UPDATE III: Sunday, December 8 at 9 a.m.: Police released a new photo Saturday night of a man wanted in connection to the Wednesday morning shooting of the United Healthcare CEO Brian Thompson in Midtown Manhattan.
Also on Saturday, divers searched the Lake in Central Park on Saturday afternoon near the boathouse and Bethesda Fountain for the gun used in the shooting, multiple sources reported, including CNN.
There have been no reports of anything found within the lake as of 9 a.m. on Sunday.
The search of the Lake comes a day after investigators found a backpack in a wooded area within Central Park near the 65th Street transverse bridge that they believe belonged to the gunman. However, all that was found in the backpack was a jacket and fake Monopoly money, according to the New York Post.
As of 9 a.m. on Sunday, neither the gun nor the electric bike the suspect used to ride away from the shooting have been found.
Footage on Wednesday morning shows the suspect biking down West 86th Street toward Columbus Avenue, before different video shows him walking at 86th Street and Columbus Avenue and getting into a cab to the Port Authority bus center near 178th Street and Broadway, NYPD Chief of Detectives Joseph Kenny told CNN.
He is then believed to have gotten on a bus and left the state, according to authorities.
The FBI is now offering a reward of up to $50,000 for information leading to an arrest and conviction of the gunman.
The alleged gunman stayed for multiple nights prior to the shooting at the HI New York City Hostel at 891 Amsterdam Avenue, between West 103rd and 104th streets, authorities said. He arrived in the city on November 24 on a Greyhound bus that originated in Atlanta, Georgia, but it remains unclear when and where the suspect boarded it.
There have been no arrests and the suspect’s name remains a mystery as of 9 a.m. on Friday.
Please read below for more information and check back in for updates.
UPDATE II: Friday, December 6 at 9:30 p.m.: There is new information related to the suspect’s travel on the Upper West Side following the Wednesday morning shooting of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, according to multiple reports, including CNN.
After the shooting, the suspected gunman rode an electric bike from the Midtown Manhattan hotel through Central Park, before exiting around West 77th Street, CNN reported. He went into the park with a backpack on, but exited without one, the New York Times reported.
Late on Friday afternoon, police discovered a backpack in a wooded area within Central Park near the 65th Street transverse bridge that they believe belonged to the gunman, according to reports. NYPD did not open the backpack and sent it straight to a lab for forensic analysis, which means it is unclear if the gun was inside of it, the New York Times reported.
The results from the backpack analysis have not been revealed as of Friday at 9:30 p.m.
Footage from later on Wednesday morning shows the suspect biking down West 86th Street toward Columbus Avenue, before different video shows him walking at 86th Street and Columbus Avenue and getting into a cab to the Port Authority bus center near 178th Street and Broadway, NYPD Chief of Detectives Joseph Kenny told CNN.
There is video of the suspect going into the bus station, but not walking out, which gives investigators “reason to believe” he got one of the buses and left the state, Kenny added to the publication.
In other recent developments, DNA was recovered from a water bottle found by investigators at the crime scene, law enforcement sources told the New York Times. The specimen was taken to the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner on Friday morning for testing, the Times added.
It is unclear if this DNA sample will lead to an identification.
The alleged gunman stayed for multiple nights prior to the shooting at the HI New York City Hostel at 891 Amsterdam Avenue, between West 103rd and 104th streets, authorities said. He arrived in the city on November 24 on a Greyhound bus that originated in Atlanta, Georgia, but it is unclear when and where the suspect boarded it, according to multiple reports.
There have been no arrests and the suspect’s name remains a mystery as of 9:30 p.m. on Friday.
Please check back in for updates.
UPDATE: Friday, December 6 at 9:20 a.m.: There have been no arrests as of Friday morning in connection to the fatal shooting of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson on Wednesday in Midtown Manhattan, according to police.
The suspect’s identity also remains a mystery as of Friday morning.
There is an Upper West Side connection, though.
The alleged gunman stayed for multiple nights prior to the shooting at the HI New York City Hostel at 891 Amsterdam Avenue, between West 103rd and 104th streets, authorities said. He arrived in the city on November 24 on a Greyhound bus that originated in Atlanta, Georgia, but it is unclear when and where the suspect boarded it, according to multiple reports.
The suspect then checked into the Upper West Side hostel the same day, and then checked out for one night on November 29, before checking back in on November 30 by using a fake New Jersey ID and cash, CNN reported.
CNN also reported that the widely shared photo of the suspect smiling was captured after a woman working at the Upper West Side hostel asked the man “to lower his mask while flirting with him.”
The smiling photo within the hostel is of particular value as police continue to collect video of the suspect throughout the city in the 10-day run up to the shooting, including in the subway, in cabs, and at a McDonald’s, but at each place he paid with cash and made sure to keep his mask on, ABC7 reported.
A search of his room within the hostel yielded nothing as of Thursday afternoon, sources told the New York Post.
Following the shooting, the suspect fled on an electric bike through Central Park, police said. NYPD did recover a phone the shooter tossed near the crime scene, but it is unclear if it is a burner phone with no personal information.
The words “deny,” “delay” and “depose” were found on the shell casing of the bullets, which are possibly in reference to the healthcare insurance industry related phrase, “delay, deny, defend.”
Authorities have traced sales of the kind of gun used to kill the United Healthcare CEO to a shop in Connecticut, police sources told ABC.
Shortly after the shooting, a video shows what appears to be the suspect around 7 a.m. Wednesday on a bike near West 85th Street and Central Park West, CNN reported.
We will continue to update this article with any major developments.
Original Story
By Gus Saltonstall
The gunman who is believed to have shot and killed UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson on Wednesday morning in Midtown Manhattan was on the Upper West Side prior to the shooting, according to multiple reports.
ABC is reporting that the shooter was spotted on surveillance video around 5 a.m. on Wednesday near West 103rd Street and Amsterdam Avenue. CNN reports that in the last 24 hours police searched the HI New York City Hostel at 891 Amsterdam Avenue, between West 103rd and 104th streets, in connection to the shooting.
Sources told CNN that the suspected shooter stayed in a multi-person room with two other men at the Upper West Side hostel for an unspecified length of time, and that while it appeared he wore a mask for the majority of it, law enforcement have captured an image from the location where he isn’t wearing the mask.
The New York Times also reported that the suspect used a New Jersey fake ID to check into the Upper West Side hostel, and paid in cash.
Police shared a new photo around 11:10 a.m. on Thursday of what they described as “a person wanted for questioning in connection” to the shooting. The photo is taken from within the Upper West Side hostel, but it is unclear when it was taken.
Following the shooting, the suspect fled on an electric bike through Central Park, police said.
The words “delay” and “depose” were found on the shell casing of the bullets, which might be in reference to the healthcare insurance industry related phrase, “delay, deny, defend.”
There have been no arrests or identification of the suspect as of Thursday at 10 p.m.
Anyone with information in regard to this incident is asked to call the NYPD’s Crime Stoppers Hotline at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477).
This is a developing story, please check back in for updates.
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Such a tragedy. A few themes. UWS and their openness towards housing vagrants with no questions asked. Permitting vagrants to wear masks no questions asked. The getaway vehicle of choice, ebikes with zero accountability. No questions asked.
Accountability, policing, and background checks can make a difference in providing a safe and secure neighborhood. I support stop and frisk as well.
Once one person succeeds, others follow.
Who is living on your street?
Wow Ida, you’ve gone full fascist. Auditioning for Fox? A few (of my) themes: Not a “housing vagrant”, but a guy with purported ID staying at a respected hostel. Wearing a mask no longer raises concerns. Some are vulnerable to Covid and the respiratory diseases floating aroung because they are immuno-compromised, some have Covid, some are more germ-conscious after Covid. Not an ebike, turns out, which would have been good for the NYPD as they require a credit card and have GPS. You “support stop and frisk”? Fine, Ida, offer yourself up for that and see how you like it. Oh, not for people who look like you? And what do we really have here? A guy comes into our town, shoots the CEO of the most hated health insurance company in America, which has the highest denial rate and the highest profits, and leaves town providing Netflix with a free script for their next Netflix Original . Was “Delay, deny, depose” on bullet casings because the guy had a bad health outcome from a United HealthCare unfair denial, or as a ruse to lead law enforcement astray because the wife (they are separated) hired him as a hit man, or was it something internecene in United HealthCare? Thompson was under investigation by the DOJ for insider trading . Was he about to flip? With good direction and a fine cast, this will go far. But getting back to you, Ida, why don’t you lay off vulnerable people such as the homeless, even though it’s so PC for Trumpians to bully the weak. Remember what Abe counseled our country, to be touched by “the better angels of our nature”.
Mr. Rogers asked the same question in a song. It kind of is important to know who you’re dealing with. Easier sung than done.
My mother stayed in that hostel for a few days when she visited New York for a medical conference across the park and couldn’t stay with us. She loved it – she likes being around young people. Does this make her a vagrant?
It’s a nice place. I didn’t see the rooms but went to a public lecture.
whoever moderates these comments should delete this one, this is unhinged and wildly inappropriate.
Opinions that differ from your own should be deleted? And the people who express them should be considered “unhinged” and “wildly inappropriate”? What kind of society is that?
This is s truly bizarre response to this article. This is a hostel, not a halfway house (or a prison), we are talking about here. Way to turn this discussion into something else entirely. Time to move to Florida maybe, Ida? I hear DeSantis is equally revolted by “vagrants” and people wearing masks.
What is this One America News Network? Even they are reporting more accurate information than this comment. This was not a vagrant – this person had weapons training and a firearm silencer. Legally purchasing one requires submitting fingerprints and a photograph, and undergoing a background check. Great that you support stop and frisk, extremely relevant here.
Re “UWS and their openness toward housing vagrants…” How does that even apply? The HI New York City Hostel (4 stars on Tripadvisor) is for tourists and students, not a shelter. Rates are $75-$300 a night. You then use the word “vagrants” again and propose some mechanism to vet all those who want to use a mask or an e-bike. Yeah, cops would love that extra work.
All the authorities have described a carefully planned assassination, not a random act by a homeless man. Too bad for your agenda.
Complete Agreement
It is extraordinary how people try to shoehorn any story relating to crime into their own political agenda — whether or not there is any actual connection.
Such alarmist and inaccurate comments.
“…housing vagrants with no questions asked” He stayed at a hostel, not a homeless shelter. This would require payment and identification, similar to a hotel.
“…ebikes with zero accountability. No questions asked…” It was a Citi Bike which requires exchange of information, membership and payment (i.e. you don’t just take one and roll away, unless you stole it)
“Accountability, policing, and background checks” Do you think background checks should be performed on all people living in the city and visiting the city? (I have held clearances for “positions of national security” for decades, background investigations are not a simple thing.
” I support stop and frisk as well” You may now, but would your view change if you are held against a wall and searched in front of friends and neighbors? I doubt it.
“Who is living on your street?” I would like to think my neighbors are well informed and not afraid of their shadows. I am sure some of them have rough histories, but we all have the right to make our way in the world and try to do better, correct?
This was a targeted killing, people who are making it out to be “all about them” are not being reasonable.
Vagrants? He stayed in a hostel, according to police. A hostel is not a homeless shelter.
Don’t worry, Ida, no one’s going to assassinate you, your hardheartedness towards “vagrants” (what is this, 1940?) and your wild capacity for jumping to conclusions (since the public doesn’t know who this guy is, we have no idea of his background or usual place of residence) notwithstanding.
I bet you wouldn’t enjoy a world where you had to undergo a background check to stay in a hotel, nor one where you were regularly pushed up against a wall and frisked when you were just trying to go about your day, but that would be for Other People, right?
Actually many hotels now require that you produce a government issued ID before they let you check in. I’m sure that’s helping the police determine who is the suspect.
On the contrary: questions are certainly being asked and answered, which is how they found that this guy stayed at both a residence and a hostel (with exact addresses of each, along with length of stay and other persons involved) and they have shared a photo of him without a mask, and they most certainly know his name by now (to be released soon). They were also able to track his use of the Citibike because of Citibike’s digital tracking called “Digital Exhaust”. If he hasn’t already committed suicide – always the coward’s way out – he will soon be located and captured.
They say it was not a Citibike
It sounds like you want to live in a police state, and NO THANK YOU!!!!
Complete Agreement, AGAIN! I have zero interest in living in a police state.
What are you talking about? That hostel has been there for a long time and should remain and whoever comes and goes there is fine. This person was clearly not a vagrant and probably not a migrant either.
Yes, it was originally the AYH – American Youth Hostel. A cheap but perfectly respectable place to stay for visitors to the city, especially students.
Pretty big leap to get to “I support stop and frisk as well” but alright.
I think you might prefer China to the UWS 🙂
Hopefully not you.
Great work, WSR and Gus. Despite following the story, I read the developments here first. Explains some of the commotion last night.
Using a silencer, writing on each round, and clearing a pistol jam that quickly indicate an experienced marksman
The elite level of the police work here is insane. They’ve already got his name so it’s only now a matter of time.
it’s Friday night, midnight: The police DO NOT yet have his name. But they are getting closer at this point.
Actually I wish there was this much action with all shootings
I can relate to the frustration of having claims denied when you have someone critically ill. It’s terribly unethical. And yes, they DO have a policy to delay, delay delay.
You do realize that murder is not the proper course of action over a denied claim? A man is dead and a family has lost a father.
I suggest you use the court system.
The NY Times reported that United Healthcare denied payment for 10.9% of post surgery/acute care treatments in 2020. That percentage denial more than doubled to 22.7 percent in 2022. On what possible grounds can United Heathcare override the treatment plan of the patient’s doctors? How can an insurance company contend they are more expert than the patient’s surgeons? We must insist our legislators change this practice. All insurance companies should be non-profit, as should all hospitals.
Of course he stopped by the UWS! The local pols from the area have supported numerous soft on crime policies.
Oh please. The level of police work in the past 24+ hrs is astounding.
Great work, NYPD! Somebody has gone through hundreds of videos, no?
This shooting is indeed a tragedy and I hope the murderer is caught. I feel bad for the victims of other shootings and stabbings that there is no nation-wide manhunt for their killers.
Were there choppers circling that area last night?
In reply to Ida: your take is based on assumptions and some misunderstandings.
First, we don’t know if this person is a vagrant, or even from New York. The fact that he wrote industry related terms on the bullets, and that he knew where United Healthcare was having this investor day, seems to point to this being a targeted killing, not some random shooting by a vagrant.
Second, CitiBike knows who is renting their bikes. One has to have an account (and a form of payment) to rent a bike (unless hehijacked someone else’s). Just because the police have not released information on that account doesn’t mean there’s no accountability, as you say.
Finally, stop and frisk is really an affront to the Constitution and our rights as Americans. The fact that the people actually stopped and frisked we’re disproportionately black and brown, shows that there was not objectivity on the police’s part. Perhaps this wasn’t a concern for you, but it’s a reality for others.
Honestly, your post reads like a bot or foreign agent looking to stir things up.
That’s that hostel that used to be the Home for Elderly Respectable Females or whatever, right? Mixed crowd now.
Wow…and story about an assassin gets turned into a screen against “vagrants”. And Ida evidently believes homeless people — at more risk for infection than she, no doubt — should not be allowed to wear masks. Nice.
I’m confused – the outfit and backpack on the “suspect” with his face showing does not match the outfit/backpack of the previously released images. These really don’t appear to be the same guy – what gives?
They found the backpack he wore in the shooting. Don’t you think he might have 2 jackets as well?
There could be at least a couple of explanations.
One, the newly released photo might have been taken on a different day from the shooting — if he was casing the hotel on Monday or Tuesday, for example, he might have been wearing different clothes or had a different bag with him.
Two, the newly released photo could be of an accomplice or someone with knowledge of the shooter. The NYPD has only described the individual pictured as a “person of interest,” not necessarily the shooter himself.
First thing I noticed, the jacket is completely different
Why does it feel like there’s never any good news coming out of the UWS anymore and just more crime-related news?
This tragedy and the difficulties in identifying the suspect – though the NYPD have certainly made good progress – lead me to plead once more for all bikes in the city be reigstered and carry license plates.
All e-bikes should be registered and carry license plates. I think that would result in fewer e-bike riders boldly racing on the sidewalks, and maybe fewer racing through red lights and against the direction of traffic. If it helped the NYPD capture more murderers as well—all the better!
It was not a citibike. Go on your rant somewhere else
If all electric vehicles registered and plated they would either have caught him or he would have fled another way!
This is why e-bikes and scooters are the get away vehicle of choice!!!
While tragic, let this be a lesson to insurance companies and what happens to patients and family members they will not properly treat after we spend our lives paying premiums. The only way to get proper health care, is to not work and be on welfare. Those of us who work and pay premiums have to avoid going to the Dr. Until we’re in rough shape because of the ridiculous out of pockets and deductibles while those on welfare go for the sniffles.
You are sadly right in that welfare recipients have better health insurance than the working people. Medicaid is better than any insurance on the exchange.
I kind of have the feeling you’ve never been on Medicaid. My babysitter was on Medicaid until I bought her an exchange policy. She had never gotten any form of counseling for her diabetes, had never been properly diagnosed, and lost a good portion of her vision in one eye from diabetic complications as a result. When she went on the exchange policy and saw a proper doctor, the doctor was appalled at how much damage she had suffered as a result of getting no education, no diagnosis, no attention. Ironically, her policy was a United Healthcare policy. Which is in no way perfect, but even with their appalling record, it was better than Medicaid.
A lesson? You mean, extrajudicial assassination in the street is somehow a good learning experience for us all? It’ll optimize economic and social outcomes?
Have you all lost your minds?!
I guess you missed the point that a man is dead and his children without a father.
At this point we don’t know the shooter’s motive. How about for the moment we offer condolences to the family and give our support for the efforts of law enforcement?
It’s not all about you.
He must have planned this for months. It is very difficult to get a reservation at that hostel, it is nearly always fully booked.
The cops definitely don’t need my help but the assassin looks like he might have had a broken nose at some point.
Is it me, but those two pictures don’t look like the same person? The jackets differ somewhat as do the noses.
This is why we need many more cameras.
He knew to head straight for the park were there are few cameras.
Anyone have an idea why the FBI is not involved? There is certainly juridiction.
It is now involved.
@Ida Melnick: Stop and frisk was usually confined to people of color. That’s why it was eventually abandoned. It was a wretched policy that unfairly and shamefully targeted mostly people whose skin color marked them for suspicion. It was hurtful. How would it have prevented this murderer, whose skin covering was clearly neither Black nor Brown? As others here have already noted, background checks are laborious and time-consuming. There are not nearly enough investigators available to check every single person checking into every single hotels, motel and hostel in the country. You really need to keep your snap inspirational thoughts in check and think them through before committing them to a comments area.
Who should have stop and frisk focused on? If say males 18-30 commit most crimes, it would not make much sense to focus on females 70+. Thus logically stop and frisk focused on demographics that commit a disproportionate percentage of crimes. Whatever their color/age/sex happens to be!
“Stop and frisk” is legal in NYC and is standard police procedure, here and throughout the country. However, the officer must have “reasonable suspicion” that the person stopped has committed, is in the process of committing, or is intending to commit a crime. “Having Black or Brown skin” is not “reasonable suspicion.”
The NYPD officer making the stop must fill out a form detailing the reason for the suspicion.
NYC’s prior “stop and frisk” policy, under Bloomberg, was found unconstitutional due to racial profiling, where approx 90% of those stopped were Black or Hispanic.
If you want to advocate for a policy where NYers are deemed “suspicious” solely because of their age/gender/race, please do so with the knowledge that this is a overtly racist policy and constitutes Jim Crow policing. You have the right to advocate for blatantly racist police policies, unconstitutional as they might be. You don’t have the right to claim they aren’t racially discriminatory.
It was ruled federally unconstitutional, they don’t make those rulings in a vacuum, clearly there was wanton discrimination and erroneous practices taking place.
Can we stop with the political comments and get back to discussing the fact that he came to our city, and neighborhood, to commit a murder?
It has nothing to do with migrants or vagrants, or moving to FL or China, etc.
It is a person who came to our city, most likely from Connecticut, according to where the gun was purchased to do one thing, To murder the CEO of United Healthcare.
He obviously had some sort of perceived reason since he etched a message on the bullet casings.
Let’s hope that they find this murderer while, hopefully, he’s still in the area. (Although I doubt that he’s hanging around.)
No doubt he was on the UWS. Even if you’re in town to murder someone, who’s not going to stop at Zabar’s for a nosh.
It isn’t funny
Ever hear of gallows humor. The point of such humor is to laugh through our tears, at both life’s absurdities and horrors. How else can we go on in this crazy world?
That said, you have a point in that it’s too soon and raw for jokes, but, again, such is life.
Surprised no one has yet mentioned the different treatments here. We have the entire city police force on this but if an average citizen got killed, would he or she get the entire police force to bring justice? No.
Get rid of the Citi Bikes.
They take up too much public space and are used for tons of crime.
While you’re at it get rid of Citi bank.
Career criminals.
Thank you and have a nice day.
Yesterday, a CEO assassin look a like contest was held in Washington Square Park. A winner was crowned. I’m not even kidding.
And there was a $50.00 award.
I don’t understand the logic behind releasing so much information related to the NYPD’s investigation and the activities they’ve done to track the suspect. Beyond releasing pictures that the public can use to aid in his identification, the rest provides the suspect with their blueprint for finding him. Is it really necessary that the public know that he got on a bus possibly heading for Atlanta? Why release information about the backpack and its contents? I’m sure they’re holding back a significant amount of other information but wondering if releasing the rest is part of a strategy that will become clear later if they catch him.
“He” looks like a girl in this photo….?!
Although the motive of this killing is not known… the reports of issues patients and their families have experienced with insurance companies paying for health care calls out for reform of health care policy in this country…
Health care could be a “right “ for all humans especially in the USA… the land of plenty!!!!
It seems to work in Europe… but when talk of “socialized “ medicine has come up, the big insurance companies erect walls saying this cannot be done!!!!
Who are they looking out for???? Patients or CEOs and their staff????
I’m hoping some of our leaders see the bigger issue in this tragedy and start brainstorming about how to improve medical care in the USA…!!!
Bernie Sanders is the only person who dares to suggest changes, but fear of change has prevented any action on the part of our legislators….
Do you have a broad-based market mutual fund?
If the answer is yes, the insurance companies are looking out for you – their employer and shareholder.
Divest if you’re so concerned.
I’m tired of hearing about how Europe makes it work. Not only are the taxes higher there but there is greater participation in paying taxes. In the US, half the population doesn’t pay taxes. Europe also has a VAT which contributes a significant amount to the government so that healthcare can be provided. Also, if the US enacted some tort reform to bring the liability levels down to the level of Europe, healthcare policy would be a lot different.
Still, hope the Hostel creates better screening requirements. Maybe Passport, credit card, bank statement, or such in addition to a drivers license. More requirements to get a library card.
You want to provide that every time you go to a hotel? Why should the rules be different for a hostel?
What was the last time you went to a hotel and didn’t provide a drivers license (or passport if abroad), a credit card and most likely, an email address and phone number (connected to the reservation)?
Trying to justify murder because of dislike of insurance companies is about a misguided as one can get.
Insurers might take their time assessing claims and initially delay paying until the claim is investigated. Not all health care providers are honest in presenting claims. Think about a doctor being paid or bullied into diagnosing bone spurs so some privileged rich kid can avoid the draft.
Insurance companies should investigate claims. Otherwise, our premiums would be higher. I am not suggesting that insurance companies do a perfect job but there is no basis for suggesting that all claims should be paid without further investigation.
I am not in any way endorsing murder for this – it was wrong, and I’m appalled by the people who are celebrating it.
Your description of what insurance companies do is far too charitable towards the insurance companies. United Healthcare routinely denies claims to older people in its medicare plans because it knows that people in that age group are unlikely to appeal because they don’t know how, are too disabled to object, and are otherwise unable to protect themselves. They also routinely deny a percentage of claims they know to be valid, again on the basis that it will likely not be appealed. This company has a terrible record – google the news about its Medicare “Advantage” program. And the industry as a whole has a terrible record – google, as just one example, the decision by Anthem to pay for anesthesia only for the reapproved time, even if complications or unanticipated issues make surgery take longer.
I don’t believe in the death penalty, even for egregious, gouging, murderous insurance companies. But I also don’t believe in white washing what they do.
Probably a lot of people have seen by now that the suspect is Luigi Mangione, originally from Hawaii. He was apprehended on gun charges in Altoona PA and is the “person of interest” re this murder.
It looks like they caught the shooter.