NY - UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson fatally shot in Midtown. #4

[BOBON]

CNN has footage of him walking near but not at the shooting site and stopping by a pile of trash there. He stoops and appears to leave something on the pile of trash, or at least touch it.

https://media.cnn.com/api/v1/loops/stellar/prod/uhc-suspect-walks-by-deli-loop.mp4?c=original

Have his shoes been ID'ed yet? Seem to have a thicker wedge at the back which reminds me of sock shoes

 

[honestground]

They don’t wanna spook him.

He might take more drastic measures to evade capture, like taking his own life

Not sure why the mayor needs to weigh in like this, but he does.

“We don’t want to release that now,” the mayor said when asked if police have the killer’s name. “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. We revealed his face. We’re going to reveal who he is and we’re going to bring him to justice.”

The mayor also commended the “tri-state law enforcement partnership” for the ongoing investigation.

“And the manner in which they were able to follow his footsteps to recover evidence – some of it is known, some of it is unknown – but the net is tightening and we’re going to bring this person to justice,“ Adams said. ‘The net is tightening’ on UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson’s suspected killer, NYC Mayor Adams says

By saying they have his name or saying what his name is --- what difference would that make in "tipping him off"? He already knows his own name so...that logic makes no sense to me. Either don't release that you have his name or release it, either way he knows who he is.

 

[nhmemorymaker]

I have tried really hard to determine the type of bike and can’t find it. I’ve made screen caps and google searches, enhanced the images and searched, pored over Reddit threads on commuting/biking/etc trying to determine the make/model/weight of battery and the range and I’ve come up empty.
I did this because the made the (what now seems kind of loony) announcement that the perp was on a Citibike (big, white, obviously branded, etc)… but I’m still working on figuring out the kind of bike. Super curious

im kindof surprised as well....
Like the gun, I thought we would have plenty of e-bike efficienados chiming in.

 

[Herat]

Authorities have the name of the suspect who assassinated United Healthcare CEO Brian Thompson and are closing in, Mayor Adams said Saturday.

‘The net is tightening’ on UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson’s suspected killer, NYC Mayor Adams says

Authorities are closing in on the suspect who assassinated UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson in Manhattan, Mayor Adams said Saturday.

nypost.com

“We don’t want to release that now,” the mayor said when asked if police have the killer’s name. “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. We revealed his face. We’re going to reveal who he is and we’re going to bring him to justice.”

Gawd, I hope Mayor Adams does not know the name.

Only the FBI should determine when or how that information is used.

 

[snarast]

Very long post – sorry. Please skip if these are not your thing.

The shooter shows three distinct types of behaviour* and the more time passes, the more it seems that his apparent carelessness may have been part of his approach – that he didn't care about longer-term consequences. He cared only about getting out of NYC before being linked to the killing. Why? I don't know. But if that was his goal, he achieved it.

Behaviour 1: careful, detailed planning
Arrives 24th November, stays at a hostel knowing he can pay in cash. No deposit, fake ID, no card. Spends many days scouting and staking out the locations: familiarisation of routes, gaining use of a bike and a distinctive backpack used only on the day of the shooting. Part of this involves his checking out of the hostel and checking back in a day later, for reasons still unknown. Throughout, he is careful to hide his face from anyone who would associate him with the murder – no one at the scene of the shooting could identify him and it's likely that no one on the streets could, either. People who saw his face wouldn't associate him with the murder – linking the face with the shooting would take days of work and he'd be gone by then

Behaviour 2: showmanship
In this post, @cardana uses the word 'swagger' and that seems right. The choice of gun and clothing items (distinctive but and easy to track on surveillance footage as he moved between cameras), the plan to shoot someone in midtown Manhattan with several people nearby (including a terrified woman just a few yards away, who sees him and flees as the first shots are fired), a pre-shoot visit to Starbucks for water and energy bars. The decision to simply walk away from the murder scene and then switch to… a bicycle. He used public transport and a taxi. He chose a highly distinctive, unusual gun (possibly an expensive B&T VP9, possibly the newer and cheaper B&T Station Six) that needed clearing after every shot, the delays creating a significant risk for someone carrying out a public, multiple-shot assassination. Yes, it was a quiet gun but there are other quiet guns that with silencers that would have been quicker and less distinctive. He never once prioritised the obvious things in a street shooting: simplicity, speed, discretion. He chose memorability and spectacle. This was a performance.

The third aspect of his approach contrasts with the first.

Behaviour 3: doesn't care about the long-term investigation
He may have left a water bottle with DNA on it. He may have discarded his burner phone. I don't think we know for sure that the phone and water bottle were his but it's possible. (And I don't think the phone records will tell us anything useful: he will have used Signal or an equivalent if calling an accomplice or he'll have called his victim, which tells us nothing – we already know both their locations.) In full view of a camera, he carefully placed something on a garbage pile. In Central Park, he discarded the backpack, surely knowing that it and its contents would likely be found. He apparently discarded other items, too. He showed his face at the hostel in front of CCTV, quite possibly knowing he he'd have to do, knowing also that it wouldn't be linked to the murder till he was out of NYC. He moved about on public transit, Greyhound bus, taxi and bicycle knowing full well that the surveillance footage would take days to be linked to him. The police may find out where he got the gun, the bike, the phone and the backpack. They may already know. They may find out other things. He surely knows all this – DNA, fingerprints, items traced.

So: why? This post by @azure describes the puzzle.

Perhaps he's expecting to end his own life in his own way and not at the hands of LE. Perhaps he's safe for reasons we don't know – he lives somewhere in the world where he knows he won't be turned or is protected by the organisation he works for or with. It's even possible that the shooter's identity is significantly different from what we imagine, despite the clear face shot. DNA analysis might tell us more about that.

So it's possible (not certain, just possible) that none of the aspects of this third type of behaviour came from panic or slip-ups and that they came instead from not caring about being identified after leaving NYC. As long as got out of the city after carrying out his highly cinematic murder, he would consider the project a success.

I could be wrong – perhaps he's much less accomplished and overconfident, couldn't predict what would happen, tried his best and just messed up. Would like to hear your thoughts that explain this third type of behaviour. Unintended carelessness that he now regrets or acceptance of the investigation and what it will reveal? If the latter, why?

As I post this, recent posts suggest that Eric Adams claims LE have a name. If that's true and it turns out that it's the shooter, on American soil, perhaps that means unintentional carelessness. We'll see.

* UK spelling and punctuation throughout, I'm afraid.

He doesn’t look Asian but if he has Han lineage, then genealogy is a near-certain dead end, even if he didn’t drop the bio-material on purpose.

As per Ray Tierney of LISK-avenger fame.

IMO

 

[ElizaKate]

<DBM duplicated post - server issues>

 

[getthefax]

We have so many delivery guys in the city on ebikes - the bikes are readily available, imo, to anyone who is in the market. I don't think it's a special bike, imo, but something he could purchase from whatever bike shop we went to. I don't know a lot about them, but you can also get a conversion bike, which is a regular bike rigged up to be an ebike. I'm sure others know more, but my hunch is he bought the bike from a shop in Harlem or UWS - somewhere near the hostel - for cash.

I'm more curious about the ebike charging policy at the hostel. Did they allow that indoors? It can be a fire hazard and there might be regulations for a hostel.

Where did he charge his bike?

jmo

E bikes actually get left locked up all over the city because they can’t fit in many apartments etc… I am guessing he left the bike locked somewhere and just took the battery inside to charge (hence he was seen possibly carrying the battery, sans bicycle).
The charger just plugs in to a regular wall outlet, no fancy charging station required.

 

[armchairagatha]

By saying they have his name or saying what his name is --- what difference would that make in "tipping him off"? He already knows his own name so...that logic makes no sense to me. Either don't release that you have his name or release it, either way he knows who he is.

My guess is they are not 100% sure. They have a name but they are not sure if he is the guy. That is why it is the Mayor giving vague statements as opposed to NYPD or the FBI. JMO

 

[K.jill]

Is Mayor Adam's the type to reveal something publicly that NPD and FBI don’t want him to?

 

[MassGuy]

By saying they have his name or saying what his name is --- what difference would that make in "tipping him off"? He already knows his own name so...that logic makes no sense to me. Either don't release that you have his name or release it, either way he knows who he is.

It lets him know just how close they are to coming knocking. There's a good chance that knock has already come though, unless I'm giving the mayor too much credit.

 

[MesquiteO21]

Maybe the shooter knew the gun was not operating well with the suppression, so he shot the CEO first in the leg to hobble and slow him down. This gave the shooter more time to manually rack and slap the gun to make his next shot.

A shot to the head would’ve immobilized him too most likely, right? so it is curious that he shot at the leg first. Almost like he wanted to immobilize but have him still be conscious enough to know what was happening..? Idk
Jmo

 

[arielilane]

The FBI is now offering a $50,000 reward as a massive search for the shooter who killed UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson in Midtown Manhattan stretches into its fourth day on Saturday.

CEO Brian Thompson shooting: FBI offers $50k reward as search for suspect enters day 4

Updated Sat, December 7, 2024 at 11:51 AM EST

 

[Arkay]

It’s NYC. The only thing that would cause folks to take a second look about that outfit is if the person licked the handrail in the subway


EBM typo

Getthefax, I've wanted to say this for a long time. I can't think of much that would stand out in NYC. It's, well, NYC. It's pretty much known for being the place where one can, and does, see anything at any time. It's really the thing that makes it unique in the world. If one wants to don nothing but pantyhose and walk down the street, go for it, but don't think nobody else is doing it. If you want to dress in black from head to toe, with two holes cut out of the full hood for the eyes, go for it. But don't think no one else is doing it.

If I saw this guy, in any of the photos that we've seen, there's just absolutely nothing that would have stood out. If I'd seen the photos on TV late on, I'm sure I wouldn't recognize him, simply for that fact.

SO TRUE!

While BT’s blue jacket may not be NYC fashionista chic, it may be the height of luxury Minnesota outerwear.

Or it may just be comfortable for a five minute walk and BT was going to remove it anyway, once inside the Hilton.

Or blue was BT’s favorite color.

Or whatever!

This is the essence of NYC…we have every kind of person, with every kind of taste, coming from everywhere and anywhere, and no one cares.

I’ve been puzzled why his blue jacket has been a topic for discussion at all.

JMO

 

[citizen_sleuth]

It seems the suspect paid cash for everything -- I wonder how much cash he brought with him and how much he has left? 10 days in NYC, even if staying in a hostel, is still expensive. At the bare minimum, he would have needed to bring enough cash to pay for the hostel, food, and transportation. Based on the extent of planning that appears to have gone into this, I would assume he made sure had a more than sufficient amount of cash on hand to cover exigencies. Did he make one large withdrawal of cash prior to heading to the city? Or spread it out over several smaller withdrawals over a longer period of time to make it less suspicious? If he left the city with limited funds, it will be a lot harder to stretch those funds as time wears on.

 

[ElizaKate]

I have a feeling any news from the backback is going to come in just as the UK starts hitting bedtime isn't it...

 

[getthefax]

Getthefax, I've wanted to say this for a long time. I can't think of much that would stand out in NYC. It's, well, NYC. It's pretty much known for being the place where one can, and does, see anything at any time. It's really the thing that makes it unique in the world. If one wants to don nothing but pantyhose and walk down the street, go for it, but don't think nobody else is doing it. If you want to dress in black from head to toe, with two holes cut out of the full hood for the eyes, go for it. But don't think no one else is doing it.

If I saw this guy, in any of the photos that we've seen, there's just absolutely nothing that would have stood out. If I'd seen the photos on TV late on, I'm sure I wouldn't recognize him, simply for that fact.

You are so right. NYC is amazing and I think utterly unique worldwide in this way. anything, any time, 24/7.

 

[kaen]

E bikes actually get left locked up all over the city because they can’t fit in many apartments etc… I am guessing he left the bike locked somewhere and just took the battery inside to charge (hence he was seen possibly carrying the battery, sans bicycle).
The charger just plugs in to a regular wall outlet, no fancy charging station required.

Very true. And, they are locked outside because of battery fires. So many buildings restrict them being inside (many NYC schools have as well because of fire issues). He could have had it locked up anywhere and charged the battery at the hostel or at a restaurant that had outlet access. There was also no need to buy one at a shop. There are many stolen ones for sale. Theft of these kinds of bikes is common. Many people conceal the name of the bike with tape as certain brands bring a higher price and are more apt to be stolen. He only needed the bike to work for a short time so I don't think he was sweating a charged battery.

ETA: Citibikes are a distinctive blue with baskets on the front.

 

[NoSpoonFeeding]

Each of these had speculation

I disagree, I researched this claim some time ago, no one was speculating about the two I pointed out, it doesn't seem possible since it was known they were males when the crimes occurred. If you were speculating, I don't know what it was based on, there was no video that left people wondering about the gender. MOO

 

[Rush4087]

I believe you’re looking at the B&T station 6.

The B&T VP-9 is a more expensive, less readily available) weapon. I’ll wait til they confirm which model he had, but had thought it was the VP-9

LE believes it was a B&T Station Six - 9, not the VP-9

MSN

 

[krikken]

Sounds like no one other than the Post is taking Adams's comment seriously, or maybe Adams was asked if they had a name and he responded "We're not going to release that" [whether or not they have a name].