Bullets in UnitedHealthcare CEO death inscribed with ‘depose,’ ‘delay’

The New York Police Department released new photos that showed the face of the man wanted in connection with the fatal shooting of insurance chief Brian Thompson, as the search for his killer entered a second day.

Police appealed to the public for help in identifying the suspect, offering $10,000 for tips. They executed a search warrant on the HI New York City youth hostel on Manhattan’s Upper West Side on Wednesday, according to a person familiar with the situation. The suspect checked into the hostel using a fake New Jersey driver’s license, the person said.

The hunt didn’t lead to any new evidence of the whereabouts of the suspect, but it yielded additional photos of the alleged shooter, the person said. A cell phone discovered near the shooting that was believed to be linked to the suspect is a burner phone, the person said.

Thompson, 50, was shot in the back and leg around 6:45 a.m. outside of the New York Hilton Midtown hotel, where UnitedHealth Group Inc. was hosting its investor day. Video showed the attacker waiting for Thompson — who was UnitedHealth’s insurance chief — upon his arrival at the hotel. The perpetrator approached the executive from behind and shot him multiple times before leaving by foot and then riding an electric bike toward Central Park.  

While UnitedHealth had a security team at the hotel for its investor day, it didn’t have anyone stationed outside where the executive was shot, according to a person familiar with the matter. The company didn’t comment on the security situation.

Shares fell 5.2% Thursday, erasing more than $29 billion in market value. The stock had gained about 1% on Wednesday after news of Thompson’s killing broke.

The words “delay” and “depose” were written on a shell casing and a live round recovered in front of the hotel, where Thompson was shot, according to people familiar with the matter. 

The inscriptions loosely echo the book title Delay, Deny, Defend, which describes tactics allegedly used by insurers to deny claims. Law enforcement officials are looking at whether it suggests a potential motive — anger against health insurers.

“That is really unusual,” said Joseph Giacalone, a former New York Police Department sergeant who’s now a professor at the John Jay College of Criminal Justice. “I have never seen it, and I spent a long time working investigations.”

The manhunt involves drones, canines and extensive use of surveillance technology. Security cameras captured the killing outside the hotel and the movements of the suspect in the immediate aftermath.

Bomb Threats

Meanwhile, police in suburban Minneapolis are investigating fake bomb threats reported on Wednesday night at Thompson’s home, and at another on a nearby street where his wife lives.

The emailed threat was sent to the prosecuting attorney in Maple Grove, Minnesota, who passed it to the city police. Maple Grove police and fire departments went to the houses, as did the Minneapolis bomb squad and the Hennepin County Sheriff’s Office.

“No devices or suspicious items were located during the investigation,” Maple Grove police said Thursday in a news release. “The case is considered an active investigation, while the incident appears to be a hoax.”

Such prank calls, triggering responses by emergency services, are known as swatting incidents.

UnitedHealth was among a group of companies slammed in a Senate report earlier this year for using automated tools to increase claim denials. While the words could suggest that the shooting might be motivated by some kind of insurance denial, investigators also have to consider the words on the shell casing may be a distraction designed to divert from the true motive, Giacalone said. 

“They are going to take everything seriously but have to have an open mind that this could be a potential ruse,” he said.

Thompson, who had two sons, went by the nickname “BT.” A 20-year veteran of UnitedHealth, he was one of the company’s most senior executives and regularly presented at investor events and on earnings calls. The insurance unit he oversaw is expected to bring in $280 billion in revenue this year, and is the country’s largest health insurer.

In 2021, he took over as CEO of the UnitedHealthcare insurance division after working in finance positions across the business. A certified public accountant, Thompson graduated from the University of Iowa with a degree in business in 1997. He worked at PwC in the Twin Cities before joining UnitedHealth.

On social media, the reaction to the shooting was harsh. Some users on X, formerly Twitter, applauded the slaying, pointing to insurance claims denials and United’s role in America’s “broken health-care system.” There were similar sentiments on sites like Reddit and TikTok.

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