Sunday, December 15, 2024

A timeline of the fatal shooting of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson and search for his killer

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NEW YORK (AP) — The search for UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson ’s killer since Thompson was ambushed Wednesday outside a Midtown Manhattan hotel has stretched beyond New York City. While still looking to identify the suspect, the FBI has offered a $50,000 reward for information leading to his arrest and conviction. That’s on top of a $10,000 reward offered by the NYPD.

The gunman used a fake ID and paid cash during the 10 days he was in the city, NYPD Chief of Detectives Joseph Kenny told reporters Friday. He also kept his face covered except while checking in at a hostel. He was captured on some of the thousands of surveillance cameras blanketing Manhattan, allowing police to build a timeline of his movements.

Here’s what we know so far about what the NYPD describes as a planned attack.

Nov. 24

10:11 p.m. — The suspected shooter arrives in New York City on a Greyhound bus at the Port Authority terminal. The bus originated in Atlanta and made six or seven stops on the way to New York. Police could not immediately determine where he got on the bus.

The man then takes a taxi to the area of the New York Hilton Midtown and is there for about a half hour.

About 11 p.m. — The man takes a taxi to the HI New York City Hostel at 891 Amsterdam Ave., where he stays until the morning of the shooting. He presents an ID that police believe to be fake. Two roommates in a shared room that had bunkbeds never saw his face, police said, because he kept his mask on.

When speaking with an employee in the hostel lobby, he briefly pulled down his facemask and smiled — a moment captured on surveillance images that have been widely circulated by police.

Nov. 29

The man was checked out of the hostel, where guests are automatically checked out if they don’t show at the desk by a certain time. Police don’t believe he stayed someplace else and checked back into the same hostel the next day.

Dec. 4

About 5:30 a.m. — The suspected shooter leaves the hostel well before dawn.

5:41 a.m. — He appears on video at 54th Street and Sixth Avenue walking back and forth in the area of the Hilton hotel where United Healthcare’s parent company, UnitedHealth Group, is holding its annual investor conference.

Police deduce that he rode a bicycle to the Hilton because it took him such a short time to get there. “Could he have stolen the bike? These are things we’re still looking into,” Kenny said.

At some point, he went to a nearby Starbucks and purchased a bottle of water and at least one energy bar before returning to the hotel.

6:44 a.m. — He shoots Thompson as the executive arrives alone, on foot, having walked from a hotel across the street. The man flees.

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