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UnitedHealthcare CEO shooting latest: Man being held for questioning, sources say

Author: Editors Desk Source: ABC GMA
December 9, 2024 at 11:28
Screenshot 2024 12 09 at 5 29 41 PM
Screenshot 2024 12 09 at 5 29 41 PM

CEO Brian Thompson was shot and killed on Wednesday morning in Manhattan.



A man in Altoona, Pennsylvania, is being held for questioning in connection with the murder of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson in New York City, law enforcement sources told ABC News.

The man has a similar gun as the one used in the assassination-style killing, the sources said.

 
 

The NYPD is sending detectives to Altoona, the sources said. Altoona is in central Pennsylvania, about 100 miles east of Pittsburgh.

New video obtained by ABC News shows the killer waiting for Thompson moments before the shooting outside a Midtown Manhattan hotel last week. The video shows others pass by, and then, when the masked gunman sees Thompson, he runs across the street and opens fire.

 

An undated NYPD handout image obtained by Reuters on Dec. 5, 2024, shows an individual wanted for questioning in connection with the killing of UnitedHeatlhcare CEO Brian Thompson, in an unknown location. Nypd/via Reuters
An undated NYPD handout image obtained by Reuters on Dec. 5, 2024, shows an individual wanted for questioning in connection with the killing of UnitedHeatlhcare CEO Brian Thompson, in an unknown location. Nypd/via Reuters
 

 

The video, which has not previously been seen publicly, appears to support the police narrative that the shooter targeted Thompson in the Wednesday morning attack because he loitered while others wandered by.

Police haven't established a motive but said they haven't uncovered evidence that would show the killing had anything to do with Thompson's private life.

 

This undated photo provided by UnitedHealth Group shows UnitedHealthcare chief executive officer Brian Thompson. UnitedHealth Group via AP
This undated photo provided by UnitedHealth Group shows UnitedHealthcare chief executive officer Brian Thompson.
UnitedHealth Group via AP
 

 

The unidentified suspect appeared to have planned his movements with precision, but law enforcement is "on the right track," New York City Mayor Eric Adams told New York ABC station WABC on Sunday.

"As I say, the net is closing and closing," Adams said. "This was an extremely challenging investigation. A fully masked person. The amount of detective work it took to put the pieces together -- we feel we're getting closer and closer."

 

NYPD officers search Central Park for evidence in the CEO shooting, Dec. 6, 2024, in New York. WABC
NYPD officers search Central Park for evidence in the CEO shooting, Dec. 6, 2024, in New York.
WABC
 
 
 
A New York City Police officer walks through brush and foliage in Central Park near 64th Street and Central Park West in New York City, Friday, Dec. 6, 2024.
Ted Shaffrey/AP
 

 

The FBI is assisting the nationwide manhunt, according to law enforcement sources.

NYPD detectives arrived this weekend in Georgia. Investigators have said the suspect arrived in New York on Nov. 24 on a bus that originated Atlanta, although it's unclear if his travels began in Atlanta.

The masked gunman shot Thompson at point-blank range at 6:44 a.m. on Wednesday outside the New York Hilton Midtown, where Thompson's company was holding an investors conference. NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch described the attack as "brazen" and "targeted."

 

Thompson, the CEO of major insurance group UnitedHealthcare, was shot to death at point-blank range in Midtown Manhattan on Dec. 4, 2024.
ABC News
 

Right after the shooting, the suspect fled by bike through Central Park to the Upper West Side. He then took a taxi to the Port Authority bus facility at 178th Street and boarded a bus out of New York City, according to police.

NYPD officials released new images this weekend of the suspect in the back of a taxi, where he could be seen peering through the open slider in the partition between the seats. Another photo appeared to show the man walking by the window of a cab.

 

The New York City Police Department is asking for the public's help to identify this person wanted for questioning in the Midtown Manhattan murder of a CEO on Dec. 4, 2024. NYPD
The New York City Police Department is asking for the public's help to identify this person wanted for questioning in the Midtown Manhattan murder of a CEO on Dec. 4, 2024.
NYPD
 
 
 

 

In New York on Sunday, members of the New York Police Department's dive team searched underwater in Central Park near the Bethesda Fountain.

Adams on Sunday declined to comment on specific evidence, saying only that "every piece is important." And he spoke generally about the ongoing underwater search.

"Everywhere is important. Everyplace is important," Adams said, adding a moment later, "It's dark down there, you know."

 

New York Police Department divers search a body of water in Manhattan's Central Park on Sunday, Dec. 8, 2024. WABC
New York Police Department divers search a body of water in Manhattan's Central Park on Sunday, Dec. 8, 2024.
WABC
 

 

The suspect's backpack -- with a jacket and Monopoly money inside -- was found nearby in Central Park. Police have not yet recovered the distinctive gun used in the shooting.

"I don't want to do anything that's going to tip him off that we're on his trail, but we feel really good where we are," Adams said on Sunday. "Finding the knapsack, getting the cab photos, looking at some of the evidence that we have available to us, we feel really good where we are."

 

A backpack recovered by police in Central Park during the investigation into the fatal shooting of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, Dec. 6, 2024. Obtained by ABC News
A backpack recovered by police in Central Park during the investigation into the fatal shooting of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, Dec. 6, 2024.
Obtained by ABC News
 

 

ABC News' Bill Hutchinson, Jon Haworth, Ivan Pereira and David Brennan contributed to this report.

 
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