OAN Staff James Meyers
8:10 AM – Thursday, December 5, 2024
The at-large suspect who gunned down UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson outside a Midtown hotel may have left a message on the bullets he used to kill the executive Wednesday morning, according to multiple police sources.
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The NYPD is investigating the mysterious message, which appears to include the words “deny,” “depose” and “defend,” which were engraved on the live rounds and shell casings left behind by the shooter after he shot Thompson several times.
The words are considered very similar to a 2010 book condemning the insurance business, in which Thompson is one of the most powerful leaders.
“Delay, Deny, Defend” — two of the three words seemingly left — is sub-titled: “Why insurance companies don’t pay claims and what you can do about it.”
Police stated that they had recovered three live 9-millimeter rounds and three discharged casings in front of the Hilton Hotel in Manhattan, where Thompson was set to host an investors conference that morning.
Multiple sources said several of the pieces of evidence each contained one word, indicating the killer may have been trying to leave a message as investigators try to put together a motive.
The masked shooter used a silencer and seemed to be an experienced shooter based on surveillance footage that has made waves across social media.
He was seen waiting outside the luxury hotel for his target, the CEO with a yearly salary of nearly $9.9 million, before he fired off multiple shots at close range, causing Thompson to stumble and collapse.
However, the gun had jammed but the methodical killer was able to clear it and continued firing off rounds as Thompson tried to helplessly crawl away, according to the footage and sources.
He then ran into an alleyway and hopped on an e-bike, which he rode north along Sixth Avenue into Central Park, where surveillance camera coverage is spotty, police said.
The suspect left clues despite getting away that could help investigators identify him.
He bought coffee, a water bottle, and two PowerBars at a nearby Starbucks before the murder and tossed his bottle and coffee cup in a trash can, which cops pulled out of the garbage for evidence.
Investigators also discovered a phone in an alleyway near the Hilton which they believe belongs to the killer, the sources said. Investigators have obtained a search warrant to comb through the contents of the phone.
The newly found evidence could also help investigators determine a movie for the assassination-style hit.
“Based on the evidence we have so far, it does appear that the victim was specifically targeted,” NYPD Chief of Detectives Joe Kenny said at an earlier conference. “But at this point, we do not know why. This does not appear to be a random act of violence.”
Thompson’s job title helped lead the country’s largest private health insurer, which has a controversial history of rejecting customers’ claims and is facing a Department of Justice antitrust investigation.
The CEO was rushed to Mount Sinai West Hospital after he was shot and he was pronounced dead at 7:12 a.m., police said.
His wife, Paulette “Pauley” Thompson, 51, said the family had received threats before her husband’s killing.
“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.”
Thompson was respected in his field and was a husband and dad of two sons in Minnesota.
A manhunt for the suspect is underway and the NYPD is offering a $10,000 reward for information.
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