Bullets fired at UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson had words written on them, officials say
Bullets that an unidentified gunman used to shoot and kill UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson on Wednesday morning had words written on them, CBS News has confirmed.
The words "delay," "deny" and possibly "depose" appeared on shell casings and bullets recovered from the scene of the shooting in New York City, according to New York City Police Department officials. Law enforcement officials said they are examining whether the words relate to a possible motive involving insurance companies and their responses to claims. ABC News first reported this information.
A source briefed on the investigation said each word was meticulously written, not etched, onto the casings in Sharpie. Officials are examining the casings to determine whether the words could be related to a possible motive involving insurance companies and their responses to claims. Investigators believe they could reference "the three D's of insurance" coined by the industry's critics, which are "delay," "deny" and "defend." The alliteration is a comment on the tactics that opponents say insurance companies use to delay or deny policyholders' claims.
Thompson, 50, was shot multiple times before 7 a.m. ET Wednesday, by a masked gunman who fled the area before police arrived. The shooting happened in a busy section of Manhattan outside of the Hilton Midtown hotel, where the executive was set to attend a conference for UnitedHealthcare investors. Thompson had been staying at the Marriott across the street, authorities said.
The NYPD released the first unmasked images Thursday of an individual wanted for questioning in connection with the shooting, asking the public for help identifying that individual. The images were taken from a hostel in the Manhattan Valley area of the Upper West Side. A law enforcement official with knowledge of the investigation told CBS News the man used a fake ID with a fake name to check into the hostel. A person briefed on the investigation said it was a fake New Jersey identification card. The hostel said in a statement to CBS News it was cooperating with the NYPD.
Security footage showed the gunman walking up to the Hilton at around 6:45 a.m. Police said he had been lying in wait for several minutes and proceeded to shoot Thompson at least once in the back, and, later, at least once in the leg. The suspect was seen approaching Thompson briefly in the video before crossing the street. He then took off on a bike and headed to Central Park. Police recovered three live rounds and three discharged shell casings from the scene.
Police executed a search warrant Wednesday night at a building on the Upper West Side that the suspect had entered earlier in the day, wearing the backpack seen in video of the shooting, according to NYPD officials. The building they searched is in the same area as the Manhattan Valley hostel and the Frederick Douglass Housing Project, where the suspect was seen by surveillance cameras at 5 a.m. the day of the shooting. When the police department initially mentioned the gunman's proximity to the Frederick Douglass houses, they said they were seeking a warrant for a building in the area at which officers believe the suspect stayed overnight Tuesday into Wednesday. It was unclear if the surveillance tape that showed the suspect near the housing development before the shooting also showed him entering a building in the area.
After Thompson was killed, the suspect was seen in Central Park and video showed him exiting somewhere between 70th and 80th streets. The housing development is about a block from the west side of the park, between 100 and 101st streets.
The gunman remained at large Thursday. Authorities described him as a White male who wore a tan-colored jacket, a black face mask and black-and-white sneakers. He also carried a gray backpack. According to officials with knowledge of the investigation, police believe the suspect discarded the backpack in Central Park, possibly with the murder weapon inside it, and they were searching for the backpack.
A law enforcement official with knowledge of the investigation told CBS News police believe the suspect used a B&T Station SIX gun to carry out the shooting. Investigators have been visiting gun dealers in Connecticut looking for where the gun was purchased.
The NYPD released images of the suspect later Wednesday that showed him at a Starbucks two blocks from the shooting, about 20 minutes before it happened. A law enforcement source told CBS News he paid in cash at the coffee shop.
Police told CBS News they found unspecified "forensic evidence" at the Starbucks and that items recovered there are being tested for possible DNA and fingerprints. According to the officials with knowledge of the investigation, police recovered a coffee cup from a trash bin outside the Starbucks that they believe the suspect discarded based on surveillance video. The cup was dusted for latent fingerprints and has been sent to the NYPD crime lab for DNA testing, which has been fast-tracked.
Police also said they recovered a cellphone with "investigative value" in the alleyway near the shooting location and were processing it forensically to determine whether it could be connected to the shooter.
New video obtained by CBS News appears to show the suspect walking out of a Midtown subway station at around 6:15 a.m., half an hour before the shooting. The surveillance footage was taken from a store on 6th Avenue, on the same block as the Starbucks, where the suspect was seen at 6:17 a.m.
A person briefed on the investigation confirmed to CBS News Thursday that, days before the shooting, the person of interest took a bus that had originated in Atlanta, Georgia, to New York City. It is unclear when the person of interest got on the bus, whether it was in Atlanta, or on another stop along the way.
Although authorities have not given a possible motive for the shooting, New York City Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch called it a "premeditated, preplanned, targeted attack" at a Wednesday news conference. Police did not directly respond when asked by reporters whether Thompson had known enemies prior to his his death or been blamed for insurance recipients' lack of coverage under UnitedHealthcare. Issues with coverage sparked protests in Minnesota, where the company is headquartered and where Thompson lived.
Thompson did not have a security detail when he was killed, according to police.
Eric Werner, the police chief in Maple Grove, Minnesota, the Minneapolis suburb where Thompson lived, said his department had not received reports of threats against Thompson, the Associated Press reported. But the CEO's wife, Paulette Thompson, told NBC News on Wednesday that "there had been some threats" against her husband.
"Basically, I don't know, a lack of coverage? I don't know details. I just know there were some people that had been threatening him," she said.
While police searched through surveillance images and canvassed the area around the shooting for more video, a law enforcement source said investigators and security at UnitedHealthcare were also reviewing files to see if any records existed of previous threats or workers who were recently fired or disgruntled for another reason.
Police have asked anyone who might know something about the shooting or the gunman to either report what they know to Crime Stoppers or submit tips anonymously online. The department is offering a reward of up to $10,000 for information that leads to the suspect's arrest and conviction.
John Doyle, Rich Esposito, Pat Milton and Brook Silva-Braga contributed reporting.