Police Questioning Man in Altoona, Pa., in Connection with UnitedHealthcare CEO Shooting
The man is believed to possess the same gun used by the shooter of Brian Thompson
Police are questioning a man in Altoona, Pa., in connection with the fatal shooting of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, police sources tell PEOPLE.
ABC7 and NBC4, citing sources, report that police are questioning the man because of his possession of a unique weapon police believe the shooter used to kill Thompson last week.
Thompson, 50, was shot just before 6:45 a.m. Wednesday, Dec. 4, by a masked gunman who was "lying in wait" outside the Hilton Hotel in Midtown Manhattan, NYPD officials said at a press conference. The shooting took place as the healthcare executive was entering the hotel for an investors' conference, according to police.
The gunman fired at least three shots at Thompson before fleeing on foot and bike heading towards Central Park, police said. Thompson was pronounced dead at a local hospital a short time later, police said.
NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch told reporters that the gunman appeared to deliberately target the CEO.
UnitedHealth Group
Brian ThompsonPolice did not immediately identify a motive for the attack. However, the words "deny," "defend" and "depose" were reportedly discovered by detectives on shell casings found at the scene, police sources told ABC News.
Those words are similar to "delay, deny, defend" — a phrase about the insurance industry to describe a strategy of rejecting claims.
In photos released on X, formerly Twitter, Thursday, Dec. 5, a person sought for questioning in the killing show a smiling man wearing a brown jacket with the hood up, and no face mask, while checking in at an Upper West Side hostel. Further images released by the NYPD showed the man masked up in a taxi cab following the shooting.
NYPDnews/X
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Thompson's wife Paulette told NBC News that her husband had been the subject of threats before he embarked on his trip to New York.
According to a bio on UnitedHealthcare's company's website, Thompson was named CEO of the company in April 2021 and joined the company in 2004. He lived in Minnesota and is survived by his wife and their two children, according to Local Channel2 Now.
In a statement issued after Thompson's killing, UnitedHealth Group said, "Brian was a highly respected colleague and friend to all who worked with him. Our hearts go out to Brian's family and all who were close to him.
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