Dogs and drones: New York police hunt brazen Manhattan gunman

New York police released a new security camera picture on Thursday 5 December of the man believed to have shot a top health insurance executive at close range in a brazen daylight murder outside a Manhattan hotel.

The latest picture, in which the suspect’s face is uncovered and he is smiling or laughing, indicated progress in the manhunt after Wednesday’s shock killing.

In a hit conducted in front of bystanders and seen by millions on TV replays of security camera footage, the masked killer used a pistol to gun down Brian Thompson, CEO of UnitedHealthcare — one of the country’s largest medical insurers.

Thompson was attending an investor conference in the Midtown business district.

Health insurance CEO Brian Thompson gunned down

Police have yet to suggest a motive and would not confirm a New York Times report that the words “delay” and “deny” — often used by insurance companies to reject claims — were written on shell casings found at the scene.

Video footage shows Thompson on the sidewalk outside the New York Hilton Midtown when a man in a hoodie, and with his lower face covered, approaches from behind, then fires several shots at his 50-year-old victim, who crumples to the ground.

Camera footage showed the suspect fleeing on foot, before getting on a bicycle — which police initially said may have been a rented e-bike. Police said he went in the direction of Central Park.

“Every indication is that this was a premeditated, preplanned, targeted attack,” New York’s police Commissioner Jessica Tisch told a briefing Wednesday.

US media on Thursday reported law enforcement sources said the suspected shooter traveled to New York via bus last month from Atlanta, Georgia, traversing a distance of 870 miles (1,400 kilometers).

NYPD chief of detectives Joseph Kenny would not confirm reports that a silencer was used on the pistol, saying that the question would be part of the investigation, but he did confirm that a cell phone had been recovered from the scene.

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Unknown gunman: Revenge for adverse medical coverage?

In the absence of an arrest, speculation has been rife that the gunman may have sought to take revenge for adverse medical coverage decisions made by the insurer.

‘Some threats’

Thompson’s wife, Paulette Thompson, who is based in Minnesota, told the NBC News outlet that he had received unspecified threats.

“There had been some threats, basically I don’t know — (over) a lack of coverage? I don’t know details,” said Thompson, who had two children with her late husband.

In a statement, UnitedHealth Group — the parent company of UHC — said it was “deeply saddened and shocked.”

UnitedHealthcare is a major player in the lucrative US health care market, providing workplace insurance, as well as administering huge health care programs like Medicare and Medicaid for older and low-income people funded by state budgets.

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Manhattan manhunt for gunman

Police remained on the scene of the killing, and have been combing through Manhattan’s iconic Central Park with dogs and drones.

“We have a large detective agency. At any given hour, multiple detectives could be working on (the investigation),” an NYPD spokesman said.

“We will be using all our assets that we have.”

The spokesman said that there was no follow up briefing planned.

UnitedHealth Group

UnitedHealth Group had revenues of $100.8 billion in the third quarter of the year.

Thompson’s own compensation package in 2023 was $10.2 million according to a regulatory filing.

He had been chief executive of UnitedHealthcare since April 2021, according to a separate Securities and Exchange Commission filing.

Before that, he oversaw UnitedHealthcare’s government programs including Medicare from July 2019 to April 2021.

— By © Agence France-Presse