UnitedHealthcare CEO shooting: New images of ‘person of interest’ released as intense manhunt continues

The day after Thompson was shot and killed, UnitedHealth Group said it is focused on supporting his family, ensuring the safety of its employees and working with law enforcement to "bring the perpetrator to justice."

"So many patients, consumers, health care professionals, associations, government officials and other caring people have taken time out of their day to reach out," the company said in a statement today. "We are thankful, even as we grieve."

UnitedHealth said it will continue to serve those who "depend on us for their healthcare."

As law enforcement officials continue to search for the gunman who killed Thompson outside the New York Hilton Midtown in Manhattan, the site is preparing to host an annual federal law enforcement luncheon tomorrow.

The annual event is a gathering of federal and local law enforcement members.

Americans are expressing anger and frustration toward health insurance companies after the shooting of UnitedHealthcare's CEO. 

After officials said investigators believe the gunman may have traveled to New York by bus, Greyhound told NBC News in a statement that it was "fully cooperating with authorities on this active investigation."

A spokesperson said the company was not able to give more information, citing the investigation.

Officials are working to determine whether they can find a passenger name among the tickets purchased for an Atlanta-to-New York trip late last month.

Investigators believe the man sought in connection with yesterday's shooting may have traveled to New York City from Atlanta by bus last month, three senior law enforcement officials familiar with the case told NBC News.

Officials are working to see whether they can find a name from the tickets purchased for a Nov. 24 Greyhound trip that might help identify the gunman.

Chief executives and other high-level corporate officers are seeking additional security protection after the brazen slaying of UnitedHealthcare’s CEO, according to a top risk management firm.

“We had CEOs and other executive-level and board members reaching out to us all throughout yesterday and today to increase their own executive protection, their own personal security around the clock, 24/7,” said Matthew Dumpert, managing director at Kroll Enterprise Security Risk Management.

“An executive is the face of the organization,” he said in an interview. "A CEO is the lightning rod that attracts the ire regardless of the product or services sold.”

Thompson was killed amid an increase in threats to people in the health care industry.

“The ire and the animosity that our front-line health care workers experience every day in the hospital in the critical care environment does extend to the insurance industry to a degree,” Dumpert said. “And it’s because a lot of those same red flag indicators of potential violence.”

Read the full story here.

In an interview today, a business owner who lives down the block from Thompson's house in suburban Minnesota said the health care CEO didn't seem to be home much. Thompson appeared to travel a lot for his job, neighbor Jim Pitzner said.

Pitzner said Thompson and his wife lived in different houses in Whistling Pines, a leafy neighborhood in the suburb of Maple Grove. In recent weeks, ahead of Thompson's fateful trip to New York City, nothing that happened in the neighborhood struck Pitzner as out of the ordinary.

Whistling Pines is a small, close-knit community of 26 houses on one road. If there was law enforcement or private security activity at Thompson's house, Pitzner never saw it.

"We would notice if something stood out," he said.

Thompson’s family said in a statement that they are “shattered to hear about the senseless killing of our beloved Brian.”

“Brian was an incredibly loving, generous, talented man who truly lived life to the fullest and touched so many lives,” the family said in a statement obtained by NBC affiliate KARE of Minneapolis.

They called Thompson “an incredibly loving father” who “will be greatly missed.”

“We appreciate your condolences and request complete privacy as our family moves through this difficult time,” the statement said.

Police in Thompson’s hometown, Maple Grove, Minnesota, received a report of a bomb threat yesterday at residences on 62nd and 63rd avenues but did not find any devices or suspicious items.

Maple Grove police said in a news release that the incident appears to have been a hoax and is still under investigation.

Police are investigating whether the shooter paid cash and used a fake ID to rent a room at an Upper West Side hostel, according to two law enforcement officials briefed on the investigation.

A group of current and retired Florida firefighters sued UnitedHealth, Thompson and two other executives in May, alleging they deceived investors while the health insurance company was under investigation by the Justice Department.

The City of Hollywood Firefighters’ Pension Fund said it purchased UnitedHealth stock at “artificially inflated prices” from March 14, 2022, to Feb. 27, 2024, and suffered financially because of alleged fraud by UnitedHealth, according to the lawsuit. 

The pension fund manages more than $300 million in assets for current and retired firefighters in the Florida city of Hollywood. 

The lawsuit accused the UnitedHealth executives of selling more than $120 million of their own UnitedHealth shares instead of disclosing to investors or the public that the company had been facing a federal investigation since at least October 2023. 

The NYPD is still searching for the gunman who fatally shot UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson in midtown Manhattan yesterday. NBC News’ Steven Romo reports on the latest, and former ATF special agent in charge Jim Cavanaugh joins José Díaz-Balart to weigh in on the ongoing investigation.

In the wake of yesterday's shooting, New York City Mayor Eric Adams declared: "This is the safest big city in America."

"Our crime has continued to drop year over year," he said on MSNBC’s "Morning Joe."

"Our transit system is one of the lowest levels of crime in over 14 years," he continued. "We’re removing almost 20,000 guns off our streets."

His comments came after the mayor said law enforcement was moving at a "steady pace" and "we’re going to have someone apprehended."

Police in New York City today released two new photos of a person of interest. The pictures are from security footage that was recorded at an Upper West Side hostel where police believe he was staying.

Detectives visited the hostel and searched one of the rooms, NBC New York reported.

In an interview on MSNBC's "Morning Joe," New York City Mayor Eric Adams said law enforcement authorities were "on the right path" in their search for the masked gunman.

"We feel we're moving at a steady pace," Adams said, adding that he had been briefed by officials this morning.

Adams went on to describe New York City as "the safest big city in America."

The shooter purchased a water bottle and two protein bars from a nearby Starbucks before the shooting and discarded the items, according to a senior New York City law enforcement official briefed on the investigation.

Investigators recovered a video showing where the gunman discarded the items, and police collected them as evidence, hoping it could aid in the investigation, the official said.

NBC News analyst and former FBI agent Clint Watts joins "TODAY" to break down the fatal shooting of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, including the bullet casings that were found at the scene inscribed with the words “deny,” “defend” and “depose.” “That would seem to suggest that there’s some sort of personal or ideological motive,” he said.

Thompson was killed early yesterday outside the New York Hilton Midtown on Sixth Avenue in the heart of Manhattan, police said. 

He was on his way to speak at UnitedHealth Group’s investor conference when the gunman approached from behind and “fired several rounds,” Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch said at a news conference yesterday. Thompson was struck in his back and at least once in the right calf. 

Thompson did not travel with any personal security detail despite known threats against him. His wife, Paulette Thompson, said he had been receiving threats.

“There had been some threats,” she told NBC News. “Basically, I don’t know, a lack of coverage? I don’t know details. I just know that he said there were some people that had been threatening him.”

Thompson, who lived in Minnesota, was pronounced dead at Mount Sinai West.

The health insurance CEO gunned down in front of a busy New York City hotel yesterday didn’t travel with any personal security detail, officials said, despite known threats against him.

A masked gunman fatally shot Thompson, 50, in a “premeditated, preplanned targeted attack” outside the New York Hilton Midtown on Sixth Avenue in the heart of Manhattan, police said.

Thompson was staying at a nearby hotel before heading solo to the Hilton, on his way to speak at UnitedHealth Group’s investor conference, when he was ambushed by his killer.

“Speaking to other employees that traveled with him to New York, it doesn’t seem like he had a security detail,” NYPD Chief of Detectives Joseph Kenny told reporters. “He left the hotel by himself, was walking, didn’t seem like he had any issues at at all.”

Read the full story here.

As the manhunt continues for the shooter who gunned down Thompson in Manhattan early yesterday, police are revealing that shell casings left at the scene were inscribed with the words “deny,” “defend” and “depose.” NBC’s Stephanie Gosk reports for "TODAY."

Shell casings found at the scene where the UnitedHealthcare CEO was shot dead by a masked gunman in front of a busy New York hotel had the words “deny,” “defend” and “depose” written on them, a senior New York City law enforcement official briefed on the investigation confirmed to NBC News today. 

As of this morning, the gunman is still at large.