By MICHAEL BALSAMO, JAKE OFFENHARTZ and MICHAEL R. SISAK
NEW YORK (AP) — Because the hunt for a masked gunman who stalked and killed the top of the biggest U.S. well being insurer moved into its third day Friday, surveillance footage supplied extra clues concerning the suspect’s travels and the locations he visited earlier than the capturing.
UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson was killed in a daybreak ambush Wednesday as he walked from his midtown resort to the corporate’s annual investor convention throughout the road, simply blocks from Radio Metropolis Music Corridor and Rockefeller Heart.
Days later, the gunman’s whereabouts and identification remained unknown as did the explanation for the killing. New York Metropolis police say proof firmly factors to it being a focused assault. Investigators had been working to piece collectively extra of the timeline of the gunman’s actions earlier than the capturing.
Police have obtained new surveillance pictures of the suspect, together with from town’s subway system, a regulation enforcement official mentioned.
In institutions the place he was captured on digital camera, he at all times appeared to pay with money, mentioned the official, who was not approved to debate particulars of the continuing investigation and spoke to The Related Press on situation of anonymity.
The phrases “deny,” “defend” and “depose” had been scrawled on the ammunition, that official and a second one instructed the AP on Thursday. The messages mirror the phrase “delay, deny, defend,” which is often utilized by legal professionals and critics about insurers that delay funds, deny claims and defend their actions.
Investigators consider the suspect might have traveled to New York final month on a bus that originated in Atlanta, one of many regulation enforcement officers mentioned. An Atlanta police spokesperson mentioned Friday that the company has not been requested to affix the investigation.
Police and federal brokers have been amassing data from Greyhound to attempt to establish the suspect and are working to find out whether or not he bought the ticket to New York in late November, the official mentioned.
Investigators have examined a discarded water bottle and protein bar wrapper in a hunt for his DNA. In addition they had been making an attempt to acquire extra data from a cellphone recovered from a pedestrian plaza the place the shooter fled. He then received on a bicycle and was final seen driving into Central Park, blocks from the capturing.
Police launched images Thursday of an individual wished for questioning in reference to Thompson’s killing that had been taken within the foyer of a hostel on on Manhattan’s Higher West Facet. The photographs, displaying an unmasked man smiling within the foyer of the HI New York Metropolis hostel, add to a group of images and video circulated for the reason that capturing — together with footage of the assault itself, in addition to pictures of the suspected gunman stopping at a Starbucks beforehand.
Investigators have realized the person lowered his masks on the entrance desk of the hostel as a result of he was flirting with the lady who checked him in, one of many regulation enforcement officers instructed the AP, resulting in a photograph of his face. The girl instructed investigators that in that encounter she requested to see his smile and he pulled down his masks, the official mentioned.
Investigators consider the suspect used a pretend New Jersey identification card when he checked in on the hostel, the official mentioned.
Staff who work on the hostel instructed investigators they remembered a person who virtually at all times wore a masks when interacting with them or strolling by the entrance desk. The individual wore a jacket that appeared just like the one worn by the person pictured in surveillance pictures, the official mentioned.
Based mostly on surveillance video and proof from the scene, investigators consider the shooter had not less than some firearms coaching and expertise with weapons and that the weapon was geared up with a silencer, the regulation enforcement official instructed the AP.
Safety video exhibits the killer approaching Thompson from behind, leveling his pistol and firing a number of pictures, barely pausing to clear a gun jam whereas the manager tumbled to the sidewalk.
Investigators had been additionally trying into whether or not the suspect had pre-positioned a motorcycle as a part of an escape plan, the official mentioned.
Police launched a number of pictures of the person carrying a hooded jacket and a masks that hid most of his face — a glance that may not have attracted consideration on a cold morning.
Thompson, a father of two sons who lived in a Minneapolis suburb, had been with Minnetonka, Minnesota-based UnitedHealthcare since 2004 and served as CEO for greater than three years.
The insurer’s father or mother firm, UnitedHealth Group Inc., was holding its annual assembly in New York to replace buyers on its route and expectations for the approaching 12 months. The corporate abruptly ended the convention after Thompson’s loss of life.
UnitedHealth Group mentioned late Thursday that it was centered on supporting Thompson’s household, making certain the security of staff and aiding investigators. “While our hearts are broken, we have been touched by the huge outpouring of kindness and support in the hours since this horrific crime took place,” the corporate mentioned.
UnitedHealthcare supplies protection for greater than 49 million People and introduced in additional than $281 billion in income final 12 months. It’s the largest supplier of Medicare Benefit plans within the U.S. and manages medical health insurance protection for employers and state and federally funded Medicaid applications.
In October, UnitedHealthcare was named together with Humana and CVS in a Senate report detailing how its denial charge for prior authorizations for some Medicare Benefit sufferers has surged in recent times.
The capturing has shaken company America and the medical health insurance trade specifically, inflicting firms to reevaluate safety plans and delete images and biographies of executives from their web sites. A distinct Minnesota-based well being care firm mentioned Friday it was briefly closing its workplaces out of an abundance of warning, telling staff to work at home.
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Balsamo reported from Washington. Karen Matthews in New York and Jeff Martin in Atlanta contributed to this story.
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