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

[DS2021]

Id say he'll be publicly identified within the next 24 hours

 

[SRWCF]

I wonder if he kept his hoodie up and mask on when riding on the bus and both hostel stays.

Several news articles have said that the unmasked still photos of him are from the hostel.

This "live" article has a lot of great information and it's coming in real time.

Suspect in Killing of Insurance C.E.O. Is Said to Have Used Fake New Jersey ID

Investigators released pictures showing the face of the man they believe killed Brian Thompson outside a Midtown hotel. They said the words “delay” and “deny” were written on bullet casings collected at the murder scene.

www.nytimes.com

 

[Charlot123]

Just the latest article with some background info.

Slain UnitedHealthcare CEO Was Secretly Separated From Wife

Public records show that Brian Thompson had a criminal record and was living in a separate house from his wife.

www.thedailybeast.com

I am wondering if it is a very personal case, after all, but of a different type.

The spouses are separated in all but name only, and yet living nearby, not seemingly pushing for a divorce, and both appearing content with the situation. They live parallel lives, it seems, showing good collaboration. The husband often travels. If compared to old photos, he has toned up as of recently and looks much better. The wife simply looks well, is a professional and a good mother.

What is the first thing that comes to mind? Didn't the wife call BT a good friend? Am I the only one thinking of a transparent situation?

At this, he is a very affluent man who has a five-bedroom house, money, stocks, and not old at all.

And now look at the killer. Cute is the first thing that comes to mind. Gracious is the other one. He walks like a jaguar (there was a photo of his gait, he almost rolls the push leg to the tip.) He may be a tae-kwan-do master for all i know, but I can see him being a good dancer, perhaps an actor.

I don't think he is a hired foreign assassin at all. I wonder if there is a personal element, and maybe his ex-partner - and BT - had to do something to do with it?

It might hurt very much if that was the first real love.

And then the young man reads about BT, and the health insurance company. So BT
comes to personify everything that's bad with healthcare, but the reason is personal. It is not a manifesto, it is hurt pride, and maybe, indeed, the young man cares little about own safety. Hurt pride, abandonment...

So it is revenge, and in the man's eyes, BT being a CEO of a company evoking criticism might justify it. But it is very, very personal.

Just my opinion, but it could tie up together a personal and obvious motives, and also, explain why Brian was traveling without a bodyguard.

I think it is a young man's own vendetta, although it looks like a disgruntled customer.

And who would call home with threats? The abandoned one.

MOO, JMO, IMHO, etc, etc.

 

[getthefax]

Thank you for explaining better than I can. I keep seeing posts that lead me to believe some have not seen this reported.

No problem! I think people naturally get inspired and want to jump in without maybe being able to reading the whole thing,
This thread is moving FAST today!

 

[ElizaKate]

Paywalled for me, but "the South"? Like the direction south or the southern US?

"Somewhere South of the city" (newspaper edited it not me)
<modsnip - attachment removed to comply with copyright law>

 

[nhmemorymaker]

One of the many mysteries. Could have tossed it into the water in Central Park. Again, why Starbucks (for water and protein bars nonetheless), why leave the phone... so many 'mistakes' that it feels on purpose.

agree.

 

[getthefax]

bbm

Well, that's interesting. Did all the rounds have words on them?

EBM
Shell casings and bullets, according to this article. So sounds like all of them.

Bullets fired at UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson had words written on them, officials say

"Delay," "deny" and possibly "depose" were written on shell casings and bullets recovered at the scene of the shooting that killed UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson.

www.cbsnews.com

 

[Tamagal]

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

IMO it’s not only because “rich white man” gets more attention than others.

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

He could be from a country where good-looking men are pretty much 95% of the male population and he could be the male version of a plain Jane among them. I can think of a few countries where this would be the case.

Do tell….95% of male population are good looking? I could move.

 

[CrimeDawg123]

"Somewhere South of the city" (newspaper edited it not me)

I wonder what he did on Thanksgiving and where he stayed on Nov 29.

 

[MassGuy]

Quoting myself. This NYT link is not paywalled for me: UnitedHealthcare CEO Shooting Live Updates: Suspected Killer of Brian Thompson Is Said to Have Used Fake ID

"The man arrived in New York on an interstate bus from somewhere south of the city on Nov. 24, the official said. He checked into the hostel on the Upper West Side after that, checked out on Nov. 29 and checked back in the next day, the official added."

Lots of good info there:

He had been in New York City for approximately 10 days prior to the shooting,

They believe the cell phone belonged to him and was not a decoy, and was NOT a burner.

He came from out of state, from somewhere south on the 24th.

They have been "flooded with tips."

One of their main goals is finding a surveillance image where his face is entirely unobscured, as the difficulty was that this guy was "extremely camera savvy."

 

[K.jill]

"Somewhere South of the city" (newspaper edited it not me)
<modsnip>

I look forward to learning how far “south of the city”

No problem! I think people naturally get inspired and want to jump in without maybe being able to reading the whole thing,
This thread is moving FAST today!

my post was my southern polite way of trying to inform others, lol. And, these new gun facts are very interesting.

 

[MassGuy]

This guy arrived incredibly early if his original target was BT. I have to wonder if he had someone else in mind, and pivoted at some point.

 

[BUF]

Shooter came from Atlanta by bus

Per CNN

 

[BackInNewMexico]

"Somewhere South of the city" (newspaper edited it not me)
<modsnip - edited to comply with copyright>

CNN just reporting he traveled to NYC from Atlanta by bus.

(Sorry I’m new, don’t have a link yet - watching CNN live from Sydney, Australia!)

 

[Vaderman]

"Somewhere South of the city" (newspaper edited it not me)
<modsnip - edited to comply with copyright>

Fascinating how much they've already learned about his travels the last few weeks. I wonder if they already have him ID'd.

 

[K.jill]

CNN just reporting he traveled to NYC from Atlanta by bus.

(Sorry I’m new, don’t have a link yet - watching CNN live from Sydney, Australia!)

I just knew it was going to be Atlanta!
Of course, we have a major airport here so he may have flown here from anywhere.

 

[Calisto]

Was the gunman crazy ??? I would argue that the gunman was extremely irrational in that he was planning and (presumably) expecting to survive what normally would have been considered a suicide mission ~ taking on a high profile person surrounded by a heavily armed and trained security team, numbering perhaps 10 or more !!! If a sane person were to consider such a plan, the only way it would make any sense would be to have your own army of people to be able to take on and fight the high profile person's security team. The gunman ended up being super lucky that the CEO blew off the security team, but he had no way to know that in advance.

 

[Universecalling]

Few silly questions…
Do we know if BT stayed in the same hotel the whole time? I remember reporting stating he arrived on Monday.
Is there any reporting BT visited that Starbucks any mornings prior or the morning of the shooting?
Just mulling over some stuff…

 

[whitelilac]

Came from Atlanta by bus, and had a fake NJ ID.

 

[kamare]

The thing that most people do not understand about insurance coverage through an employer is that it's actually the employer who decides on what coverage to purchase from a health insurance provider. People like to play the blame game with insurance companies when, in fact, it's the employer that ultimately decides the level of coverage they are willing to offer their employees. The insurance companies just provide the level of service they are paid for.

The insurance companies administer the plan and have all kinds of say in whether something is medically necessary and all kinds of power to delay payment. Large employers who self insure their claims can override and tell the insurance company to pay for something, but even then they likely have umbrella coverage. Bottom line - the company pays the premium, but the insurance company has the power.