NY - UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson fatally shot in Midtown. #6

[RobSA]

I still cannot figure how he was allowed to escape from NY city: they have cameras on every corner for goodness sake---they tracked him here, they tracked him there, and then they lost him!!! SMH

They tracked him on cameras after he had already gotten out of the city. Sometime in the future, there will be an AI system that identifies when a murder happens on camera. Police will get automatic notification. Cameras will track the assailant real time. He will be caught within minutes. If society allows for such a system. Good chance they say this is just too invasive.

 

[ChrisM]

I think he was out of the city before they knew who they were looking for. Even if they had an idea of who it was let's say within 15 minutes, they would still have to track down the footage and if he was at the train station 45 minutes after, he could have been on a bus out of there before they tracked him that far.

i agree! in fact he *definitely* was out of the city before they knew who they were looking for... because he's gone and they *still* don't know who they're looking for! lol

 

[Kissee13]

I've been saying the same thing, at home, esp since there are statements circulating on the internet that claim to be from pediatricians disgruntled at lack of coverage for the kids they care for. These are anonymous and the result of my own research, so mods may take this down.

But it did occur to me that if this perp was a doctor, things might play out differently for him, when captured. That's why I was asking yesterday if this guy appears to be college age or doctor age to WSers.

I think he looks more grad student/doctor aged. Just my opinion!

When I saw the mask , it occurred to me about a dr . They take an oath to save lives , lives are being lost , maybe he thought to stop with killing one & saving all the others ?

 

[Tealgrove]

What would have alerted border agents? He’d have crossed on Wednesday evening and his face wasn’t known for days. It took days to find link him to the hostel and then find that footage. His name is almost definitely still unknown – there’d have been no need for today’s release of extra photographs if police already knew his identity.

I didn’t say they’d apprehend him. I said they’d know if he had left the country and crossed into Canada.

You don’t think the day after the murder that Airports/Border crossings/Train Stations/Bus Terminals didn’t have the pictures that we have seen? They would have been notified to BOLO.

If he left the Country to anywhere, LE would know by now. Might not know where he is specifically, but they’d know their POI was gone.

MOO

 

[jesse]

We have a no-plastic bag law in NYC (except take-out food, if I recall correctly).

What's odd to me is that we had sleet Thursday morning. It wasn't super heavy, but it was sleet. And it was very windy Thursday. That bag looks fresh. Maybe it was in a sheltered spot, I suppose.

jmo

Do we know that the bag was related to this crime at all?

 

[annie1038]

BT in Iowa. I hope this is not behind a paywall for you.

Slain CEO Thompson from Iowa

Brian Thompson, the United-Healthcare CEO who was gunned down on a Ne

tinyurl.com

 

[kae27]

This was not a shareholders meeting. It was an investors conference for United Healthgroup. This would be for analysts and institutional investors, not individual shareholders.

It feels like this needs to be pinned to the top of every thread. Along with a lot of other basic info...but thank you for explaining this again!

 

[JennieM]

When I saw the mask , it occurred to me about a dr . They take an oath to save lives , lives are being lost , maybe he thought to stop with killing one & saving all the others ?

He hasn’t saved any lives.

 

[otto]

Regarding the question of how the suspect knew which hotel Thompson was using - that might have been posted on the conference registration webpage.

When I attended conferences, a specific hotel is recommended during registration. The shooter might have used a false name to partially register for the conference to obtain hotel info. I wonder whether police have looked at partial conference registrations, or no shows, and checked associated IP addresses.

 

[Vegasgrl]

One option I can think of is someone buying a prepaid credit card for him. There are no credit checks and no identification is needed to purchase one in many countries, and then the card can be given to someone else to use. Another option, does this chain of hostels accept gift cards similar to One4All as a payment method? Lots of gift cards do not require ID or any personal info to get one either, and they can be used online.

When I've reserved (lots of times), I needed to use a bank CC for a deposit. You also fill out your personal info: address, phone, etc. When you arrive sometimes you need to pay the balance with that same card. Sometimes you can use another card or cash. Sometimes the hostel uses the CC to hold your space, but when you arrive you must pay the full amount in cash/ local currency (Russia did). Now that so many payment types are accepted in the US, I don't know this particular Hostel policy w/o calling and asking. But the reservation would need to match everything on that (fake) NJ ID, even though he paid in cash. My point is, with everything else so planned out, I don't think he would take the chance of just walking in and expecting availability for 10 days this time of year in NYC. Maybe they would allow a reservation with a prepaid type card, but in my experience US and abroad, it needed to be a bank card with my name on it. Most hostels use third party for online booking. Edit: I tried to go through the process online for a reservation directly through the hostel's site - you need a CC to hold the bed along with all your personal info including email, etc. I've been wondering all along if he walked in and personally was able to make a reservation long before check-in day with cash. And if so, when? And why didn't he just pre-pay the entire stay?

 

[HungryBrain]

The Associated Press has summarized a timeline of events. It does not nearly include everything but may be helpful to those who are just now following the details of this case.

A timeline of the fatal shooting of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson and search for his killer​

Link to article: AP Timeline as of 12/8/24 Brian Thompson's Death

“The man was checked out of the hostel, where guests are automatically checked out if they don’t show at the desk by a certain time. Police don’t believe he stayed someplace else and checked back into the same hostel the next day”
How does someone go away and come back the next day without staying somewhere else? What

 

[NoSpoonFeeding]

i do believe they had time to retrieve his sheets/towels before they were laundered. But I think this will fall into the same vacuum ... they will find no dna records of this person.

I've never seen a hostel where guests would leave the sheets on the beds, you strip the bed and turn in the bedding or pile it on the floor. The towels are used in a shared bathroom in the hallway then turned in. I would think they couldn't pick out his sheets in the laundry, they are all the same. If he was concerned about them finding the hostel, he would not have left them in the room. Then again, maybe he thought LE would never realize where he had stayed. MOO

 

[eddie_van]

Regarding the question of how the suspect knew which hotel Thompson was using - that might have been posted on the conference registration webpage.

When I attended conferences, a specific hotel is recommended during registration. The shooter might have used a false name to partially register for the conference to obtain hotel info. I wonder whether police have looked at partial conference registrations, or no shows, and checked associated IP addresses.

I used to wonder how he knew that too, but unless I'm wrong, it seems like the shooter shot him outside the hilton, which is where the conference was, not the hotel BT stayed at. so the shooter really doesn't need to know what hotel BT was at at all. he just staked out the conference hotel.

 

[RobSA]

Do we know that the bag was related to this crime at all?

Possible that NYPD is selling advertising and this evidence find was "Brought to you by TJ MAXX".

 

[MassGuy]

I still cannot figure how he was allowed to escape from NY city: they have cameras on every corner for goodness sake---they tracked him here, they tracked him there, and then they lost him!!! SMH

By the time law enforcement was responding, he was already making his escape. First to the park, then to a cab, and then out of the city.

There was 0 chance of stopping him.

 

[armchairagatha]

He looks like a little terrorist; resembles the Boston Marathon bombers.

Agree - my bet is on terrorist or hired hitman rather than an ideological doctor. This guy was just carrying out a job he was hired for and then got out of there as quickly as he could. He is probably considered one of the best in his field (mercenary killer) and was paid top dollar for his work by whoever masterminded this. He was also given clear instructions on what to do (fire 3 shots to leave behind the messages etc) that he blindly executed. JMO

 

[KaylynnCouture]

So I guess the eBike hasn't been located yet?

No and what’s odd is it doesn’t seem LE is actively looking for it? They’ve been searching high and low for the weapon and backpack (understandably) but I find it odd they haven’t put out a BOLO for a black, model ___, brand ___ eBike found somewhere in the city.

I understand it was likely stolen by now but still there doesn’t seem to be much focus (if at all) on the bike.

 

[Warwick7]

Regarding the question of how the suspect knew which hotel Thompson was using - that might have been posted on the conference registration webpage.

When I attended conferences, a specific hotel is recommended during registration. The shooter might have used a false name to partially register for the conference to obtain hotel info. I wonder whether police have looked at partial conference registrations, or no shows, and checked associated IP addresses.

Very very interesting!!!

 

[mrstfs]

I used to wonder how he knew that too, but unless I'm wrong, it seems like the shooter shot him outside the hilton, which is where the conference was, not the hotel BT stayed at. so the shooter really doesn't need to know what hotel BT was at at all. he just staked out the conference hotel.

He was shot outside of the Hilton but the thought is if BT was staying at the Hilton, he could’ve gotten to the meeting without leaving the building. Hence the assumption that the shooter knew he wasn’t staying at Hilton.

 

[eddie_van]

He was shot outside of the Hilton but the thought is if BT was staying at the Hilton, he could’ve gotten to the meeting without leaving the building. So that’s where the assumption that the shooter knew he wasn’t staying at Hilton.

Yes, that makes sense. However, the hilton is a pretty low scale (in the grand scheme of things) hotel brand. It would be reasonable to assume a big time CEO would not be staying there.