# UnitedHealthcare CEO fatally shot in Manhattan \[breaking news: 2024-12-04\] **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Tags:** breaking-news\ **Created:** [December 4, 2024, 4:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unitedhealthcare-ceo-fatally-shot-in-manhattan-breaking-news-2024-12-04/1011159 "2024-12-04T16:11:53Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 14
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2024, 11:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unitedhealthcare-ceo-fatally-shot-in-manhattan-breaking-news-2024-12-04/1011159/263 "2024-12-05T23:55:50Z")
> [@RickJay](#): > > What’s interesting about it is clearly the assailant must have known what building Thompson was walking TO, at the very least, and it appears he likely knew where Thompson was coming FROM. **That would suggest to me that he had enough info to be aware of the likely timing of Thompson’s movements.** …which would _suggest_ that a non-cohabiting spouse would have been unlikely to be able to provide that info. ---
**Author:** ![hajario](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hajario/32/171_2.png) [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2024, 12:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unitedhealthcare-ceo-fatally-shot-in-manhattan-breaking-news-2024-12-04/1011159/264 "2024-12-06T00:11:36Z")
TMZ is reporting that his backpack was very expensive and typically used by photographers. Maybe a clue or maybe he thrifted it. ---
**Author:** ![needscoffee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/needscoffee/32/1076_2.png) [@needscoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/needscoffee)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2024, 1:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unitedhealthcare-ceo-fatally-shot-in-manhattan-breaking-news-2024-12-04/1011159/265 "2024-12-06T01:22:00Z")
Have they said how they knew he stayed at that hostel? Cameras, maybe? ---
**Author:** ![carrps](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carrps/32/2957_2.png) [@carrps](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carrps)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2024, 1:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unitedhealthcare-ceo-fatally-shot-in-manhattan-breaking-news-2024-12-04/1011159/266 "2024-12-06T01:25:56Z")
Yeah. One of the guys also staying at that hostel said there were cameras everywhere. ---
**Author:** ![I\_Love\_Me\_Vol.I](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/i_love_me_vol.i/32/521_2.png) [@I\_Love\_Me\_Vol.I](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/I_Love_Me_Vol.I)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2024, 1:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unitedhealthcare-ceo-fatally-shot-in-manhattan-breaking-news-2024-12-04/1011159/267 "2024-12-06T01:46:19Z")
> [@Dr.Winston\_OBoogie](#): > > > [@hajario](#): > > > > > [@LSLGuy](#): > > > > > > An interesting tidbit. More likely misfired than jammed. To accomplish that quickly in the heat of the moment and three times to boot suggests the killer had some actual firearms skill. Not just some angry goofball who finally lost it and bought a gun, any gun, yesterday on his way into town. > > > > It only takes a one hour lesson and a day at the range to get those skills. > > Disagree. It may take an hour lesson to learn how to recover from the misfire / jam, but being actually able to do it in a high-stress situation takes experience. This makes me think of: _Othello. A Minute to Learn… A Lifetime to Master_ ---
**Author:** ![smithsb](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smithsb/32/12107_2.png) [@smithsb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/smithsb)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2024, 1:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unitedhealthcare-ceo-fatally-shot-in-manhattan-breaking-news-2024-12-04/1011159/268 "2024-12-06T01:56:45Z")
I believe the backpack contained a missing parachute. The alleged note had the exact coordinates of a certain Lockheed Electra 10E. j/k but this case is fascinating, a true crime addict’s living fantasy. ---
**Author:** ![Spiderman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spiderman/32/230_2.png) [@Spiderman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spiderman)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2024, 1:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unitedhealthcare-ceo-fatally-shot-in-manhattan-breaking-news-2024-12-04/1011159/269 "2024-12-06T01:58:01Z")
> [@Slithy\_Tove](#): > > Possible, if you lift someone’s library card (which they don’t report as missing like credit cards). My local library doesn’t require a card to use the computers. I will go there occasionally to print something; I have seen others sitting there obviously doing some research by the notes they were scribbling. No I wasn’t interested enough to even attempt to look at their screen. > [@hajario](#): > > TMZ is reporting that his backpack was very expensive and typically used by photographers. Maybe a clue or maybe he thrifted it. [B&H](https://www.bhphotovideo.com/) has a very large photo store in the city near Penn Station. They have a used dept, which includes a whole section of camera bags. I bought one there some years ago. ---
**Author:** ![Kropotkin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kropotkin/32/18045_2.png) [@Kropotkin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kropotkin)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2024, 2:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unitedhealthcare-ceo-fatally-shot-in-manhattan-breaking-news-2024-12-04/1011159/270 "2024-12-06T02:03:54Z")
> [@Smapti](#): > > New detail from CNN: the killer checked into the hostel What have I missed here? How have they linked the killer to the photos from the hostel? Same hoodie/backpack? Some other recognition data? CCTV footage of the person from the hostel to the shooting? ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2024, 2:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unitedhealthcare-ceo-fatally-shot-in-manhattan-breaking-news-2024-12-04/1011159/271 "2024-12-06T02:09:17Z")
> [@Kropotkin](#): > > CCTV footage of the person from the hostel And not wearing a mask, so a facial shot, but wearing the same clothes as in the CCTV of the shooting. ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2024, 2:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unitedhealthcare-ceo-fatally-shot-in-manhattan-breaking-news-2024-12-04/1011159/272 "2024-12-06T02:10:12Z")
Here’s the Wikipedia summary; > [@](#): > > The suspect arrived in New York City on November 24 from “somewhere south of the city.”[9] The suspect checked into the HI New York City Hostel–formerly the Association Residence Nursing Home–on November 30 with a fake New Jersey identification card and paid in cash.[18][19] The suspect had checked out of the hostel the previous day after staying there since November 24. > > With the shooter yet to be apprehended, on December 5 authorities publicly released images of a suspect taken from a surveillance camera at a Manhattan hostel.[20] The stills appear to show a partial view of the suspect’s face.[21] I believe they’re identifying him on the basis of the coat and mask, along with the subway footage. Interesting that he’d been lying in wait for nearly two weeks. Expedia shows the rate at the hostel as $124 per night, but it was probably higher around Thanksgiving and over the weekend, and higher still if he was paying in cash at check-in, so he must have had at least a few thousand dollars invested into his plan. ---
**Author:** ![Baker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bb73d2/32.png) [@Baker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baker)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2024, 2:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unitedhealthcare-ceo-fatally-shot-in-manhattan-breaking-news-2024-12-04/1011159/273 "2024-12-06T02:10:21Z")
> [@Slithy\_Tove](#): > > The victim, we’ve learned, was living separately from his wife and kids. The cops will look into that, with the engraved shells just a red herring Up to now I haven’t seen that. Interesting. ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2024, 2:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unitedhealthcare-ceo-fatally-shot-in-manhattan-breaking-news-2024-12-04/1011159/274 "2024-12-06T02:25:45Z")
details here: > **[UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson Was Living Separately From Wife Before...](https://www.eonline.com/ca/news/1410827/unitedhealthcare-ceo-brian-thompson-was-living-separately-from-wife-before-his-death)** > > Brian Thompson—the United Healthcare CEO who was shot and killed by an unidentified gunman outside of a New York hotel—was living at a different address than wife Paulette Thompson before his death. ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2024, 3:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unitedhealthcare-ceo-fatally-shot-in-manhattan-breaking-news-2024-12-04/1011159/275 "2024-12-06T03:03:56Z")
The e-bike is interesting. CNN now reports he came to town on a Greyhound that originated in Atlanta (though they have no idea where he boarded), so he couldn’t have brought it with him and must have acquired it in NYC. It could be stolen - or he could have ordered it via Amazon with a fake name, had it shipped to the hostel, and then paid cash for it at a Western Union outlet. (Yes, you can use Western Union to pay for Amazon purchases with cash - I’ve been trained on how to do it at work but we’ve never EVER had anyone ask to use that service.) The shot of him in the hostel with his mask down was apparently from a moment where he pulled it down while flirting with a female employee. Once again, man’s libido gets the better of him. ---
**Author:** ![echoreply](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/echoreply/32/3641_2.png) [@echoreply](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/echoreply)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2024, 3:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unitedhealthcare-ceo-fatally-shot-in-manhattan-breaking-news-2024-12-04/1011159/276 "2024-12-06T03:28:43Z")
> [@Maserschmidt](#): > > Or just a VPN. Plenty of folks have those now. (ETA I checked, law enforcement can backtrack that with a court order, so never mind There are VPN services based in countries that will not respect a US court order. There are also VPNs that do not keep _any_ logs. Even if served with an order, they have nothing to turn over. The hard part is figuring out which VPN services that advertise these qualities actually uphold them. You can also get a small off the shelf device that connects to a public network, and creates a VPN encrypted WiFi network. All the phone company knows is you activated the phone from Belarus (or wherever). All the public WiFi knows is that some randomized MAC address sent some encrypted packets to a server in Switzerland. If the VPN is really good, the packets may not be distinguishable from normal encrypted web traffic. ---
**Author:** ![hajario](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hajario/32/171_2.png) [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2024, 3:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unitedhealthcare-ceo-fatally-shot-in-manhattan-breaking-news-2024-12-04/1011159/277 "2024-12-06T03:37:31Z")
> [@Smapti](#): > > The e-bike is interesting. CNN now reports he came to town on a Greyhound that originated in Atlanta (though they have no idea where he boarded), so he couldn’t have brought it with him and must have acquired it in NYC. It could be stolen - or he could have ordered it via Amazon with a fake name, had it shipped to the hostel, and then paid cash for it at a Western Union outlet. (Yes, you can use Western Union to pay for Amazon purchases with cash - I’ve been trained on how to do it at work but we’ve never EVER had anyone ask to use that service.) It was a Citi Bike which is a bike sharing service. He didn’t own it. They were able to use the data from that bike to know that he rode it into Central Park. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2024, 3:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unitedhealthcare-ceo-fatally-shot-in-manhattan-breaking-news-2024-12-04/1011159/278 "2024-12-06T03:42:07Z")
> [@hajario](#): > > It was a Citi Bike which is a bike sharing service. [It wasn’t a CitiBike.](https://www.nbcnewyork.com/manhattan/bullet-casings-found-at-scene-of-unitedhealthcare-ceo-shooting-had-messages-on-them-source/6041555/) ---
**Author:** ![Gorsnak](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gorsnak/32/7587_2.png) [@Gorsnak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gorsnak)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2024, 3:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unitedhealthcare-ceo-fatally-shot-in-manhattan-breaking-news-2024-12-04/1011159/279 "2024-12-06T03:42:15Z")
> [@hajario](#): > > It was a Citi Bike which is a bike sharing service. He didn’t own it. They were able to use the data from that bike to know that he rode it into Central Park. I thought I’d seen somewhere that this had turned out to be incorrect, that it wasn’t a bikeshare at all. ---
**Author:** ![TokyoBayer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tokyobayer/32/13989_2.png) [@TokyoBayer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TokyoBayer)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2024, 3:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unitedhealthcare-ceo-fatally-shot-in-manhattan-breaking-news-2024-12-04/1011159/280 "2024-12-06T03:42:45Z")
> [@hajario](#): > > It was a Citi Bike which is a bike sharing service. He didn’t own it. They were able to use the data from that bike to know that he rode it into Central Park. Other reports are saying that it wasn’t a Citi Bike. [From BBC:](https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c7ve36zg0e5o) > [@](#): > > But Lyft, which owns and operates Citi Bike, later said it had been told by the NYPD that one of its vehicles had not been used, according to the BBC’s US partner, CBS News. ninja’ed several times while getting a quote ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2024, 3:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unitedhealthcare-ceo-fatally-shot-in-manhattan-breaking-news-2024-12-04/1011159/281 "2024-12-06T03:44:53Z")
> [@TokyoBayer](#): > > ninja’ed several times while getting a quote And I was ninja’d going to look for a link (for citation) for my post! ---
**Author:** ![hajario](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hajario/32/171_2.png) [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2024, 3:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unitedhealthcare-ceo-fatally-shot-in-manhattan-breaking-news-2024-12-04/1011159/282 "2024-12-06T03:48:04Z")
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