Police hunt for the gunman who killed UnitedHealthcare's boss in Manhattan
Business
One video showed him approach Thompson from behind
NEW YORK (AP) — Investigators are searching for clues that could help them identify the masked gunman who stalked and killed the leader of one of the largest U.S. health insurance companies on a Manhattan sidewalk, then disappeared into Central Park.
UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, 50, died in a dawn ambush Wednesday as he walked to the company’s annual investor conference at a Hilton in Midtown, blocks from tourist draws like Radio City Music Hall and the Museum of Modern Art.
The killing, and the shooter’s movements in the minutes before and afterward, were captured on some of the multitudes of security cameras present in that part of the city.
One video showed him approach Thompson from behind, level his pistol and fire several shots, barely pausing to clear a brief gun jam while the dying health executive tumbled to the pavement.
Other security cameras captured the initial stages of the gunman’s escape. He was seen fleeing the block across a pedestrian plaza, then escaping on a bicycle into Central Park, where he vanished.
Police used drones, helicopters and dogs in an intense search, but the killer’s whereabouts remained unknown late into the night.
New York City Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch said that while investigators had not yet established a motive, the shooting was no random act of violence.
“Many people passed the suspect, but he appeared to wait for his intended target,” Tisch said at a news conference Wednesday.
“From watching the video, it does seem that he’s proficient in the use of firearms as he was able to clear the malfunctions pretty quickly,” NYPD Chief of Detectives Joseph Kenny said.
Police issued several surveillance images of the man, who wore a hooded jacket and a mask that concealed most of his face and wouldn’t have attracted attention on a frigid winter day. Some of the photos were taken at a Starbucks coffee shop shortly before the shooting.
