UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson’s ‘premeditated’ attack and suspect’s getaway: timeline
An unidentified gunman approached UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson from behind Wednesday morning and opened fire outside the New York Hilton Midtown in Manhattan, then vanished into the streets of the Big Apple, prompting a large-scale manhunt.
Authorities have not revealed a motive, but after bullet casings at the scene were found with words “deny”, “depose” and “defend” written on them – a possible reference to the book “Delay, Deny, Defend: Why Insurance Companies Don’t Pay Claims and What You Can Do About It” – speculation swirled that the slaying may have grown out of resentment for a denied claim.
Thompson was separated from his wife, Paulette, at the time of his death and the Minnesota-based firm’s parent company laid off workers in multiple states in September, according to The Star-Tribune.
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This 2017 file photo of Brian Thompson was released via Businesswire when he was named Chief Executive Officer of UnitedHealthcare Unit in 2017. (Businesswire)
As police retrace the suspected assassin’s steps and hunt for a killer, here’s a timeline of how things went down.
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A screenshot from surveillance footage released by the NYPD shows a person of interest wanted in connection of the shooting death of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, who was killed in Midtown Manhattan on Wednesday, December 4, 2024. (NYPD Crime Stoppers )
In the days before the attack, police sources tell Fox News the gunman took a Greyhound bus from Atlanta, Georgia, to New York City.
He checked into a hostel near Central Park on before the murder, using a fake ID and paying in cash.
Security camera captures person of interest in the murder of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson. (Gideon Platt/Stage Star Deli)
Wednesday, Dec. 4
Around 6:14 a.m.: Before the attack, the NYPD recovered a surveillance video from a Midtown coffee shop showing the masked suspect, and surveillance video from outside the Stage Star Deli near the corner of 55th Street and Sixth Avenue shows him passing by multiple times minutes later.
The NYPD released still images of the alleged UnitedHealthcare CEO assassin in a Starbucks store near the scene of the crime shortly before it happened. (NYPD)
Around 6:40 a.m: Surveillance video outside the hotel recorded the ambush.
It shows a masked man who was waiting outside the venue stepping behind Thompson, who was approaching from another hotel across the street, and shooting him from behind – in the leg through the back and through his chest.
A map shows the known locations of the suspected killer of Brian Thompson, CEO of UnitedHealthcare. (Fox News)
Police arrived in less than three minutes, but the suspect had already fled. Thompson, a Minnesota native who was in New York for a work-related conference, was unconscious and unresponsive, according to the NYPD. He was rushed to a hospital and pronounced dead.
A surveillance image released by the NYPD shows the suspect in the shooting death of United Healthcare CEO, Brian Thompson on Wednesday, December 4, 2024. (NYPD Crimestoppers)
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Cameras show the killer’s path heading away from the scene. He dropped a phone in an alley between 54th and 55th streets, which authorities were checking for fingerprints and other clues. He turned up the Avenue of Americas, got on a bike and headed north toward Central Park. When he emerged from the park, he wasn’t wearing a backpack spotted in prior surveillance video.
Around 7 a.m.: VIdeo shows a man who appears to match the gunman’s description riding a bike on the Upper West Side, more than 30 blocks away from the crime scene and on the other side of Central Park. He is no longer wearing the backpack captured on earlier surveillance video, prompting the NYPD to spend most of Friday searching for evidence.
By 8 a.m., the gunman is believed to have entered the Port Authority Bus Terminal and taken a train out of the state.
Police traced his route from the crime scene near 54th Street and Sixth Avenue up to Central Park, which he exited at 77th Street and Central Park West, Chief of Detectives Joseph Kenny told Fox News’ Alexis McAdams Friday.
He walked with the bike to Columbus Avenue and then ditched it in favor of a taxi, which he took to the Port Authority Bus Terminal, where investigators found video of him entering about an hour after the murder. He did not come out on foot, as far as investigators could tell.
Thursday, Dec. 5
Police released images of a person of interested wanted for questioning in case – giving a the public the first glimpse of an unmasked man.
It appears to have been taken at the hostel on the Upper West Side where the suspect is believed to have been staying.
Police sources told ABC News that the man was flirting with the woman who checked him into the HI New York City Hostel at West 103rd St. in the leadup to the killing. When the woman asked to see his smile, the suspect pulled down his face mask long enough to allow a camera at the building to capture a clearer image of his face.
WATCH: UnitedHealthcare CEO shooting suspect seen on bike in surveillance video
Friday, Dec. 6
Police were searching Central Park for evidence Friday morning. Additional surveillance video taking between Midtown and the Upper West Side continued to emerge.
Police on Friday afternoon revealed that the suspect had likely left New York and asked for the public’s help bringing the interstate manhunt to a close.
The NYPD is offering a $10,000 reward in the case, asking the public to call the Crime Stoppers hotline at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477). You can also submit a tip via their website. All calls are kept confidential.
Fox News’ Alexis McAdams, Julia Bonavita, Greg Norman and Christina Coulter contributed to this report.
