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

[eddie_van]

Agreed on CP, but some train stations and bus terminals have metal detectors now. I wonder if that gun was able to be easily disassembled and thrown away piece meal along the shooters route?

Just thinking, I usually have an idea about what I think happened on a thread, but I must admit I am totally in the dark here. It seems staged, almost theatrical IMO.

I'm not sure if it's accurate, but I heard that this specific type of gun was very easily disassembled into small parts. So he could have disposed of it in various locations. But I lean towards him just taking it back with him, since he brought it to NYC with no problems.

 

[ElizaKate]

Agreed on CP, but some train stations and bus terminals have metal detectors now. I wonder if that gun was able to be easily disassembled and thrown away piece meal along the shooters route?

Just thinking, I usually have an idea about what I think happened on a thread, but I must admit I am totally in the dark here. It seems staged, almost theatrical IMO.

Interesting point. Haven't heard of this possibility before.

Any locals know if the Port Authority Bus Terminal and the George Washington Bus Terminal have metal detectors to enter or board?

 

[IQuestion]

Excuse the "jump in" but have been developing thoughts. (Fast moving threads.) This is not a random act, this was a "hit first" and "assassination second." The only reason it is being called an assassination is because of his job status. CEO's have legal departments to handle lawsuits for their companies...it is a given. But how many are facing charges of insider trading? I keep getting the vibe he was ready to turn on his co-conspirators and cut a deal with the Feds. I think a co-conspirator with more to lose or a group of co-conspirators decided BrianT had to be silenced because he was cooperating with the Feds. Even if it wasn't true, it is a lot easier to place all the blame on the deceased victim/partner.
*This reminds me of a case where a man put out a hit when he got wind his partner (of many years) was cutting a deal with the Feds and throwing him under the bus. The man became so enraged, he arranged the murder of his lifelong friend. If I recall correctly, BrianT's gain on the insider trading charges was much lower than others. Perhaps he was viewed as disloyal?

 

[Parsnip]

but personally (or immediately adjacently) wronged by insurance denials? I'm not as confident about that.

That’s the principle of parsimony in a nutshell. It’s not necessary to consider a personal grievance to explain the shooting in this case. It could just be a thrill kill, imo.

Think of Manson, for example. His ostensible reason for orchestrating his murders was to start a race war. In fact, he was just a depraved, controlling, sadistic murderer. In other words, the “motive” drops out. He wanted to kill, he didn’t want to be caught, and he wanted lots of attention.

 

[getthefax]

Please explain why they deserve more attention and resources.

It doesn’t mean the man’s life is worth more than another’s. It means that assassinations in major cities are bad for business, bad for tourism, and must be discouraged because they alter the very landscape in which we live. In which business is done. In the confidence the world and its leaders have in us as a people, a nation, and an investigative force. The spotlight is ON.

Those are some reasons. It’s terrifying, it has long range implications, and it’s testing our mettle and how we think of ourselves.

It’s like asking, why don’t you spend all of your resources on every other case? Some cases are more urgent, feel more critical, and simply command more attention.

 

[Inthedetails]

after this, we might start seeing TSA-style security at major bus terminals lol

I can't help but think box cutters brought down the iconic twin towers, along with meticulous planning. Now we have an assassination in midtown Manhattan that shakes an American industry, and the killer escapes on a bike and leaves a backpack full of Monopoly money in iconic Central Park - simple, basic, cheap stuff, but meticulous planning.

Yes, it's true, we haven't seen a crime like this before...but we kinda have.

Weird to hope it's a kid upset about grandma's insurance coverage rather than something bigger, but I hope it's a lone young man sitting at home somewhere in USA, about to be caught and then everyone can scoff at the fantastical theories that turned out false. I will be relieved!

jmo

 

[BrianJohnson]

we have no reason to suspect that this crime is anything other than what it presents itself as: an assassination with an ideological motive

I still suspect BT knew his killer or someone who would know his schedule like a PA or something knows the killer. Whoever carried out the attack spent half an hour in Starbucks before calmly walking out and carrying out a hit, he had inside info into BT’s schedule. I don’t think an anarchist group or a disgruntled customer would

 

[mrtnira]

I wish I had captured the entire discussion about identification software and could name the posters to honor their intuitive discussion. Their discussion prompted me to reach back into earlier homework done in February of this year. Respecting that earlier discussion about identification software that is currently available to the general public, there is one that I found which allows the investigator to use a photograph of someone and 45 minutes later he has the man's passport number. The software was called Maltego.

 

[SlimPickens]

Why not both? Someone who holds the ideological motive and could have been wronged. It isn't hard to find people either wronged or experienced family members wronged by health care or insurance.

If the perp held onto both as grievances, I feel it is more likely that the personal would trump the ideological and that any crime stemming from his grievances would be less meticulous planning and more act of passion. Those motivated by personal grievances tend to want people to know what a person or company did to them (or their loved one). None of that here. This act seems more audience and ideologically driven, IMO.

 

[nodamselindistress]

I'm not sure if it's accurate, but I heard that this specific type of gun was very easily disassembled into small parts. So he could have disposed of it in various locations. But I lean towards him just taking it back with him, since he brought it to NYC with no problems.

I think he took it home with him, too. I think the gun is significant in that it belonged to his family member who may have passed away due to denied healthcare coverage. I do not believe he got rid of the gun for sentimental reasons. It just does not make sense to me why he would pick that gun for the task at the hand otherwise.

 

[ChrisM]

Not completely caught up with today's posts but just wanted to say, IMO if you were a person in which THOUSANDS of people know you, report to you, respect you, interact with you, etc... I think it would become "high profile" that you were killed in a pretty much "televised assassination". As much as any of us are scouring the net for clues and information and posting faster than anyone can keep up = Can you for one moment, imagine if you were the leader of an organization where the VAST majority of your employees adore and admire you!? Can you imagine THOSE PEOPLE (which are thousands) are also desperate for answers, questioning the safety of other leaders they work with/for, afraid of their own safety JUST because of the job they hold!? I think this case has brought up so many questions and has essentially changed the way that people in these Executive positions will be able to conduct their business moving forward. Even the employees at the bottom of the ladder are afraid to let anyone else know who they work for, have removed their employer/occupation information from their social media profiles, etc. I wouldn't even have a LinkedIn at this point!

If anyone has a link to whatever article is being mentioned regarding this "AI Program" to deny claims I would be very interested in seeing that b/c I continue to see it referred to in online commentary but I have yet to read about it. I want to see where it specifically states that BT was the brains behind that b/c from everything I know personally, I have never heard such a thing and I fear it's some kind of misinformation but want to read it for myself to see how exactly it was written or what sources it names. TIA

ETA that this is in no way my attempt to say that his life is "more important" than any other, but just wanted to bring to the attention of those who pondered it, that there are a LOT of people who are CONCERNED by this particular murder and the motive for reasons OTHER than just his net worth. He was a human being before he was an executive. IJS.

i did read something - i will look to see, but can't recall exactly - that said the ai software was developed by an acquisition of uhc 2019? (i think - slightly earlier that bt becoming ceo) but which bt subsequently championed. i will see if i can find it again and post if i do.

 

[getthefax]

we have no reason to suspect that this crime is anything other than what it presents itself as: an assassination with an ideological motive

Thank you. Diversion tactics wouldn’t be nexessary— the cops are already looking at all the angles that would be somehow shielded by a diversion there is no possible diversion here.

 

[TailSpin]

Excuse the "jump in" but have been developing thoughts. (Fast moving threads.) This is not a random act, this was a "hit first" and "assassination second." The only reason it is being called an assassination is because of his job status. CEO's have legal departments to handle lawsuits for their companies...it is a given. But how many are facing charges of insider trading? I keep getting the vibe he was ready to turn on his co-conspirators and cut a deal with the Feds. I think a co-conspirator with more to lose or a group of co-conspirators decided BrianT had to be silenced because he was cooperating with the Feds. Even if it wasn't true, it is a lot easier to place all the blame on the deceased victim/partner.
*This reminds me of a case where a man put a hit when he got wind his partner (of many years) was cutting a deal with the Feds and throwing him under the bus. The man became so enraged, he arranged the murder of his lifelong friend. If I recall correctly, BrianT's gain on the insider trading charges was much lower than others. Perhaps he was viewed as disloyal?

The shooter is not coming across as a professional hit man unless you believe that all that behavior is to make LE believe the hit was done by an amateur in order to confuse any investigation.

 

[getthefax]

I think he took it home with him, too. I think the gun is significant in that it belonged to his family member who may have passed away due to denied healthcare coverage. I do not believe he got rid of the gun for sentimental reasons. It just does not make sense to me why he would pick that gun for the task at the hand otherwise.

Gun is long gone and disposed of. In pieces, exactly as this make and model was designed to be.

 

[eddie_van]

I still suspect BT knew his killer or someone who would know his schedule like a PA or something knows the killer. Whoever carried out the attack spent half an hour in Starbucks before calmly walking out and carrying out a hit, he had inside info into BT’s schedule. I don’t think an anarchist group or a disgruntled customer would

I think the shooter knew about the investor meeting, knew BT was going to be there, knew what hotel BT was staying at, and made an estimation about what time he was going to leave his hotel to get there. Out of all this info, the hardest to find would be what hotel he was staying at. But I find it totally believable that a determined assassin could figure all this out through various means. A friend/family member accomplice is not necessary.

 

[krikken]

Masking an accent would also be a pre requisite for such a job- anything to blend in.

Right. I literally could not divine from months and months of Swedish newspaper coverage who exactly was setting the bombs off in apartment stairwells in the middle of the night. Major taboo. For all you knew, could have been Samis or homegrown Swedes. Probably some careful treading In this case, too.

 

[nhmemorymaker]

This sounds right, BUT... I also heard the suspect was definitely on that northbound Greyhound bus after it stopped in Washington DC. This news from about 1-2 days ago (sorry, I have no link for that, but you can search with DC on Google for it) said police believe that he boarded the bus between Atlanta and Washington DC.

So that story, if it is correct, makes the suspect's travel more complex than just going from somewhere in NJ to NYC and back to that NJ location again. BTW, one other thing to consider is that NYPD sent an investigative team to Alanta (as per several mainstream media sources over the last day or so). Honestly, why would they do that if the suspect did go through Atlanta at least once as part of his recent travel?

There is scant information about the siting in DC, just like everything else....
I just don't believe we can take anything as truth or fact at this time....

The suspect allegedly arrived in New York on a Greyhound bus...
The bus the suspect is believed to have boarded out of the city ...
Police have video of the man entering the bus station but no video of him exiting...
However, sources said he was spotted on board in Washington D.C.,

 

[krikken]

Just taking a guess as the money amount, I’m going with six hundred and sixty six. My guess is based on it supposedly being an evil number. MOO

$1500 or a big stack of 500s

 

[BrianJohnson]

I think the shooter knew about the investor meeting, knew BT was going to be there, knew what hotel BT was staying at, and made an estimation about what time he was going to leave his hotel to get there. Out of all this info, the hardest to find would be what hotel he was staying at. But I find it totally believable that a determined assassin could figure all this out through various means. A friend/family member accomplice is not necessary.

He won’t have known though what time BT was going to leave for the Hilton, whether he was going to walk there or play the big shot and arrive in a stretch limo. His spending time in Starbucks when BT could have left the hotel during that time means either he had inside info or incredible luck

 

[mrstfs]

True. Occam's Razor pretty much always rules the day and the probability of the same result here is quite high until it isn't. I suppose the perp's brazenness coupled with all the meticulous, almost spy-like planning, patience, and execution, as well as the city he selected, has me considering an outlier scenario, even a rather grandiose one, more than I usually would.

I can buy an obsessive ideological grievance as a motive (i.e. Eric Rudolph/Ted Kacynski)- I think that's even likely at this point - but personally (or immediately adjacently) wronged by insurance denials? I'm not as confident about that. Those kinds of aggrieved folks don't typically take the time for all the primping we see here, let alone the planning.

JMO.

I could see a personal grievance with insurance denials trigger an obsessive ideological grievance especially if a loved one died in combination with other events in the killer’s life. I don’t think he was very meticulous actually and it takes time to process evidence. MOO