Photos taken just before the incident were shared by the New York Police Department and re-shared by the New York Post on Tuesday. The shooting suspect was seen wearing a hoodie and face mask while standing in front of the counter at the Starbucks nearby the Hilton Hotel in Midtown Manhattan.
It wasn’t immediately clear how long the gunman was at the Starbucks or whether he purchased anything before the shooting. The shooter is reported to have included a message on the bullets used during the targeted attack, police sources confirmed to the New York Post.
The words “deny,” “depose” and “defend” were engraved on live rounds and shell casings left behind at the scene on Wednesday (December 4), which are suspected to possibly reference the 2010 book Delay Deny Defend: Why Insurance Companies Don’t Pay Claims and What You Can Do About It in which author Jay M. Feinman takes aim at Thompson’s industry.
Three live 9-millimeter rounds and three discharged casings were found in front of the Hilton Hotel in Midtown Manhattan Wednesday morning. Thompson, 50, arrived at the hotel at around 6:46 a.m. ahead of a conference when a masked man believed to be waiting for him fired a weapon repeatedly and struck his chest before fleeing eastbound on 6th Avenue, New York Police Department sources confirmed to the newspaper.
The UnitedHealthcare CEO was rushed to Mt. Sinai Hospital where he was later pronounced dead, according to police. No arrests have been made in relation to the fatal shooting and an investigation is ongoing.
The shooting suspect was described as a white male wearing a cream-colored jacket, black face mask, black and white sneakers and a gray backpack at the time of the incident. Witnesses said the suspect was spotted near the vicinity of the Hilton Hotel loitering prior to the shooting as he wasn’t a guest, though it’s unclear whether he had other business at the building.
The suspect began to fire from a distance after spotting Thompson, striking him multiple times before fleeing through the Ziegfeld alleyway, at which point he rode away on a bike. Thompson worked with UnitedHealth for the past 20 years and was promoted to CEO in 2021, having previously led the company’s government programs, including Medicare and retirement.
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