NYPD releases unmasked photo of smiling suspect in UnitedHealthcare CEO killing
Summary
The NYPD released unmasked photos of the suspect in the targeted killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, who was shot outside the New York Hilton Midtown on Dec. 4.
Surveillance footage traced the suspect’s movements before and after the crime, including his escape on an e-bike.
Investigators uncovered cryptic words on shell casings at the scene and recovered items possibly containing DNA evidence.
Authorities are using facial recognition and offering a $10,000 reward for tips. NYC Mayor Eric Adams confirmed the attack was premeditated and involved a silencer. Motive remains unknown.
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/crime/unitedhealthcare-brian-thompson-nypd-unmask-shooting-b2659554.htmlOpen linkView original on lemmy.world402
Comments243
In 2023 there were 391 murders in NYC. For the police to deploy that amount of resources for this one murder kinda proves that the police work for the rich.
i suspect that the intense response from the authorities proves how much of a priority this is for our gov't and i hope that this becomes a trend on the rich.
Imagine hearing about something like this every few days instead of school shootings? Man...
I think the overall happiness of the population would go up if morally bankrupt people were killed every other day instead of children.
Commit murder in NYC and I suspect the NYPD to be just as active especially when there's video.
hundreds of people are killed every year in that city and none get this kind of attentions or response; even when they're on camera being killed slowly while everyone watches (eg eric garner).
Hundreds of people are not targeted murder victims in NYC every year.
the nypd has a track record of court cases and millions of dollar of fines for targeting specific groups in nyc; they know what they're doing.
Oh and every other murder was random acts of violence? Fuck off with your narrowing of goalposts that didn't even move them.
No. Most murders happen between people that know each other very well. Few are assassinations on the street.
I hope you can self reflect enough to see what a silly position you argued yourself into. I'll let you marinate in it.
Remember when NYPD watched a guy attacking people on the subway with a knife?
Big ol' (X).
Such is not the case here. Video shows there were many people on the streets at the time and the shooter was aiming at killing a specific person. This wasn't an attempt at mass mayhem.
So the police should only act if it's a targeted attack? Against a wealthy individual? Hopefully you don't get a canker sore polishing those boots.
Assassination on a city street is around upon by local police. It doesn't matter how rich the victim is.
does to the pigs
Ok, bootlicker.
When was the last manhunt performed for a murder in NYC?
https://www.amazon.com/Dannemora-Escaped-Killers-Largest-Manhunt/dp/0806539240
So 10 years ago for escaped convits. Sounds like a lot of people between them and now got murdered that went unsolved that they used very little resources for.
You asked. I googled. Something you might well have done, but did not. Now you complain of the first search result. Sorry, the spoon feeding is over.
I was asking more when was the last time they did this to see the frequency of these manhunts. Lots of people get murdered every year but last manhunt was roughly 10 years ago. I didn't complain about your answer I was just saying how much it speaks to the police's lack of effort in protecting normal citizens.
This isn't just a murder, it's potentially a statement about how the people who seem to be untouchable in the current social order are very very touchable. If that statement stands, it endangers the social order itself.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Propaganda_of_the_deed
Yeah I feel like this is another thing that is fully normalized - the cops are there to protect wealth. Just like how the health care industry's practices have been normalized.
True, but it wasn't like we didn't know. It's just the hypocrisy of the police and the media doing their thing.
They're going to be pretty keen to find and make an example out of a person that did something bad to someone of worth. Can't let that stand unanswered, or Adams will lose donors.
Being wealthy and being a "person of worth" are almost mutually exclusive nowadays.
Supposedly the shell casings have words engraved on them. Deny Defend Depose.
So random, those words could mean anything! Clearly we will never know the motive!
Or what he looks like!
Wow it peaked around 5 murders per day in 1990.
If you saw this guy, you did not see this guy
I kinda get that vibe from the police too. Just $10,000? Don't try too hard there, now.
I was denied emergency life saving medication by my insurance (not united iir) and ended up in the hospital the next day for a week. Billed an average $15,000 a day each day.
After the bills came in, it was apparent someone/algorithm put me in the hospital to bill the most money for profit. It was a nasty trick.
Anyways, $10,000 seems like chump change to them. More of a "well, we tried" bounty.
I know someone who lost their dad to medical issues. Their dad's insurance is asking them for $200k
When my eye condition was rapidly degenerating, insurance denied me the only procedure that could slow it down. Now my eyesight is absolute trash and the only reason I can even see is because I use $1000/lens glass lenses the size of a nickel
The deductible for my sympathy hasn't been met
Hot damn that's powerful
If anyone has information that could lead the the arrest of this suspect, then I have $10,001 that says no, they don’t.
So is there a gofundme for this or a future bail fund I can donate to?
No chance he gets bail. A legal fund however could be useful.
I expect there will be after he's identified.
Health insurance denials and other insurance BS transcend through the entire 99%, even cops.
Cops don't give a fuck.
It is the easiest go to these days (don't worry, we'll have even worse sooner than later) but look at Uvalde. Cops actively prevented parents from rescuing their children. Cops physically restrained a different cop who was trying to rescue his wife (she was murdered and he later resigned). They don't even operate in their own self interest.
So you can bet that the cop who Failure Drills the restrained suspect because "he's a professional hitman who won't be taken alive" will have denied claims and be desperate for any way to get life saving procedures done.
If they unfortunately find him, jury selection is gonna be super interesting. I would let that guy go with a handshake and a good job.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jury_nullification
like with the rittenhouse case; they're going to find a judge & jury sympathetic enough to the rich to make a conviction happen.
they did it with obamacare and they can do it with an assassin.
Seriously. Imagine the state prosecutor trying to weed out that jury pool.
Even if a potential juror doesn’t mouth off online, there is a massive list of names that UHC has fucked over directly, let alone people with ill feelings toward health insurance in general.
what guy? all i saw was a woman with pink hair and a nose ring.
I just saw the ceo die from magic bullets. No people at all.
I think his body just kinda did that and he pooped out the casings when it happened
If it's a legitimate assassination, a CEO's body has a way of shutting the whole thing down.
Clearly an act of god.
Bruh don't fucking lie. It was a 5'4" gremlin looking woman with green hair.
Yes Sgt Shultz…. I zaw nothink!!!
Pretty sure that’s Donald Trump—he even discussed his plan to shoot a man on 5th Avenue.
This was on Sixth, though. Totally different.
Would you trust someone of his limited faculties to tell the difference?
But, six is also a much higher number. Do you really think he can count that high?
Maybe if he takes off both of his tiny mittens without strangling himself with the cord 🤷
New term, new street
Lol "Shit... I thought that sign board read 6th... not 5th. I wonder who I shot?"
Actually, all the street signs read "Avenue of the Americas", but only tourists call it that.
Getting the street wrong is how we know it was him.
Motive remains unknown
Lol
Every god damned person that's seen the headline knows exactly what the motive was, but sure, it's biiiiiig mystery.
Remember kids, if you see the guy who shot and killed the UCH CEO with named bullets: no you didn't.
This is the exact opposite of the Reddit Boston Bomber fiasco. What man? I only see a picture of an empty sidewalk
He ditched a phone while he was fleeing the scene and used a fake NJ ID at the hostel. Hopefully the phone was a burner.
Oh shit, he's hot...
I kinda hate it when someone is this cool and this good looking. Save some positive qualities for the rest of us!
I'm a gay woman, but my god is this man fuckable
I'm a straight man, but that guy can assassinate my loins any time.
Immediate thought was "would smash"
The guy in those photos has a different color coat and a different backpack... what makes the NYPD think they're the shooter? Is there only one guy in NYC that wears a coat and backpack in checks notes December?
Exactly, the one on the right isn't even the shooter. It's jake gyllenhaal trying to get photographs of the scene
Nightcrawler was more than just method acting then.
If you look at the background, you’ll see the white balance of the photo is different. It’s the same coat, the photo is just tinted differently.
They’re not talking about the two unmasked photos in the article. If you look at the photos of the masked shooter, he had a different backpack (white/beige instead of black) and a different hoodie(no chest pockets).
Replying to my own comment for additional context:
I'm not saying it's what happened here, but I've always figured that if I intended to commit a crime and escape, I'd change my outer clothes as fast as possible. If you were wearing a mask, if you put on a different jacket, backpack, hat, pants, and shoes you're basically unrecognizable barring any recognizable scars or tattoos or whatever.
I don't know how much time would have elapsed between the two pictures, but if you plan for it by wearing two layers, it wouldn't take very long to pull a second bag from your backpack and stuff the first backpack and your jacket into the second pack.
It looks like the guy in both sets of pictures might be wearing the same sort of neck gaiter, but that's pretty flimsy evidence to say the least
But why would you change into an extremely similar looking jacket and backpack and continue to walk around with the same face covering? Why would you not change into a yellow puffer jacket and put a Knicks beanie on and get rid of the damn backpack entirely?
Hypothetically, you'd still want to blend into the crowd, "yellow puffy jacket and Knicks hat" is pretty identifiable if someone were to see you changing your clothes, but darker colored midweight hooded jacket could probably describes like 75% of what everyone on any random street in New York is wearing at any given time in the winter.
And the backpacks look like they're totally different colors. You also wouldn't want to ditch the bag or clothes too close to the chime scene, don't want to leave behind evidence that might be easily linked to you.
Can't speak for the neck gaiter, a black gaiter is a pretty unremarkable article of clothing, I know a few people who have started wearing them semi regularly over the winter since COVID, it's probably not enough to be identifiable on its own, he could have simply forgotten about it, it could be functional by hiding something identifiable (neck tattoos, scars, who knows, maybe even a tracheostomy that the insurance company fucked him over with in some way) he may have wanted to keep it readily at hand to quickly cover his face again if needed, etc.
I totally agree and that was a dumb and exaggerated example. My point was only that if it really is the same person, it is too subtle of a change between jackets, where a cop on high alert would take an interest. Why not change into a completely different style of nondescript coat in a completely different color like black?
The picture quality leaves a bit to be desired, but the two jackets do look pretty different to me. It looks like one may be a quarter zip without any chest pockets and the other is a full zip with chest pockets. And because of the differing picture qualities it's kind of hard to say just how similar or different the colors are, they almost look like different colors from one picture of the same jacket to the other.
Also there may have been some deliberate choice in that sort of dark earth tone kind of color (or at least that's what the colors look like to me,) different witnesses could give different answers for what color that jacket even is, I could imagine people calling it black, grey brown, tan, or green, depending on the lighting, how close they were, how much attention they paid, etc. on top of eyewitnesses just being kind of generally unreliable, so until they were able to get the security footage, which probably was at least a few minutes, cops could potentially have been working on conflicting descriptions of the jacket color.
Side note: I work in 911 dispatch, so I spend a lot of my nights trying to get descriptions of people and vehicles, I get a lot of people really struggling to tell me what color something is that's right in front of them, and when we have multiple callers about something we're often going to get as many different descriptions as there are callers. I remember one major incident I worked where depending on which caller you got, the description of the subject was either an older white guy wearing camo, a young black guy in a hoodie, or 3 white teenagers in trench coats.
It also looks like there was just another picture released where he was wearing what looks to me like a black or navy puffy jacket.
Also worth noting, I don't think the NYPD has been totally clear about where these pictures were all taken on the timeline, one was taken at the hostel he was staying at and I'm not even totally clear if it's actually from the same day as the shooting or not.
In the article: "It is not clear whether the photographs shared on X on the suspect are the same as those mentioned in CNN’s report.". They're literally making shit up.
That man and/or woman was with me all day Tuesday and Wednesday.
And/or...
While I hope he's never caught or arrested, if he does end up being charged, I suspect there will be a lot of donations to his legal defense fund.
What a weird way to say person. Lol
I'm just saying they were both here. We played Smash Bros. and stayed up late watching movies. Can you believe they'd never seen They Live?
Radiating "Historian saying they were roommates" energy.
“Defy, Defend, Depose”
Hmm very criptic
They are trying so hard to make it look like another "confused mentally ill crazy guy" and not like the rational composed individual with a clear message that he obviously is.
The suspect was wearing masks. This man is not wearing any masks and has a great smile. Clearly not the same person.
$10,000? I can't even cover my health insurance with that
Wasn't the ceo's yearly salary like $10 mil or something? Lol
I lost my cat...$500 reward....this guy is basically worth like 20 cats.
Guys, I have a theory.
As if I needed another reason to be a fan of John Bernthal.
Appears to be wearing a tiny bra
Gotta protect the nips while cleaning up the streets
Reminds me more of the dude from Watch Dogs
I dunno man Aiden's face was always blurry when I looked at it through a camera lens.
Snitches get stitches, sorry NYPD
And since you'll have to fight to get those stitches covered by insurance ...
Doesn't look like anything to me
I have never seen this person in my life, or anyone who looks similar.
Sorry, can't help.
New agencies and police are wrong for sharing this guys picture, the suspects coat and this guys coat are completely different from the front. These assholes are going to get an innocent and unrelated person assaulted.
I'm calling bullshit that the pictures they've released so far are even the same man. The builds are different, the noses are different, the skin tone is different, the jacket is different, the backpack is different, nothing in this is the same other than its a 5'10"-6' tall man with a fucking jacket. The NYPD are dropping the ball because someone at the department hates Healthcare CEO's too.
I'm sure they're going to arrest someone for this. Who knows who, but someone.
*kill, kill someone for this.
Who’s going to assault him? The guy’s a champion of the working class.
The thugs with badges. He's making them look bad
They could have just not investigated, like they do with 80% of the other murders in the city.
Thank god the working class are the only ones looking for him! Wait...
In the article: "It is not clear whether the photographs shared on X on the suspect are the same as those mentioned in CNN’s report.". They're literally making shit up.
They have possible DNA sources from a burner phone and water bottle dropped in an ally, hopefully that prevents false accusations. And honestly I don't see anyone attacking this guy. Murder is bad, but a lot of people have lost loved ones and life savings over healthcare coverage.
Quite frankly I'm surprised this sort of thing doesn't happen more often. Actually I suspect there will be copycats and this will start to happen more often.
Seems like it may be a workable patch for this timeline?
Only if it starts to dissuade their awful behavior. Which it likely won't.
Oh no.
Anyway...
Stay safe, King.
Hey, white dudes: I know we got beef and that ain't gonna go away any time soon. But you have one job and one job only.
Go buy a black turtleneck and a jacket with a green hood and wear that for the next week or two.
No beef to be seen...what are you talking about.
We going full V for Vendetta? Are we finally fucking doing this?!
I was thinking the Watchmen but V for vendetta was also good
I smell bad, call me Roar Shaq. "I'm not in here with you! Poo in here with pee!"
What the fuck
Racism, it seems.
-- and swarm all over manhattan and the greater new york metro for as long as you can; use makeup to make yourself look more like him.
Doesn't look like anything to me.
The man in the photograph looks exactly like the CEO of Elevance Health.
Isn't the CEO of Elevance Health like an older woman?
Officer, the resemblance was uncanny. It was absolutely her.
Woah woah, did you just assume their gender?
Just as a note - with the assumption that you weren't being mean-spirited and just making an innocent joke - the "did you just assume their gender" meme was started and continues to be used by transphobes to make a caricature of trans folks self-identification.
Most trans folks dress and manner themselves to be pretty clearly identified as their preferred gender - so while occasional innocent misgenderings may happen most misgenderings are assholes being assholes.
I just wanted to clarify why your joke didn't land in case you were unaware.
Oh shit, I know them! This is BriBri's killer:
Throw the book at her, your honor! (tip for the NYPD, she's hiding out in the executive suite of the Bluecross HQ until the heat is off)
That's Timothee Chalamet. Or one of his lookalikes.
That's why the lookalike contest was organized and publicized. We now know there are dozens of other people in New York City that look like him, so is it really beyond a shadow of a doubt that you identified the right person? The guy in the photo might even be a decoy.
Positive it's Shia LaBeouf. Let's kill 2 birds with one stone.
He does it all the time. This is just a normal Tuesday night for Shia LaBeouf.
Recently rediscovered that vid, still slaps hard.
What suspect? I thought they ruled the bullet wounds were a pre-existing condition and no police coverage is warranted.
NYPD is out of network.
Babe, new meme dropped: Ridiculously photogenic assassin!
I wonder if there's a Mrs. United Health Care CEO Killer.
twirls hair around finger
Haven't seen them.
They were with me. The whole day. And, they’re the gentlest person in the universe. Have never even seen a gun in real life.
I don't see anyone in these pictures. Did they accidentally post the wrong ones?
....
Nah, John Cena wouldn't be THAT cool. Would he?
He would not
Where's this from?
Westworld
"Motive remains unknown." Lol
I'm not even being funny, the build of the chin in particular makes these look like 2 similar but different people to me.
It is, the police are trying to save face by finding someone dumb and innocent to scapegoat into "he was totally resisting arrest". They're going to murder someone, call it him, and promise that anyone else attacking the rich will meet the same end.
I feel like you're right. Eventually they'll find someone to scapegoat, either murder them in custody or railroad them into life in prison, and wash their hands of the whole thing because the aristocrat class wants SOMETHING done about this.
The real icing on the cake would be if he has a terminal illness that got worse, because united healthcare refused to cover some preventative treatment. That would be a real smear on the company.
This guy was gonna die anyway so he did the world a favor. I like it.
Noses are literally so different holy balls
Lol Is this going to be the Boston Bomber situation but the cop doing it instead of reddit?
It's the NYPD, they don't care who actually did it, they just want to pin it on someone. Corrupt bastards, even by pig standards.
In the article: "It is not clear whether the photographs shared on X on the suspect are the same as those mentioned in CNN’s report.". They're literally making shit up.
Different color backpack and completely different topwear. Billions of dollars spent on cops who would fail a kindergarten "spot the difference" test.
It’s this smooth operator:
I did not expect to see Carlos Sainz in this thread!
Me seeing Sainz appearing in the wild
About 49 million other people are smiling too.
This article is written so hastily... it is absolutely riddled with spelling mistakes. At least run it through a spell checker, sheesh.
This is one of the few things ChatGPT is actually good at too. sheesh
Honestly, I feel a bit relieved to see there are still people behind these articles. There's something about mistakes that just makes it human.
They were in a hurry to get the message out to everyone "the motive remains unknown." They knew we would be looking to them for guidance on why anyone would kill a filthy rich healthcare CEO notorious for denying care to people. They couldn't leave us hanging over a few simple spelling errors.
Authors are former a wall street journal and a NY style section meme article writer... "what ever happened to the "I like corn" kid?"
Makes sense that it's both apologetic trash giving cover for capitalism and an overall shit product from a basic journalism perspective.
So they put up the confirmed fake photos, and include a small paragraph to protect themselves, "It is not clear whether the photographs shared on X on the suspect are the same as those mentioned in CNN’s report.". I wonder if flooding the internet with photos is a soft attempt at protecting his identity. Remember to call in any time to the help line. I think I just saw him digging through my neighbors garbage, or it may have been a racoon.
Hopefully they are never found
If they are ever found, I'll know who to send a thank you card with money for the legal defense fund.
It was a great early Xmas present for sure.
Can you imagine the GoFundMe? Can you imagine how much that would terrify the wealthy?
I wouldn't put it past some asshole like Elon to buy GoFundMe and close its doors just to stop that from happening.
I'd donate.
Not before they are done, at least.
👍
If the expensive clothes post is correct and the hostel photos aren't just a random distraction because they can't find any leads on the actual shooter, why isn't the NYPD look into whether Josh Heuston (from Dune: Prophecy) has an alibi or not?
At this point it seems to be that they are doing their best in finding this guy because we love him.
I'm now imagining an ominous Vine boom everytime the shooter interacted with someone that day.
Someone please Photoshop a batman mask on him
It's maddening!
This is insanely ironic considering he'd more be like the guy that shot Batman's parents. And Batman, famously, tries to not kill. And Batman is lavishly wealthy.
Pretty sure I seen him in Zihuatanejo. Police should start there.
Love that movie
So the suspect is a video game Anyman protagonist. That oughta narrow it down.
Right? I'm just sitting here thinking "it's Alex Mercer"
Jesus that was a blast from the past. Damn good game. Wonder if they'll ever remaster it? Oh shit, right, CEO died...uhhh....yeah I got nothin.
I was thinking Kessler from inFamous.
I think we should start calling in tips so they can start a manhunt for my 5th Fallout 4 playthrough protagonist, Huge Jackedman.
He escaped on an e-bike? Where were the police mounted on horses to chase after him?
Last I read that claimed was confirmed as untrue. City Bike said it wasn’t one of theirs.
I kind of just assumed it was his own.
Sorry, misread your comment.
Handsome assassin doing the non-existent Lord's work.
Yeah wait doesn't he look like the really good looking guy meme?
Ridiculously photogenic assassin
Idk if it’s just me but that does not look like the same person from the shooting video. The coats are different the bags are different
I think I found him
Nah, something about the shoes doesn't fit. But defiantly pink.
All I see is a scene from the hit movie Dune 2 starring timothee chalamet. Crime investigation? What crime?
LISAN AL GHAIB
Not same jacket
Never seen that person before in my life.
Oh no! He's hot!
Jake Gyllenhaal you sly bastard.
Oh shit, that looks like my friend Tom who lives in Amarillo.
Pretty sure it's actor Max Greenfield.
That's not even the same jacket. How did his backpack change?
You know people can take backpacks off right
Why would he change backpacks 30 minutes before the killing, condescending louse.
Storm troopers will definitely murder this charming fellow rather than expose themselves through the farce of the injustice system.
🥵
Oh I recognize that guy, that's Attaboy Goodman!
I have never seen this man in my life. In fact, I remember never having seen him. I am positive that such a man does not, have not ever, and will not ever exist.
It is so weird that even the picture is starting to look very much unlike him.
Please use this to replace the Drake meme format
"Cryptic"
Okay goddamn that guy is hot.
And in the pictures, too.
Pretty sure I've seen this guy in a Christmas movie with Lacey Chabert, couldn't tell you which one, though
How could James Franco do this!?!?
...Oh, yeah.
So you see, that's where the trouble began. That smile. That damn smile.
Don't know nothing man
I don't see anything.
There goes my hero, watch him as he goes.
☹️
Smiling photo looks weird as if its processed by AI.