NY - UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson fatally shot in Midtown. #5

[NuttMegg]

So, the question now is, imo, will he 1) leave a manifesto explaining how he was (evidently, imo) wronged by UHC. Or 2) just kill himself so that there remains a big mystery. Either way guarantees continuing coverage. Of course he could give himself up at the last minute, but why?
I think they know who he is, and if so, the FBI can easily find out about recent deaths or tragedies in his family.

 

[whitelilac]

Then why wear a mask? If you don’t need a disguise….

I agree with you about the unlikelihood of dying or or latex or anything too extreme but he did want his identity disguised to some degree.

Conversely, if he altered his face drastically, why wear a mask?

 

[otto]

Maple Grove PD details threats made to Thompson home

Maple Grove police released several "call-for-service" summaries, revealing threats targeting UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson's home.

www.kare11.com

He was shot at 6:45 a.m., and there were bomb scares at his and his wife's home at 7:00 p.m. later on Wednesday. Quite a coincidence.

"The documents obtained by KARE show it was about 7 p.m. on Dec. 4 that MGPD was alerted to a bomb threat at both Thompson's home and the nearby home of his wife, who had been living separately from him at the time. The threat came via an email reportedly obtained by city officials.

Maple Grove PD said its officers, with help from the Minneapolis Bomb Squad and Hennepin County Sheriff's Office, determined those threats to be a hoax but the investigation into the matter remains active."

same link: kare11.com

 

[snarast]

So, the question now is, imo, will he 1) leave a manifesto explaining how he was (evidently, imo) wronged by UHC. Or 2) just kill himself so that there remains a big mystery. Either way guarantees continuing coverage. Of course ge could give himself up at the last minute, but why?
I think they know who he is, and if so, the FBI can easily find out about recent deaths or tragedies in his family.

If he has accomplices someone might kill him - the patsy - first. IMHO

 

[NuttMegg]

If he has accomplices someone might kill him - the patsy - first. IMHO

Do you think he has accomplices? I just don't feel it.

 

[sleuther80]

Puffer coats are bulky. Where was it? Would not fit in the backpack. He was in the cab 1 hour after the shooting. Where did he leave the puffer?

wonder if he wore a jacket under a jacket?

 

[MassGuy]

So I think he's mid 20's, Middle eastern or Mediterranean heritage, lives somewhere on the east coast (Atlanta or points north).

Grudge with this specific company. Imagines himself as some sort of movie antihero assassin (silenced weapon, Monopoly money, rounds with words written on them). Into fashion. Meticulous with his appearance. Disciplined. Intelligent.

I don't think his beef was with this particular victim, rather, I think it's with what he symbolized. I say that because if he did have it out for this guy, he'd just hit him in his home state. It would be much easier, and much less risky.

This is an ego thing for him, which is why he chose committing this crime in that place, and in that way. He wanted it to be caught on camera. It's practical as well, as what better way to get his message across?

I think he's graduated college, perhaps currently in some postgrad program. He has access to money, as his clothing, backpack, and the trip itself were quite expensive.

None of this really gets us anywhere, but I just wanted to put this in writing for when these questions are answered.

 

[MassGuy]

Then why wear a mask? If you don’t need a disguise….

I agree with you about the unlikelihood of dying or or latex or anything too extreme but he did want his identity disguised to some degree.

The mask did all that. Anything beyond that is pointless, as you can't change your eyes.

He had no intention of ever showing his full face, and slipped up because he felt social pressure to do so (when that hostel worker asked to see it).

 

[Columbo Was The Best]

So, the question now is, imo, will he 1) leave a manifesto explaining how he was (evidently, imo) wronged by UHC. Or 2) just kill himself so that there remains a big mystery. Either way guarantees continuing coverage. Of course he could give himself up at the last minute, but why?
I think they know who he is, and if so, the FBI can easily find out about recent deaths or tragedies in his family.

Just my own speculation, I do not think there will be any manifesto and I definitely don't think he will kill himself. Depending on whether he is a dual citizen or not, he could already be in a country with no extradition treaty with the US.

 

[Pisces Cloud]

Here is every photo we have of the shooter's face in one post.

View attachment 550019
View attachment 550020
View attachment 550021
View attachment 550023

Are they sure that all these photos are of the same person? They all look different to me.

 

[snarast]

Do you think he has accomplices? I just don't feel it.

It’s a distinct possibility. Because of the swapping of transportation etc, I think it makes sense he swapped his bike for something else - and gave the bike to someone of a similar build and the same exaggerated features. That and the pre murder phone call.

I’m not convinced either way, currently at 60/40 - accomplice/lone wolf.

 

[EBW321]

I personally don't think he did anything to his face...no makeup, no prosthetics, no dying, no latex stuff....no need to disguise himself.
Now, after the fact and being on the run is another story.

I completely agree.

Only time he knew he’d likely have to show his full face was exactly when he did need to. At check in. During the ID requirement part of check in. If… that’s a big if. He ever used prosthetics of any type. My guess would be he used them day of check in. No time after since entire face was covered the rest of the time according to roommates at the hostel.

Even makes more sense to me to use it day one… he wouldn’t have time in my opinion to do that during the getaway to bus station where every minute mattered.

Would also buy him time longterm. Knowing they have the wrong face with fake id on camera at the hostel he knew he’d be tracked back to.

All MOO… just trying to make sense of how why he does look so different in different surveillance videos. Could still likely be angle and camera quality…

 

[whitelilac]

So I think he's mid 20's, Middle eastern or Mediterranean heritage, lives somewhere on the east coast (Atlanta or points north).

Grudge with this specific company. Imagines himself as some sort of movie antihero assassin (silenced weapon, Monopoly money, rounds with words written on them). Into fashion. Meticulous with his appearance. Disciplined. Intelligent.

I don't think his beef was with this particular victim, rather, I think it's with what he symbolized. I say that because if he did have it out for this guy, he'd just hit him in his home state. It would be much easier, and much less risky.

This is an ego thing for him, which is why he chose committing this crime in that place, and in that way. He wanted it to be caught on camera. It's practical as well, as what better way to get his message across?

I think he's graduated college, perhaps currently in some postgrad program. He has access to money, as his clothing, backpack, and the trip itself were quite expensive.

None of this really gets us anywhere, but I just wanted to put this in writing for when these questions are answered.

I agree with this. I also think he has a high opinion of himself, is grandiose, has a savior complex, and revels in the fact that he has achieved both infamy and hero worship.

 

[MassGuy]

Are they sure that all these photos are of the same person? They all look different to me.

They seem to be; they wouldn't take that sort of risk unless they were sure. They've said they have him on camera hundreds of times, and that's only going to grow.

Once they found that hostel, they were set. That allowed them to track his movements from a particular starting point/finishing point each day.

 

[Friday Fan]

I agree with this. I also think he has a high opinion of himself, is grandiose, has a savior complex, and revels in the fact that he has achieved both infamy and hero worship.

I agree. He looks arrogant.

 

[otto]

I noticed the highlighter, looks like brows are enhanced. Looks like under liner. I think he accentuated his eyes to distract from other features.
I thought his chin looked enhanced/prosthetic when he removed his mask. More than likely he has colored contacts.

He's smart and savvy. I do believe he was well disguised should he be required to remove this mask.
Moo....

The unmasked photos are called the "money shots" because he only removed his mask to flirt. He wasn't disguised at that time - didn't expect flirting, but couldn't resist.

 

[Anance]

It's the same brand that was identified days ago, and it was found in the area they were searching based on his movements.

This crime intrigues me because of the artistic flair and symbolism the shooter used.

• Flashy attention-grabbing location
• Flashy attention-grabbing time of day (broad daylight!)
• A gun used to take down an animal
• Purposely dropping bullets with anti-insurance messages, written in red ink. Implying death and blood.
• Monopoly is a game where you win by making everyone else poor
• A company known for its heartless attitude, coining the phrase "Health insurance is an extractive industry." It means that to increase profitability it extracts itself from high-risk situations. Not the traditional use of insurance to risk spread around.
• [Mod snipped]
• The escape from capture, and awareness of his criminality.

There is art here, in the sense of choices made that communicate self-awareness, wicked irony, inventiveness, and an artistic consciousness implying contemplation, deliberation, and knowing elaboration. It's so meta.

 

[whitelilac]

I don't think the pictures are all that different from each other. It's normal to look a bit different with lighting changes, picture resolution and saturation level, different angles, details, even facial structure to some degree, and facial expressions.

 

[Friday Fan]

I completely agree.

Only time he knew he’d likely have to show his full face was exactly when he did need to. At check in. During the ID requirement part of check in. If… that’s a big if. He ever used prosthetics of any type. My guess would be he used them day of check in. No time after since entire face was covered the rest of the time according to roommates at the hostel.

Even makes more sense to me to use it day one… he wouldn’t have time in my opinion to do that during the getaway to bus station where every minute mattered.

Would also buy him time longterm. Knowing they have the wrong face with fake id on camera at the hostel he knew he’d be tracked back to.

All MOO… just trying to make sense of how why he does look so different in different surveillance videos. Could still likely be angle and camera quality…

Different lighting is why he looks different. I noticed his nose at Starbucks and thought it looked Mediterranean/ME. The brows are due to camera distance and different lighting.

 

[flipp]

Not a great job (and admittedly it's a bit "uncanny valley") because I did this in like two minutes on my laptop, but I photoshopped the new image of the eyes from the cab on top of the "flirting" smile to give us a rough idea of what the perp looks like.