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

[Betty P]

UnitedHealthcare CEO shooting latest: NYPD detectives follow leads to Atlanta

NYPD detectives arrived in Atlanta on Saturday as they probed leads in the shooting of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson in New York.

abcnews.go.com

NYPD detectives arrived in Atlanta on Saturday following a large number of tips linked to the as-yet unidentified suspect wanted in the Wednesday shooting of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson in New York, sources told ABC News.

JMO, this sounds like NYPD working on their own investigation. Not sure if this is a joint effort with the FBI in Atlanta.

ETA: I haven’t read this before: On the bus trip from Atlanta to NYC, someone reported seeing the killer on the bus in Washington DC

The suspect allegedly arrived in New York on Nov. 24 on a Greyhound bus that departed from Atlanta, though it is unclear exactly when he may have boarded. Sources told ABC News he was spotted on board in Washington, D.C.

 

[jesse]

He has expensive taste.

Tommy Hilfiger is not considered expensive. In fact, the jacket seems like an odd choice for someone younger with a costly REI jacket and trendy backpack. It was clearly bought as a throwaway imo.

 

[Cattydcat]

Ok so I might be massively out of date but I am in the UK and at the end of 2006, me and my partner went to his father in Nee Zealand. We went the “wrong way” round and went via US, for cost reasons. The only American soil I have trod on was LA airport where we changed planes and had a 5 hour wait. We had to pass through American passport and customs though and had retina scans and fingerprints. All was normal it would seem as everyone was going it. Assumed that for a while at least, US authorities have that information about me.

So far all the people saying this is someone from abroad, do you now have no security checks like that when foreigners enter your airport?

I do find the logic that he looks foreign to be quite funny given then you are all from somewhere else originally, you are a nation of largely immigrants it’s just degrees of time so you will look like every nation on earth combined?

 

[TheUnderlyingCause]

Somehow I get the idea they consider this victim to be some magnitude more important than all the other single people gunned down on the street every night across the nation. I wonder why this victim is worth more resources. Just my opinion.

It is not that difficult to understand. This is a rare and unique murder when compared to what are the unfortunate, common killings happening every day and night in America. It's that rarity that captures our attention.

 

[Mr applebee]

I'm thinking like you.

I think we'll see a manifesto before too long. It's like he's trying very hard to get a message out.

I’m thinking the phone may contain something akin to a manifesto. Perhaps it was the entire purpose of the phone being left behind.

 

[TheUnderlyingCause]

NYPD seems to have ruled that possibility out. NYPD Chief of Detectives said yesterday “Nothing in our investigation at this time so far indicates that it had anything to do with his personal life.”

",,,at this time so far..."

 

[CityKid]

John Lennon?

Not midtown. And he was murdered in 80; Castellano was murdered in midtown in 85.

 

[Pisces Cloud]

It is not that difficult to understand. This is a rare and unique murder when compared to what are the unfortunate, common killings happening every day and night in America. It's that rarity that captures our attention.

It does show though, what they can achieve if they put the effort in. I think the perp barely escaped before the authorities were quickly on the scene. Then we had all the info coming out at the speed of lightning. I couldn't see that happening if for example it was a homeless person who had been shot instead. This efficiency should apply to everyone.

 

[krikken]

In one of the previous threads it was suggested he looks like someone from one of the breakaway countries from the old Soviet Union and given the calmness of the guy and the execution it was also suggested that it was a professional hitman/hired gun so I believe it was right to question whether BT had got on the wrong side of overseas organised crime. This can be well and truly ruled out now with the monopoly money etc

Has LE ever officially confirmed that the bullets had wordings on them? I have seen a fair bit of speculation in the media but no confirmation

Fair enough. I was speculating that it might be a Russian Israeli with dual US citizenship. Which might explain weapons training and unrecognizability in the US. But I didn't mean at all that a state actor is behind this, despite the later chorus of comments about "Mossad" etc. Seems from the start - the words on the bullets - that it is a rogue Anonymous/anti-establishment thing.

 

[GRT]

Somehow I get the idea they consider this victim to be some magnitude more important than all the other single people gunned down on the street every night across the nation. I wonder why this victim is worth more resources. Just my opinion.

Agreed.

The optics behind expending so much taxpayer resources in this investigation are poor.

Realistically, BT is no more important than or valuable than the average Joe or Jane who’s murdered.

This is a bad look.

 

[TheUnderlyingCause]

It does show though, what they can achieve if they put the effort in. I think the perp barely escaped before the authorities were quickly on the scene. Then we had all the info coming out at the speed of lightning. I couldn't see that happening if for example it was a homeless person who had been shot instead. This efficiency should apply to everyone

While I agree in theory, unfortunately, the cost of doing that would be tremendous and unlikely to be supported by the taxpayers. IMO

 

[CityKid]

For those of you in NYC, how easy is it to rent an eBike? Primarily with cash. I’m familiar with the Citi rentals but this wasn’t one of those. So outside of the Citi ones which basically dominate the city, how else could he have gotten his hands on an eBike short of stealing it?

Maybe "borrowed" or bought one for cash when he visited the Douglass Houses (NYCHA project near his hostel)?

 

[annpats]

The video upthread explains that the gun has to be cleared after each shot. That's why is has the description of an assassin's gun - an assassin only needs one shot. The gun didn't jam, it has to be reset to fire again.

Thank you. Sounds like it is a gun for people who are 'sure shots'..... and also swift and confident.

 

[DS2021]

could he be one of those protesters?

I don't understand what the link is between the two.

 

[NoSpoonFeeding]

The video upthread explains that the gun has to be cleared after each shot. That's why is has the description of an assassin's gun - an assassin only needs one shot. The gun didn't jam, it has to be reset to fire again.

It's called the assassin's gun because it is nearly silent. But he was not a murderer needing only one shot and I think he knew that and planned to shoot several times, yet he used this gun anyway. It must have been that it was the best or most available option,in his opinion, however he came to possess it, for quiet shooting. As opposed to securing a different pistol and silencer/suppresor. MOO

 

[armchairthinker]

Is the date of the hostel photo public? I'd assumed it was from the later check out/in but read here something about that being only administrative. Its been reported that he check out and in again which may be misleading if it was just a routing extra night booking.

 

[Janitor101]

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 you! But what mystifies me is his reckless behavior prior to the crime. He didn't wear gloves at any point nor care that he left DNA on the water bottle or possibly the candy wrappers. He is on camera everywhere and he doesn't give a flying flip.

It wouldn't be out of the realm of possibility that this guy had a perfect escape plan such as travelling to a different state and using a different fake ID to hop a plane out of the country. Would this be why he gave no thought to the biological evidence he was leaving behind?

This is wild speculation on my part.

 

[IDK]

It does show though, what they can achieve if they put the effort in. I think the perp barely escaped before the authorities were quickly on the scene. Then we had all the info coming out at the speed of lightning. I couldn't see that happening if for example it was a homeless person who had been shot instead. This efficiency should apply to everyone.

Which is why I wonder if LE is concerned about this killing being part of a conspiracy or domestic terrorism. That could explain the intensive, seemingly outsize LE response. Just a thought.

 

[DickieDumDum]

Do we know what name was used on the fake ID? I'm wondering whether it was Tommy something, or even Tommy Hilfiger and he left the top in the bag as a quirky way of confirming for LE that it was his.

 

[statt#1]

What professional killer would leave the alleged trail, the clear facial photos, the bus rides, the bike, the backpack, clothing, inscribed bullet casings, etc. etc.? Monopoly money?

Something smells fishy.

Either he/she/they went to huge lengths to detract LE from themselves, the true killer, or, a patsy is in the making, or, we have a run of the mill, not so smart, killer here.