NY - UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson fatally shot in Midtown. #2

[ElizaKate]

Plus, we might overinflate his looks. He probably doesn't stand out at all. Ask me to remember the looks of most teenagers/ young adults in my neighborhood, I'd fail to. Different clothes, people at home in winter. Plus, even if someone might think that "this kid resembles the perp", maybe people know that he is dangerous. Few would want to risk their own lives. JMO. I think the police will find him, but it will be their game.

As a Brit he looks like a typical American jock to me.. it's all perception and bias at this point. There's nothing to go on.

 

[Charlot123]

Maybe it all comes out in the wash. Maybe foreign hit men have cheaper fees but you have to pay airfare. Maybe domestic hit men are more expensive, but you don't have airfare.

Do we know when Brian got into town?

I read that he signed into the hostel on Nov. 30th. This would be the time when many people would be flying home back from Thanksgiving holidays, so easy to travel unnoticed. JMO.

 

[MrsWatson]

Ahhh the good old fake New Jersey ID … it served me well in my underage drinking days in college, made by the entrepreneurial design students. They’re harder to make these days, but you can definitely still get them.

I had a very useful fake NJ ID when I was going to Lehigh in Bethlehem, PA. Granted, that was back in the 80s, but even then, no one ever looked twice at it. I got in NYC near Times Square for 25 bucks.

 

[STLBlues]

Maybe he used that to purchase the gun in CT, too.

RSBM I highly doubt that. I don't believe he would have passed the required background check with a fake ID.

 

[Drella]

I believe he went into the Starbucks to fit in, so he wouldn’t arouse any suspicion. Unlikely he needed a water or an energy bar.

Also, we don’t even know if there was a person on the other end of the phone. He may have just been feigning a phone call m——again, to fit in.

He bought 2 of them bars, I’m guessing he did want them! But yeah, the idea of eating while gearing up to kill someone, just adds to the ‘ice cold’ aspect of his demeanor through it all.

It was a little chilly at 5 to 6am yesterday morning in the city, so with some time to fill up, maybe not a surrpise he did go inside.

 

[MinnesotaMary]

The piece of this I do NOT understand is why in the world was the assassin carrying that loony backpack - that backpack was very noticeable. Does anyone know at what point in time he dumped it? And I read online, but is it true, that they've found the actual gun???? Makes sense he'd stay in that hostel - very discreet, blending in with the people on the streets.

 

[DizzyB]

The HI hostel does not accept guests from NYC, so he used a fake NJ ID. Maybe he used that to purchase the gun in CT, too.

Fake ID to book a hostel, sure. To get a gun in CT? I don’t think so. Maybe someone else purchased the gun.

 

[Deleted member 306806]

Police have recovered suspect's fingerprints and burner phone: sources​

Here is a good question to ponder, but for which there will no real answer for: why did he use a face mask and dark clothes, fake id, but no gloves.

 

[Chimera]

If the burner phone does belong to the suspect then that's the answer in terms of him working with someone else. Don't need a burner phone to communicate with yourself.

LE haven't released the location of where he made that phone call (unlike all other pieces of CCTV footage). <modsnip - sleuthing a random person>

Once LE know who he was communicating with, this case should be resolved.
At least somewhat ?
Omo.

 

[Charlot123]

Thanks for sharing the link & photo, @MassGuy .
I hadn't seen that yet.
Looks like it was placed, and not dropped there ?
Deliberate.
Omo.

BTW, in that cigar store photo, he does look somewhat androgynous. I know that I am not the only one noticing it. Maybe it is a personal trait transforming into "cute", but this is the only thing that stands out. Some mannerisms are unusual.

 

[MassGuy]

The HI hostel does not accept guests from NYC, so he used a fake NJ ID. Maybe he used that to purchase the gun in CT, too.

He wouldn’t have used it to buy the gun. He’d need a permit and other paperwork, in addition to being a Connecticut resident.

I think this Connecticut thing is a red herring.

 

[armchairagatha]

Comments here are making him sound very young than what I assumed previously. I think now that he is in the 20-25 age group (and potentially a college student). JMO

 

[Millhouse]

The HI hostel does not accept guests from NYC, so he used a fake NJ ID. Maybe he used that to purchase the gun in CT, too.

Adding on to this: Per their house rules, they don't accommodate anyone who lives within 75 miles. That would also include parts of NJ and CT.

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[tlcya]

a fingerprint believed to be the shooter’s was found on a water bottle at the murder scene, but that it was too smudged to be of value.
Update from Andy Newman

well that turned out to be a lucky break. How lucky remains to be seen.

I too am confused about the reasoning behind the Starbucks visit. Such a visible and I would think high traffic choice to make when you could grab a coffee somewhere more nondescript or simply wait til your murder was completed and then grab a cup of joe anywhere. And then to leave the water bottle behind. I get leaving the casings behind, they were part of the message. But the water bottle would seem to have been an error. Turns out not a fata one but still, this crime is a mixture of premeditation/planning and messy disorder?

As to why he was in Manhattan for a couple of days prior - that is puzzling as well. Do we know when Brian arrived in the city? Could the killer have been stalking him after his arrival, hoping for the right opportunity to arise? Was it dumb luck that he allegedly arrived shortly before Brian appears on the street or something more?

 

[Periwinkl3]

RSBM I highly doubt that. I don't believe he would have passed the required background check with a fake ID.

We don't know what other ID he has, or how much time it took him to plan this. or what kind of help he had.

 

[MrsWatson]

If he's been stalking Brian, and following his movements on and off, he may have missed some sleep and needed the protein bars to amp up and the water to rehydrate. No coffee so no jitters while shooting.

MOO

 

[Charlot123]

RSBM I highly doubt that. I don't believe he would have passed the required background check with a fake ID.

I don't know if they have a loophole allowing to sell a gun from own collection.

 

[orchidaceaes]

I think so too. I don't know why so many think it's a foreign hit. What would some other country gain by his death? The estranged wife hiring a hit man seems a more likely motive.

I agree that it's probably not a foreign plot. Just seems too far fetched to me. The killer doesn't look "foreign" to me, he looks like every other dude. I think speculations as to his ethnicity are pointless given that NYC is home to people from just about everywhere and is one of the most diverse places on Earth.
Although I think of hating United/private insurance companies as being a uniquely American thing, United is a multinational corporation. And one of the largest companies in the world. That does support the foreign actor theory, I guess, but the killer's knowledge of the city and possession of a large, cumbersome e-bike that isn't from a bike share service suggests he's local.
I disagree that it's the estranged wife. IMO if she wanted to kill him, why now? They've apparently been separated for years. There's no contentious divorce or custody battle to give her a motive. Though, as his legal spouse she would likely benefit from his death financially. Unless they've legally separated or he's changed his beneficiaries since the separation.
I guess I've argued against myself in this post, but my hunches remain: 1) not a foreign plot and 2) not the estranged wife. Looking forward to more details about this crazy case.

 

[TTF14]

The piece of this I do NOT understand is why in the world was the assassin carrying that loony backpack - that backpack was very noticeable. Does anyone know at what point in time he dumped it? And I read online, but is it true, that they've found the actual gun???? Makes sense he'd stay in that hostel - very discreet, blending in with the people on the streets.

I wonder if the backpack contained an explosive or some other unaliving kind of apparatus in case he was immediately caught/cornered.

 

[Arkay]

I agree with those who have said that this murder is getting so much more attention than other murders that happen in NYC.

<modsnip: Do not introduce race into a discussion>

It’s also because midtown Manhattan is not a common area for this type of crime.

It’s very brazen to shoot someone at close range on a sidewalk in such a well-traveled, busy district.

Even on a cold day at 7 in the morning there will be people around. People are heading out for their morning run before work, people are getting their coffee (like the suspect) and gearing up for their busy day. People are getting off the night shift. Etcetera.

There are in fact fewer crowds than there were prior to Covid and people working remotely, but it’s still midtown Manhattan.

IMO one additional factor adding to the publicity and adding to the amount of effort into catching the suspect has something to do with NYC being an epicenter of business and of tourism.

If business people across America feel they aren’t safe in one of the safest areas in NYC, then they may not come. That would be billions of dollars in future lost income for NY industries such as hotels and restaurants.

Also because it’s holiday season here and we have so many tourists at this time of year. A gunman killing someone in front of a hotel is a black eye for the city.

Of course I know that BT’s life shouldn’t matter more than the average Joe, and it doesn’t, but the ramifications hitting the business class is a blow to NYC revenue.


JMO