NEW YORK CITY, N.Y. — Shell casings found on the scene where UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson was targeted in a fatal shooting had words written on them, according to a high-ranking New York City law enforcement source.
That source told NBC News early Thursday that shells found on the sidewalk of 54th Street in front of the Hilton Garden Hotel were adorned with the words “deny,” “defend” and “depose.” At this point it is unclear what the development might mean to the investigation or if it actually might shed light on the motive for Thompson’s slaying.
Thompson, a resident of Maple Grove and leader of UnitedHealth’s insurance arm, was in New York City for an investor meeting when he was gunned down while walking in midtown Manhattan early Wednesday. Surveillance video shows the shooter – a white man wearing a light brown or cream-colored jacket, a black mask, black and white sneakers, and a distinctive gray backpack – arriving on the scene approximately five minutes before Thompson walked up at 6:44 a.m.
The video captures the man calmly approaching Thompson as he walked past, leveling a handgun fitted with a suppressor and shooting the CEO in the back. The man continues firing, stopping when his gun appears to jam, then clearing the obstruction and firing more shots. Police say he walked from the shooting scene, jumped on an e-bike and escaped.
Police say the last sighting of the shooter was in Central Park, just blocks from where Thompson was stalked and killed. Investigators also recovered surveillance images that give a better glimpse at the shooter.
These are additional images of the suspect sought in connection to this morning’s homicide. If you have any information about this incident, the suspect, or his location please contact @NYPDTips at 1(800)577-TIPS. https://t.co/rtfVynljXapic.twitter.com/kUJr7l0nxZ
— NYPD NEWS (@NYPDnews) December 4, 2024
NYPD Chief of Detectives Joseph Kenney told reporters Wednesday that his investigators are searching both for the suspect and a motive for the killing. Thompson’s wife Paulette told NBC that he had been receiving threats of a nature she did not specify.
“Yes, there had been some threats basically I don’t know, a lack of coverage? I don’t know details,” Paulette Thompson told MSNBC. “I just know that he said there were some people that had been threatening him.”
At this time it is unclear whether the words written on the shell casings found at the scene are linked to those alleged threats.
In another development, the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension (BCA) confirmed for KARE 11 that the agency and other local law enforcement agencies have offered assistance to NYPD as Thompson lived in Maple Grove and worked at UnitedHealthcare’s facility in Minnetonka.