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

[Elliot_Alderson]

At this point they probably did get into it, but it seems that it took a couple days.

I don't think that's true, JMO

 

[bestill]

From these pics, POI could even pass for a woman

Especially the ones from the back, looks more like a woman's physique. Walking around the city covered up like that must have caused some to take a second look. It's too buttoned up, imo.

 

[Universecalling]

I didn't want to sound like a California-brained snob but I could not agree with you more. I lived in the Bay for 6 years up until early this year and to certain demographics those clothes + that backpack would not only be considered not outrageous price-wise but also pretty unremarkable in every other way too. I don't think the clothes or backpack are going to prove significant and I also don't think they preclude him from holding hard-left/anticapitalist views, as some have speculated here.

Agreed. Expensive clothes on that level are unremarkable, and typically on purpose that way. People with money, especially old money, don’t wear flashy things that scream brand logo all over. They are subtle, understated, restrained.
It is all more about the quality and feel, rather than “look at me, I can afford this and here is a giant logo on my shirt to prove it to you”.
If you notice, for everyday clothes for any brand, brand logos get smaller the more expensive the line is.
Outlet branded lines typically have bigger logos, but their luxury/exclusive lines for the same brand sometimes only have a teeny mark in an inconspicuous area of the garment.

 

[caradana]

What (or where) is "Vanilla America"...??

Any conventional and unremarkable place in America.

 

[Curiousobserver]

FWIW, "little sympathy" is a lot different than cheering for a murderer, imo.

We don't have to like a murder victim in order to condemn murder.

jmo

100% ambivalence- they really wouldn't mind if he gets away with it. This is the almost universal reaction I see on the web and in person; especially from medical professionals.

 

[Elliot_Alderson]

Do CEO's only wear a certain type of jacket? He's from Minnesota, I'm sure he has some sort of ski/winter coat that he wears during winter. Yeah, he's rich, that doesn't mean he's walking around 28 degree 6am NYC without a winter coat. JMO

 

[nhmemorymaker]

Has anyone thought that the words on the bullet cases could be a deliberate distraction? Seems a very obvious way to get the public and media excited about a people's vigilante, when in fact it could be a money related hit? (e.g. BT was going to somehow damage the company, or someone wanted an insurance payout)

I definitely believe the bullet cases were a deliberate distraction.

Ive thought a $$$ hit.
I can see the possibility of a suicide hit.
I can see just screwing with gobs of people in the industry (look at all the scrambling to hide executive identity) and not in the industry (with us coming up with every conspiracy theory out there )in a very confusing time in America between election and inauguration!!!


To me, the bullets just affirm this:

• Tens of thousands of social media users mocked the death of the health insurance CEO and showed little sympathy after the killing.

 

[CamilleBSP]

Elaborating on the boxes this theory checks:
1. Motive - money, lots of it
2. Choice of NYC - to send a message to UH group and others that the hackers mean business. They made sure the actual shooting was captured on video for the world to see.
3. The coolheaded shooter - screams foreign assassin or hitman without a personal motive
4. The fact that they haven’t ided him so far or no one has outed him on social media - foreign mafia
5. The messages on the bullets - warning to UHC that these guys mean business.
6. Access to BT’s movements - easy for a hacking group to get access to his phone and track him remotely
JMO

Not at all likely scenario.

Ransomware groups are pretty hands off. They don’t need to interact physically with any of the victims and would avoid doing so at all costs!

 

[MesquiteO21]

Elaborating on the boxes this theory checks:
1. Motive - money, lots of it
2. Choice of NYC - to send a message to UH group and others that the hackers mean business. They made sure the actual shooting was captured on video for the world to see.
3. The coolheaded shooter - screams foreign assassin or hitman without a personal motive
4. The fact that they haven’t ided him so far or no one has outed him on social media - foreign mafia
5. The messages on the bullets - warning to UHC that these guys mean business.
6. Access to BT’s movements - easy for a hacking group to get access to his phone and track him remotely
JMO

Completely agree on 3 and 4, yep

 

[snarast]

Any conventional and unremarkable place in America.

There aren’t any. It’s probably because I’m a foreigner all the places I’ve been to seemed exotic. Even Kansas! Actually especially Kansas. And Utah.

 

[CamilleBSP]

no way this dude had anything other than a dumb burner phone with nothing on it whatsoever. No saved contacts. We haven't heard anything because there's nothing to crack on the phone.

There’s at least one phone call made that could lead somewhere and the rest would pretty much come from geofencing.

 

[Baby baby Jane]

You’re right. I can sort of see why people are saying it looks like he could be female based on the one shot from the side angle view, but the second cctv shot image where he’s more head on, you can make out his slight dark stubble and there’s nothing feminine looking about him.

IMO his pulled down black face mask gives the appearance of a feminized jawline which I think isn’t there without the mask pulled down

 

[Fabled Automatic]

True or not, this is a very plausible scenario. That bright blue jacket continues to gnaw at my unconscious. Of course, I'm nowhere near any corporate executives, yet I always imagine them in suits of black, deep navy, or shades of grey.

EDIT: In his official UHC photo, he appears to be wearing a casual, navy blue zippered jacket. That may have been intentional to portray a gosh-gee-willikers-I'm-just-like-you sort of image as opposed to one in a $5K tailored suit.

MOO.

It's just as plausible he wanted to stand out and be memorable at the conference he was there to attend.

 

[eloquence]

What kind of phone would it be that they took so long to break into?
Even the newest iPhones with the most up to date iOS wouldn’t take long.

I think it can be pretty difficult. I remember in the 2015 Sacramento mass shooting it took them like 4 months to get into the phone, unsuccessfully sued Apple for help getting into it, and it was an iPhone 5C - let alone now when you can have a much longer or character-based password.

 

[Elliot_Alderson]

There’s at least one phone call made that could lead somewhere and the rest would pretty much come from geofencing.

Agreed. There's footage of him talking on a phone. They would just work backwards from that phone call. JMO

 

[Suburgatory2014]

True or not, this is a very plausible scenario. That bright blue jacket continues to gnaw at my unconscious. Of course, I'm nowhere near any corporate executives, yet I always imagine them in suits of black, deep navy, or shades of grey.

EDIT: In his official UHC photo, he appears to be wearing a casual, navy blue zippered jacket. That may have been intentional to portray a gosh-gee-willikers-I'm-just-like-you sort of image as opposed to one in a $5K tailored suit.

MOO.

Corporate America does not have one single look and feel anymore. They don’t all look like they came out of a scene in Mad Men with dark suits and briefcases.

 

[citizen_sleuth]

10 days, you’d think he would have more then the clothes on his back.

During the search in Central Park, police found a TJMaxx bag that appeared to contain clothes, although they have not yet confirmed that it belonged to the suspect.

CEO killing live updates: Backpack that may be linked to gunman found | FOX 5 New York

A backpack that may be linked to the gunman was found in Central Park on Friday evening.

www.fox5ny.com

 

[ElizaKate]

Not at all likely scenario.

Ransomware groups are pretty hands off. They don’t need to interact physically with any of the victims and would avoid doing so at all costs!

Agreed. They would just initiate another hack/release some sensitive info. Do something "techy" not a murder on the streets of NY. MOO

 

[CamilleBSP]

I think it can be pretty difficult. I remember in the 2015 Sacramento mass shooting it took them like 4 months to get into the phone, unsuccessfully sued Apple for help getting into it, and it was an iPhone 5C - let alone now when you can have a much longer or character-based password.

Tech has evolved since then! It takes way less than that now, even without Apple helping out.

 

[RobSA]

I don’t see how it makes a difference which exit BT left his hotel from, as the shooting was just when he was about to enter the other hotel, the Hilton, where the conference was taking place. The shooter had been loitering at the front of the Hilton since ~5:41am, so would have seen BT arriving, no matter which exit BT used to leave the other hotel a couple of minutes earlier.

It is semi-interesting that in the video of the actual killing, the shooter is seen stepping up to the sidewalk from the street. He came up from behind one of those ubers that was waiting on the curb. So he wasn't hanging out on the sidewalk next to the Hilton and stepping out from there to shoot. He was either across the street and hurriedly crossed over when he saw BT or when he saw BT coming he crouched behind some cars in the street and came out and shot him. With drivers in those cars I don't think he would do that.