Featured

UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson's 'premeditated' attack and suspect's getaway: timeline

UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson gunned down outside Manhattan Hilton on his way to a company conference

Video shows possible person of interest moments before fatal shooting of UnitedHealthCare CEO Brian Thompson

Video captured outside Stage Star Deli shows a person of interest walking along a street the morning of the fatal shooting of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson in New York on December 4, 2024. (Credit: Gideon Platt/Stage Star Deli)

An unidentified gunman approached UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson from behind Wednesday morning and opened fire outside the New York Hilton Midtown in Manhattan, then vanished into the streets of the Big Apple, prompting a large-scale manhunt.

Authorities have not revealed a motive, but after bullet casings at the scene were found with words "deny", "depose" and "defend" written on them – a possible reference to the book "Delay, Deny, Defend: Why Insurance Companies Don't Pay Claims and What You Can Do About It" – speculation swirled that the slaying may have grown out of resentment for a denied claim.

Thompson was separated from his wife, Pauline, at the time of his death and the Minnesota-based firm's parent company laid off workers in multiple states in September, according to The Star-Tribune.

UNITED HEALTHCARE CEO BRIAN THOMPSON MURDER: LIVE UPDATES

Photo of Brian Thompson was was the Chief Executive Officer of UnitedHealthcare Unit until he was shot in New York City in December 2024

This 2017 file photo of Brian Thompson was released via Businesswire when he was named Chief Executive Officer of UnitedHealthcare Unit in 2017. (Businesswire)

As police retrace the suspected assassin's steps and hunt for a killer, here's a timeline of how things went down.

UNITED HEALTHCARE CEO MURDER: INVESTIGATORS START SMALL, FOCUS ON FAMILY IN SEARCH FOR MOTIVE

A screenshot from surveillance footage released by the NYPD shows an alleged person of interest wanted in connection for the shooting death of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson

A screenshot from surveillance footage released by the NYPD shows a person of interest wanted in connection to the shooting death of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, who was killed in Midtown Manhattan on Wednesday, Dec. 4, 2024. (NYPD Crime Stoppers )

In the days before the attack, police sources tell Fox News the gunman took a Greyhound bus from Atlanta, Georgia, to New York City.

He checked into a hostel near Central Park before the murder, using a fake ID and paying in cash.

Person of interest

Security camera captures person of interest in the murder of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson. (Gideon Platt/Stage Star Deli)

Wednesday, Dec. 4

Around 6:14 a.m.: Before the attack, the NYPD recovered a surveillance video from a Midtown coffee shop showing the masked suspect, and surveillance video from outside the Stage Star Deli near the corner of 55th Street and Sixth Avenue shows him passing by multiple times minutes later.

Person of interest in Brian Thompson murder

The NYPD released still images of the alleged UnitedHealthcare CEO assassin in a Starbucks store near the scene of the crime shortly before it happened.  (NYPD)

Around 6:40 a.m: Surveillance video outside the hotel recorded the ambush.

It shows a masked man who was waiting outside the venue stepping behind Thompson, who was approaching from another hotel across the street, and shooting him from behind – in the leg through the back and through his chest.

Police arrived in less than three minutes, but the suspect had already fled. Thompson, a Minnesota native who was in New York for a work-related conference, was unconscious and unresponsive, according to the NYPD. He was rushed to a hospital and pronounced dead.

Surveillance footage still shows the suspect in the shooting death of the CEO of United Healthcare was shot to death in what looks to be a targeted attack.

A surveillance image released by the NYPD shows the suspect in the shooting death of United Healthcare CEO, Brian Thompson on Wednesday, Dec. 4, 2024. (NYPD Crimestoppers)

Cameras show the killer's path heading away from the scene. He dropped a phone in an alley between 54th and 55th streets, which authorities were checking for fingerprints and other clues. He turned up the Avenue of Americas, got on a bike and headed north toward Central Park. When he emerged from the park, he wasn't wearing a backpack spotted in prior surveillance video.

Around 7 a.m.: Video shows a man who appears to match the gunman's description riding a bike on the Upper West Side, more than 30 blocks away from the crime scene and on the other side of Central Park. He is no longer wearing the backpack captured on earlier surveillance video.

Police were searching the park for evidence Friday morning.

The NYPD is offering a $10,000 reward in the case, asking the public to call the Crime Stoppers hotline at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477). You can also submit a tip via their website. All calls are kept confidential.  

Fox News' Alexis McAdams, Julia Bonavita and Christina Coulter contributed to this report.

Authored by Michael Ruiz via FoxNews December 6th 2024