NEW YORK — Newly released surveillance photos show a person who police say they want to question after UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson was shot and killed on Wednesday outside a hotel in Midtown Manhattan.
Police sources say the photos were taken at 891 Amsterdam Ave., a hostel on the Upper West Side. A tourist staying at the hostel told CBS News New York two police officers showed up there overnight and questioned several people. The NYPD has found surveillance footage of the suspect from approximately 5 a.m. Wednesday near the Frederick Douglass Houses, a NYCHA complex on Manhattan’s Upper West Side. The hostel is located near there.
“We are fully cooperating with the NYPD and, as this is an active investigation, cannot comment at this time,” said a spokesperson for Hi New York Hostel.
NYPD
More than 24 hours after Thompson was gunned down in what police are calling a targeted shooting, a citywide manhunt continues for his killer. Detectives are combing through Thompson’s electronics to see if he faced any threats, and they say the gunman may have dropped vital clues.
New York City Mayor Eric Adams said in an interview Thursday morning, “We feel that we’re moving at a steady pace, and we’re going to have someone apprehended.”
Police have executed a search warrant at the victim’s hotel room at the Marriott, down the block and across from the shooting scene, but nothing was found that gives any theory into the motive. His personal effects were found but nothing that pushes the investigation or the motive forward, police sources said.
CBS News has confirmed law enforcement officials say the words “deny” and “delay” were meticulously written in Sharpie on shell casings that were recovered at the scene.
Police have received numerous anonymous tips, including one which resulted in officers stopping an LIRR train to Seaford at 5:30 p.m. Wednesday to search for the suspect, sources told CBS News New York. They also conducted a search at an airport. Both searches did not turn up the suspect.
Video shows brazen shooting outside Hilton Midtown
Surveillance video captured the brazen and targeted attack early Wednesday morning.
A masked shooter using a silencer approached Thompson from behind and shot him in the back and the leg. The weapon appeared to jam, but the suspect cleared it and kept shooting.
The gunman then jogged across the street, in plain view of witnesses.
“I was looking at my phone, then I hear the shot. And when I looked, the guy was with a gun, like a silent gun,” one witness said.
Thompson, a 50-year-old father of two, was heading to the Hilton Midtown to address investors at a UnitedHealthcare conference.
The NYPD is now working with authorities in Minnesota, where he is from, to identify any specific threats against him. Police sources say detectives uncovered rantings directed at the company, but no threats to his personal safety.
“Many people passed the suspect, but he appeared to wait for his intended target,” NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch said at a news conference Wednesday. “Every indication is that this was a premeditated, preplanned, targeted attack.”
Manhunt leads police to Central Park
CBS News New York
From the Hilton, investigators believe the suspect hopped on a bike and rode to Central Park. Video obtained by CBS News appears to show him in the park wearing the distinct grey backpack he was wearing in the video when he was captured at the shoot scene in Midtown. He is then seen leaving the park on West 85th Street about 15 minutes after the shooting without the backpack.
“What we’re looking at is a gunman who was thoughtful and prepared, staked out the scene, began by shooting the person in the back,” said CBS News law enforcement contributor Richard Esposito, a former NYPD deputy commissioner.
Police said the suspect planned carefully, but not perfectly. He went to a nearby Starbucks before the shooting, where sources say surveillance images may have captured enough of his face to run through facial recognition.
“The full investigative efforts of the New York City Police Department are well underway, and we will not rest until we identify and apprehend the shooter in this case,” Tisch said.
Police sources say investigators are running forensic tests on a water bottle and candy bar wrapper they believe the suspect left at the Starbucks, as well as a discarded cellphone found near the scene.
A law enforcement source said he paid with cash at 6:17 a.m., roughly 30 minutes before the shooting. This is after the suspect was spotted at around 5 a.m. in the vicinity of the Frederick Douglass Houses.
“A wonderful person with a big heart”
Thompson arrived in the city Monday from Minnesota and was scheduled to address investors at the company’s annual investor relations conference. Top executives quickly canceled the shareholders meeting.
“The company is just distraught, his colleagues are distraught,” said Taylor Smith, who was staying at the Hilton.
Investigators are now probing every aspect of Thompson’s life to try to find a motive.
“They’re going to look at the business end, you have a company that’s laid people off. They’re going to look at the personal stories, and they’re going to focus on letters, desperate people who were denied care or tests or something that could’ve saved a life or who blame the company,” former NYPD Deputy Commissioner for Intelligence and Counterterrorism John Miller said.
The 50-year-old was married with two sons. His wife, Paulette, spoke about the family’s loss.
“Brian was a wonderful person with a big heart and who lived life to the fullest,” she said. “He will be greatly missed by everybody. Our hearts are broken and we are completely devastated by this news.”
The NYPD is offering a $10,000 reward in the case, asking the public to call the Crime Stoppers hotline at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477), or 1-888-57-PISTA (74782) for Spanish. You can also submit a tip via their website. All calls are kept confidential.
contributed to this report.
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