bn in revenues.

According to court documents, the company has purchased more than 35 healthcare companies over the last 10 years. Justice department investigators have been looking into whether it used its market power to reduce competition, hurting customers and employees.

The Wall Street Journal reported that officials interviewed healthcare industry representatives, and were asking questions about “possible effects of the company’s doctor-group acquisitions on rivals and consumers”.

The City of Hollywood Firefighters’ Pension Fund initiated a complaint against Mr Thompson and other executives, accusing them of failing to tell investors about the investigation before selling a total of more than $117m in company stock.

As long-term investors who buy large amounts of stock, pension funds often take action on behalf of shareholders, and proposed a class-action lawsuit against UnitedHealth.

The lawsuit remains active.
The attacker dressed in black with a hood and mask seen in a police handout photo
IMAGE SOURCE,POLICE HANDOUT
Image caption,
Thompson's attacker fled into Central Park and is currently at large
The company is also facing legal action over its proposed takeover of a rival healthcare company.

UnitedHealth offered to buy Amedisys, a provider of home healthcare and hospice services, for $3.3bn (£2.6bn).

But on 12 November, the justice department sued to stop the merger, external, alleging it would eliminate competition and “harm patients who
receive home health and hospice services, insurers who contract for home health services, and nurses who provide home health and hospice services”.

UnitedHealth responded, external that the merger would be "pro-competitive and further innovation, leading to improved patient outcomes and greater access to quality care". It described the justice department suit as an "overreaching interpretation of the antitrust laws".
 
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NYC mayor says suspect identified in UnitedHealth executive's murder, NY Post reports​

Authorities have identified the man suspected of killing UnitedHealth executive Brian Thompson and are closing in on him, New York City Mayor Eric Adams was quoted as saying on Saturday by the New York Post.

"The net is tightening," Adams told reporters at a Police Athletic League holiday party in Harlem, according to the Post. He declined to name the suspect.
 
From link posted above. Isn't this basically letting him know that they either really know who he is or that they have a few possibilities and waiting to see which one does what now?

“We don’t want to release that now,” the mayor said. “If you do, you are basically giving a tip to the person we are seeking and we do not want to give him an upper hand at all. Let him continue to believe he can hide behind the mask."
 
It seems like if they really knew who it was for sure, they would not have allowed that to be said. Possibly the mayor couldn't contain that info.
 
From link posted above. Isn't this basically letting him know that they either really know who he is or that they have a few possibilities and waiting to see which one does what now?

“We don’t want to release that now,” the mayor said. “If you do, you are basically giving a tip to the person we are seeking and we do not want to give him an upper hand at all. Let him continue to believe he can hide behind the mask."
Yep

The mayor’s office later clarified his answer to explain that he meant officials didn’t want to say whether or not they have the killer’s name


Laura Ingle on X: "An Update from the New York Post on the Reuters report this afternoon which stated New York City Mayor Eric Adams’ said police knew the name of the suspect in the Brian Thompson murder investigation ⬇️ “We don’t want to release that now,” Adams said. “If we do, we are basically" / X
 
This is an updating link. I have copied the section containing a map, the timeline of the killing and subsequent escape.


How the police said the suspect fled​

MANHATTAN
CentralPark
He was spottedbiking intoCentral Park.2
Site ofshooting1
TBD
He was seenexiting the parkin the area of 77th Street.3
He was seenentering a taxi.4
He was seenentering abus terminal.5


(Map detail did not copy so check link to see the map.)
city-nyc.png



New York City
Source: Police statements


The New York Times


Dec. 6, 2024, 7:25 p.m. ETDec. 6, 2024
Maria Cramer




New York City
Source: Police statements

The New York Times

Joseph Kenny, the chief of detectives, gave specific times where cameras caught the gunman’s movements after the shooting, which took place at 6:44 a.m. on Wednesday. He fled, first on foot, then on a bike, and pedaled into Central Park at 60th Street at 6:48 a.m., four minutes after the shooting. At 6:56 a.m., he left the park, still on the bicycle, at 77th Street on the Upper West Side.

Dec. 6, 2024, 7:02 p.m. ET
Maria Cramer
Surveillance footage then showed him near 86th Street and Columbus Avenue, still on the bicycle, two minutes later. Around 7 a.m., he got into a cab that took him to a station in Upper Manhattan used by interstate buses. Surveillance footage shows him going in, but not coming out, Kenny said.


Dec. 6, 2024, 7:12 p.m. ET
Maria Cramer
The suspect got in taxicab at 7:04 a.m. on 86th Street and Amsterdam Avenue going north, Joseph Kenny said. By 7:30 a.m., he had made it to the Port Authority bus depot in Upper Manhattan.
 
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Another clue to add to the bullet messages? It's all a game to this guy perhaps.

Also, i read that the weapon was an old gun, so am wondering if there is any significance in that too.
The gun was probably chosen because of its design to be quiet.

My bet, if this was actually somebody lost due to denial of insurance issue, is that it might belong to the person that was denied.
 
The gunman used a fake ID and paid cash during the 10 days he was in the city, NYPD Chief of Detectives Joseph Kenny told reporters Friday. He also kept his face covered except while checking in at a hostel. He was captured on some of the thousands of surveillance cameras blanketing Manhattan, allowing police to build a timeline of his movements.

Nov. 24​

10:11 p.m. — The suspected shooter arrives in New York City on a Greyhound bus at the Port Authority terminal. The bus originated in Atlanta and made six or seven stops on the way to New York. Police could not immediately determine where he got on the bus.

The man then takes a taxi to the area of the New York Hilton Midtown and is there for about a half hour.

About 11 p.m. — The man takes a taxi to the HI New York City Hostel at 891 Amsterdam Ave., where he stays until the morning of the shooting. He presents an ID that police believe to be fake. Two roommates in a shared room that had bunkbeds never saw his face, police said, because he kept his mask on.

When speaking with an employee in the hostel lobby, he briefly pulled down his facemask and smiled — a moment captured on surveillance images that have been widely circulated by police.

Nov. 29​

The man was checked out of the hostel, where guests are automatically checked out if they don’t show at the desk by a certain time. Police don’t believe he stayed someplace else and checked back into the same hostel the next day.

Dec. 4​

About 5:30 a.m. — The suspected shooter leaves the hostel well before dawn.

5:41 a.m. — He appears on video at 54th Street and Sixth Avenue walking back and forth in the area of the Hilton hotel where United Healthcare’s parent company, UnitedHealth Group, is holding its annual investor conference.

Police deduce that he rode a bicycle to the Hilton because it took him such a short time to get there. “Could he have stolen the bike? These are things we’re still looking into,” Kenny said.

At some point, he went to a nearby Starbucks and purchased a bottle of water and at least one energy bar before returning to the hotel.

6:44 a.m. — He shoots Thompson as the executive arrives alone, on foot, having walked from a hotel across the street. The man flees.

6:48 a.m. — The man enters Central Park by bicycle at the 60th Street and Center Drive entrance. It’s in the park and away from security cameras that police believe he discards a gray backpack.

6:56 a.m. — He leaves the park at West 77th Street and Central Park West, still on the bicycle.

6:58 a.m. — He passes another camera on 85th Street and Columbus Avenue, still on the bicycle.

7 a.m. — He’s at 86th Street, no longer with the bicycle.

7:04 a.m. — He enters a taxi northbound at 86th Street and Amsterdam Avenue.

7:30 a.m. — He’s near the George Washington Bridge and the bus terminal there. It offers commuter service to New Jersey and Greyhound routes to Philadelphia, Boston and Washington.

After the attack, investigators find the words “deny,” “defend” and “depose,” written in permanent marker on ammunition at the scene. The words mimic a phrase used by insurance industry critics.

Dec. 6​

Kenny and Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch reveal that investigators believe the gunman left New York City on a bus. Investigators say he entered the George Washington Bridge Bus Station but have not found video of him leaving or getting on a bus.

“It could possibly be a disgruntled employee, or a disgruntled client,” Kenny says of a possible motive in a briefing.

Police find what they say is the man’s backpack. Its contents are not disclosed.

Dec. 7​

Police continue to search Central Park; scuba divers are seen scouring a pond. The NYPD releases additional photos showing the suspected shooter next to and in the back seat of a taxi. In both images he is seen wearing a blue, medical-style face mask.

Despite recovering a fingerprint from the Starbucks purchase and sending items for DNA testing, police have yet to publicly identify the suspect.

Dec. 8​

Scuba divers are again seen at a Central Park pond. Police decline to comment on the investigation.
 
It really sounds promising. It's either him or a copycat IMO.


UnitedHealthcareC.E.O. Shooting


LIVEUpdated
Dec. 9, 2024, 12:45 p.m. ET6 minutes ago

Live Updates: Investigators of C.E.O.’s Killing Are Questioning a Man in Pennsylvania​

A law enforcement officer said a suspect had been identified by someone who spotted him in a McDonald’s in Altoona, in western Pennsylvania.



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Police officers congregate outside a Manhattan hotel. Yellow caution tape is seen in the foreground.

Brian Thompson, the chief executive of UnitedHealthcare, was gunned down outside the New York Hilton Midtown hotel last week.Credit...Karsten Moran for The New York Times


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Updated
Dec. 9, 2024, 12:29 p.m. ET21 minutes ago
Andy NewmanChelsia Rose MarciusWilliam K. Rashbaum and Maria Cramer

Here’s what to know about the manhunt.


A man is being held for questioning in connection with last week’s killing of a health insurance executive in Midtown Manhattan, according to three law enforcement officials briefed on the investigation.

The man was identified based on a tip from someone who spotted him at about 9:15 a.m. on Monday in a McDonald’s restaurant in Altoona, Pa., one of the officials said.

The man who was detained at McDonald’s showed the police the same fake New Jersey identification that the man believed to be the gunman presented when he checked into a hostel on the Upper West Side of Manhattan on Nov. 24, a senior law enforcement official said.

The man had a gun, a silencer and false identification cards similar to those they believe the killer used in New York, according to one of the law enforcement officials and a person briefed on the investigation. The man is said to have been in possession of a gun like the one used in the shooting — possibly a so-called ghost gun, assembled from parts purchased online.

The suspect is in custody on local charges, the official said, possibly related to presenting the fake identification to the police. He has not been arrested or charged in connection with the killing, and the authorities have not yet released his name.

New York police investigators are traveling to Altoona, in western Pennsylvania, about 280 miles from the city, according to one of the other law enforcement officials.

The police had been looking for the gunman since Wednesday morning’s attack on Brian Thompson, 50, the chief executive of UnitedHealthcare, outside a hotel in Midtown. They believe the killer left New York by bus shortly after.

The suspect now in custody arrived in Altoona on a Greyhound bus, a senior law enforcement official said. Mr. Thompson’s killer is also believed to have taken a Greyhound when he arrived in New York City 10 days before the shooting.

The killing set off a manhunt that stretched well beyond New York City and commanded days of national attention.

Here’s what else to know:

  • New photographs released: The police over the weekend released two images they said showed the suspect, including one of him in the back seat of a taxi on the day of the shooting. They examined thousands of hours of footage from surveillance cameras to glean information about the man’s movements over the course of what they believed were his 11 days in New York City, starting with his arrival on a bus that originated in Atlanta on Nov. 24. They also recovered bullet casings at the scene with the words “depose,” “deny” and “delay” written on them — a possible reference to terms used by insurers to avoid paying claims.
  • A recovered backpack: Officers also recovered a backpack in Central Park on Friday that they believe the man may have discarded as he cycled away from the scene of the shooting toward the Upper West Side, before he caught the cab. They had yet to publicly confirm if the backpack belonged to the man or contained any items of value to the investigation. The police found Monopoly money in the backpack, according to a law enforcement official briefed on the investigation.
Show more
P
Dec. 9, 2024, 12:44 p.m. ET6 minutes ago
Andy Newman
The handwritten manifesto found on the person of the man detained in Altoona criticized health care companies for putting profits above care, according to a senior law enforcement official.

Dec. 9, 2024, 12:39 p.m. ET12 minutes ago
Andy Newman
The man detained in the McDonald’s had written a “manifesto,” according to two law enforcement officials.



100 mi.
200 km.



The New York Times


Dec. 9, 2024, 12:28 p.m. ET23 minutes ago
Maria Cramer

Reporting on the New York Police Department
The McDonald’s arrest in Altoona echoed the arrest of Frank R. James, who in 2022 set off smoke grenades inside a crowded subway car in Brooklyn and opened fire, injuring 10 people, and was also arrested at a McDonald's. After a 31-hour manhunt, James was caught when someone recognized him at one of the chain's outposts in Manhattan, mere miles from the crime scene.

Dec. 9, 2024, 12:18 p.m. ET33 minutes ago
Andy Newman
The man detained in the McDonald’s in Altoona had what investigators believe was a ghost gun — meaning it was put together with parts sold online — that matches the gun believed to have been used in the shooting, a senior law enforcement official said.

Dec. 9, 2024, 12:17 p.m. ET34 minutes ago
Andy Newman
The man has been arrested in Altoona on local charges, possibly in connection with presenting false identification to the police, a senior law enforcement official said. To be charged in New York he would need to be extradited, the official added.

Dec. 9, 2024, 12:11 p.m. ET40 minutes ago
Andy Newman
The man who was detained at McDonald’s showed the police the same fake New Jersey identification that the man believed to be the gunman presented when he checked into a hostel on the Upper West Side of Manhattan on Nov. 24, a senior law enforcement official said.


Dec. 9, 2024, 12:08 p.m. ET43 minutes ago
Chelsia Rose Marcius

Reporting on the New York Police Department
Word of a man being held for questioning in the killing of Brian Thompson traveled fast through New York Police Department headquarters in Manhattan. On the 13th floor, the main hub for the Police Department’s Detective Bureau, Joseph Kenny, the chief of detectives, took calls and spoke with his colleagues before going into his office. Across the hall, police officers who work in the department’s public information office watched news developments on several televisions.
 
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BREAKING: Person of interest in fatal shooting of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson ID’d as Luigi Mangione, an ex-Ivy League student

 
He was using the same fake id, which is what caught him.


By Tom Winter, Jonathan Dienst and David K. Li

A "strong person of interest" was arrested in Pennsylvania on Monday, after finding he had a fake ID with the same name as the one used by the suspected killer of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, officials said.
The 26-year-old man in Altoona was identified as Luigi Mangione and arrested on weapons charges, NPYD Commissioner Jessica Tisch.
"Additionally, officers recovered a handwritten document that speaks to both his motivation and mindset," Tisch told reporters.
New York Mayor Eric Adams added: "We believe we have a strong person of interest."
The person being questioned was at a McDonald’s, where customers thought he looked suspicious and called police, three law enforcement sources said.
He was found to have a fake New Jersey ID, a gun similar to the one used to kill Thompson and a silencer, two senior law enforcement sources said. The name on that fake ID was Marc Rosario, matching the name used by Thompson's alleged killer to check into a New York hostel days before the attack, the sources said.
The man being questioned was found with a gun similar to the one used in last Wednesday’s deadly shooting, two senior law enforcement officials said.
Thompson was gunned down in front of the New York Hilton Midtown, about 280 miles from Altoona, by a masked assailant who approached from behind.


Recommended​



LIVE UPDATESLive updates: Man questioned in UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson killing had gun, silencer and fake ID

The killer opened fire at around 6:45 a.m., surveillance footage showed, before fleeing on foot and then on a bike into Central Park, authorities said. The last footage of the alleged gunman put him at bus depot in Upper Manhattan, police said.
Investigators are looking into whether the man being questioned in Altoona arrived there by bus from Philadelphia, about 240 miles away, law enforcement sources said.
The FBI has posted a $50,000 reward for information leading to the arrest of the gunman — in addition to the combined $10,000 already offered by Crime Stoppers and the NYPD.
Thompson’s slaying sent shock waves throughout the corporate and health care worlds, raising questions about appropriate security for top level executives.
The shooting also exposed a deep, ugly resentment against private health care companies as social media feeds were flooded with posts celebrating — or at least justifying — Thompson's slaying.

This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
 
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