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

[Inthedetails]

Early on in the case I wondered this very same thing. Although his photo was most probably plastered on the UHC website, the photo could have been old and as we know, people age and change over time which would make it more difficult for a perp to positively identify the victim as quickly as he did on a dark street.

More and more, I'm beginning to think the perp had at least one accomplice. Someone posted inside the building who called the perp on his burner phone to alert him as to what the victim was wearing, and what exit door he was using.

I want to know if the murderer was waiting between those cars on 54th, was he pacing in the street, or loitering in the pedestrian alley and had to cross street after BT?

It doesn't really matter and BT would not have been bothered by some random guy on the street, but I'm curious where the murderer was when BT emerged from his hotel. I like to know logistics!

jmo

 

[setyourselffree]

Nothing is on accident with this case. He shows his face in the Hostel after concealing his identity the night before. His picture is captured with the taxi. Come on. Either he’s completely stupid but lucky or he did it on purpose… and that goes for everything, not just his pictures. The bag left behind…. The phone…. The bullets… no one leaves THAT much evidence behind. There is another angle here.

Makes you wonder if he’s frustrated they haven’t found more yet, in a way. Like he left all of the pieces to a puzzle that will take them to some sort of manifesto or something. I’m definitely a ‘the simplest theory is probably the correct theory’ type of person but it’s kind of exciting to consider more interesting alternatives.

 

[Inthedetails]

His choice of weapon was incredibly stupid, imo. Although I don't think he was totally clueless about firearms as he obviously know how to clear misfeeds.

Why was his choice stupid:

• A 9mm pistol is not easy to attach a moderator to - it must be done properly so that he gun operates properly. It obviously hadn't been as it didn't. There is no way he had shot that gun before, at least not with the mod on or he would have known it didn't work and would have chosen something else.
• The gun with the moderator was way bigger than it needed to be. Handguns are basically illegal in NYC and something that big would have greatly increased the risk of being caught with it.
• a .22rf, .25ACP or .308ACP would have been far more concealable and quiet enough not to need moderating.
• Most pistols in the above calibres are easy to attach a mod to as their barrels do not move on firing.
• The moderator wasn't needed. Shooting someone in the street is definitely going to get attention on you as there were always going to be people around so why bother? Indeed, the more noise the more likely people are going to flee so you can get away easier.
• All he needed was a tiny .22 pistol with a 10 round or so magazine so he could walk up behind him and empty it into him.

Given the above, my thoughts are that he is in no way a professional or acting for some higher power or foreign state sponsor. He's a Walt who thinks he's a master assassin who likely has a grudge (probably one which will seem trivial when we eventually learn what it is) against BT or his company. I doubt he had help planning or perpetrating this.

I'm no gun expert but boxcutters brought down the twin towers and those perps did not act alone.

I don't expect others to agree, and I have no need to be right, but among the various theories I think are still plausible, a foreign entity remains on my list.

jmo

 

[Inthedetails]

Makes you wonder if he’s frustrated they haven’t found more yet, in a way. Like he left all of the pieces to a puzzle that will take them to some sort of manifesto or something. I’m definitely a ‘the simplest theory is probably the correct theory’ type of person but it’s kind of exciting to consider more interesting alternatives.

It's possible NYPD has found more taunts but hasn't released the info to the public.

That might either frustrate the perp who wants credit, or makes him laugh because he thinks he's embarrassing the NYPD.

jmopinion at the moment

 

[no nonsense]

Exactly; it would have been trivial to walk up and use a .22 at close range. The shots would have probably been as loud (if not quieter) as the 9mm with whatever wacky suppressor he was using that clearly was just back-feeding all of the gas into the chamber.

You can even tell that while having some proficiency in firearms, he’s not actually that well-trained because of some pretty big issues with how he was clearing the malfunctions.

JMO

I am not a gun person, but several posters have explained that this particular weapon requires the gun to be cocked for each shot. They explained that it didn’t really “misfire”. They said that was the way the gun was designed.

 

[JennieM]

He can’t be a former employee. He would have been recognized by now.

 

[krikken]

I am not a gun person, but several posters have explained that this particular weapon requires the gun to be cocked for each shot. They explained that it didn’t really “misfire”. They said that was the way the gun was designed.

But others responded by pointing out that there was a different sort of jam issue as well besides the need for cocking, and that no gun when working properly disgorges unspent rounds on the sidewalk

 

[setyourselffree]

Regarding the realistic mask theory: if it was purchased in the US, you’d think the retailer/creator (if custom) of the mask would have come forward by now to say as much. Now - that doesn’t mean it was purchased or created here. But just a thought - someone would know what that mask looked like.

 

[Tortoise]

It wasn't a B&T pistol. It was a regular semi-auto pistol with a sound moderator attached. You can see gasses venting from the ejection port when it discharges so the action is opening. The B&T pistol isn't semi-automatic, it's bolt-action, and needs to be manually cycled with each round. That pistol would never produce gas from the action. In fact, a regular semi-auto pistol shouldn't either.

I'm petty sure that it did that because the moderator wasn't properly fitted and was causing irregular operation of the gun. The moderator was almost certainly the reason it didn't function correctly meaning he had to mess about with it. Unlike the movies, fitting muzzle attachments to firearms isn't straightforward. This is especially the case with guns who's barrel moves on firing which they do in almost all pistols chambered for cartridges more powerful than .380 ACP. The mod adds too much weight to the barrel so the gun doesn't unlock or cycle properly.

Do you think it wasn't properly fitted because he might have been rushed in those last few minutes?

 

[setyourselffree]

He can’t be a former employee. He would have been recognized by now.

Agree! I mean, did he have a job at all? Did he grow up off the grid (doesn’t look like it)? The fact that no one on social media has been able to identify him says a lot. Slueths have found far less high profile people in far less time.

 

[Sadi]

Although we see a lot planning here, it’s not outside the realm of possibility that he had some luck as well.

He arrived 10 days prior to the murder. What exactly was he doing for 10 days in preparation for the murder? 10 days is a long time.

So, he acquired a bike somehow.

He scoped out the Hilton as soon as he arrived.

Hatched his getaway plan. Practised it. Timed it. How many times?

Did he go to a firing range to practise? Did he have the gun when he arrived or did he acquire it upon arrival?

The witness in the car said he was there all night watching. Maybe that comment was taken out of context. Maybe has was there one whole night. Maybe the Monday night not the Tuesday night. He watched and waited. That’s when he saw BT walking from one hotel to the other on the Tuesday. Aha! Saw him walking alone. Saw him enter via the side door not the front door.

It was public knowledge about the Investors Meeting. The times were publicly known.

Killer shows up early knowing the direction that BT would be coming from. He lies in wait but BT is there within 5 minutes not 1/2 an hour. Lucky there as he made it there just in time. He does the deed and then is outta there.

It doesn’t have to be complicated. It doesn’t have to be a conspiracy.

Sometimes it comes down to luck.

MOO

I’ve wondered why BT was alone walking to the Hilton and not with other colleagues/attendees? Presenters typically arrive early to prepare their presentation final details with a dry run etc., his assistant would have provided his schedule to him with specific information, including who would be at his table at the meeting. If any there were any attendees that were new to him, business/professional details and a photo would be included to assist him to know who’s who. Nametags are usually used to, but not always. Other than his assistant being on this trip (hasn’t been confirmed, but I would bet he/she was there) something about BT only walking over seems odd. When I traveled for work and assisted with presentations with my colleagues, we would have a conversation about when to meet in the lobby and walk together to the conference. There was a reason BT was alone, someone made sure of that, I don’t have anything to back this up though, just a feeling. Did something come up and he needed to get over quickly to have a private conversation/quick meeting that was needed before the meeting started? I don’t know if any of this matters, but I thought I would share it. IMOO.

 

[Paintedhousecat]

The Frederick Douglass housing is very near the hostel, not 2.9 miles away. They are right there - easy walk.

jmo

I bet the shooter was from the hometown of the CEO. He knew he was going to be there and took a bus because he did not have the money to fly there. He was personally mad at him. Let's not forget that this seemed like a personal target, not a political target. Up close and personal death is personal.

 

[Janitor101]

How would he have acquired it at such short notice?

And where do you buy the ammunition for such an unusual gun. Veterinary? It would seem an easier task for LE to track down potential suppliers.

Has there been discussion here about the possible source for the ammunition?!

 

[dotr]

Regarding the realistic mask theory: if it was purchased in the US, you’d think the retailer/creator (if custom) of the mask would have come forward by now to say as much. Now - that doesn’t mean it was purchased or created here. But just a thought - someone would know what that mask looked like.

FWIW.. November 2019

'Hyper-realistic' masks fool a fifth of people, say researchers

Con artists last year used a mask to impersonate a French minister and scam millions of euros.

news.sky.com

Image:The president of Japan's REAL-f Co. shows off a hyper-realistic mask
''Modern "hyper realistic" masks can be so convincing that people often can't distinguish them from a real face, say researchers.
The latest masks can cost around £1,000 and experts say they could be increasingly exploited by criminals as a disguise.''
"Failure to detect synthetic faces may have important implications for security and crime prevention as hyper-realistic masks may allow the key characteristics of a person's appearance to be incorrectly identified," said Dr Jet Sanders.''

 

[Tortoise]

New images show UnitedHealthcare CEO killing suspect in taxi

New images released by police late Saturday show the suspect in the killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson boarding a taxi.

www.fox5ny.com

On Friday evening, investigators found a backpack in Central Park that had been worn by the gunman, police said. They didn’t immediately reveal what, if anything, it contained but said it would be tested and analyzed. Images from FOX 5 NY show officers guarding a brown bag filled with clothing.


View attachment 550229

Maybe he was hoping to entice a homeless person to take these clothes, since he didn't put them in the backpack. (if they are his)

 

[Marantz4250b]

I'm no gun expert but boxcutters brought down the twin towers and those perps did not act alone.

I don't expect others to agree, and I have no need to be right, but among the various theories I think are still plausible, a foreign entity remains on my list.

jmo

That was an entirely different scenario, though. Hijacking multiple planes requires multiple people by definition and the planning and funding of it cannot be done by just the hijackers themselves.

Walking up behind someone and shooting them in the back and then riding away on a bike requires no one else to be involved. That's not to say there wasn't anyone else involved but there doesn't need to be.

Olaf Palme in Sweden was shot just in that manner in 1986 and there was never really any suggestion that anyone other than the shooter was involved. Or at least there is very little evidence for it.

A foreign state actor seems unlikely because if you have the funds of a state behind you then you get a gun that works as a basic starting point. If it was some non-state terrorist group then I think they'd have claimed it by now.

 

[Sadi]

He can’t be a former employee. He would have been recognized by now.

Possibly he was working remotely and changed his appearance enough to not be recognized? I don’t think he’s a former employee though. Also, this morning is the funeral for BT, our local news and newspapers have little details about it other than it being private. No doubt LE will be watching this closely.

 

[Janitor101]

Good points.

As I see it--there are three potential motives for killing BT.

1. The killer has a loved one who was denied coverage.
2. The killer is part of a shadowy group, as you say.
3. The killer was hired by someone to kill BT.

Number 1 is Occam's Razor, but the most likely scenario is looking more unlikely in this case. Why? Because the killer is going out of his way to send messages. It's likely those messages are intended to send LE on a goose chase. But still, Number 1 can't be ruled out.

Number 2 is in the running because there are strong indicators that the killer had at least one accomplice. The bike showed up out of the blue when the killer needed it, and it disappeared when he was done with it. The killer seemed to know BT would arrive at the Hilton early and he was in place. That could have been just good planning, but it could also have been someone reporting because the photo of the killer on his cellphone was prior to the killing. Who was he talking to?

Number 3 is also a possibility because BT was involved in a civil suit along with other high-rollers concerning insider trading. If BT had information that could incriminate someone else, he might have been a target. And if that were the case, all those little messages would be a handy distraction from the real reason.

Right now, I'm leaning toward Number 2, but that could change.

Or a former disgruntled employee?

 

[Marantz4250b]

I am not a gun person, but several posters have explained that this particular weapon requires the gun to be cocked for each shot. They explained that it didn’t really “misfire”. They said that was the way the gun was designed.

It wasn't a B&T for the reasons I gave earlier. There was gas escaping from the ejection port and the slide visibly moves so it couldn't have been.

It's a regular semi-auto pistol with a badly attached moderator (probably a home made affair) which caused it not to function correctly.

 

[dotr]

Dec 9, 2024
BRIAN Thompson's assassin planned to throw the Monopoly money found in his backpack over the CEO's body, a forensic psychiatrist has claimed.