Who is Brian Thompson? Everything we all know in regards to the UnitedHealthcare CEO and his homicide in New York City | EUROtoday

Brian Thompson was laid to relaxation at a personal funeral service in his Minnesota hometown on Monday.

That similar day, Luigi Mangione was arrested in Pennsylvania and charged with homicide in connection to the UnitedHealthcare CEO’s demise.

The 26-year-old suspect was taken into custody in Altoona and is now being held with out bond in Pennsylvania as he faces prices in two states. Mangione appeared for a listening to on Tuesday in Pennsylvania, the place he fought extradition to New York to face prices.

Ten days earlier than the exec was shot useless outdoors a resort in Midtown Manhattan on December 4, the suspected shooter was believed to have traveled to New York City on a Greyhound bus. Five days after the capturing, Mangione was in handcuffs.

Here’s every little thing we all know to this point within the construct up and aftermath of the deadly assault on the 50-year-old insurance coverage CEO:

Thompson shot in ‘premeditated attack’

The unidentified shooter had been hiding behind a automotive outdoors the Hilton resort in Midtown Manhattan for about 5 minutes when Thompson exited, police mentioned. The suspect was noticed at a close-by Starbucks on West 56th Street and sixth Avenue shortly earlier than the capturing.

The shooter, who was carrying a masks, approached Thompson from behind and shot him in the fitting calf and again at 6:46 a.m. Video of the incident reveals the shooter calmly strolling up behind Thompson earlier than capturing him, then calmly crossing the road. The footage additionally confirmed a bystander working away because the suspect opened fireplace.

“The shooter then walks toward the victim and continues to shoot. It appears that the gun malfunctions as he clears the jam and begins to fire again,” New York Police Department’s Chief of Detectives Joseph Kenny advised reporters.

The capturing was a “premeditated, pre-planned targeted attack,” police mentioned late on the morning of December 4. Thompson appeared unaware he was in peril and had no safety element close to him, Kenny advised reporters.

Thompson was pronounced useless at a close-by hospital about half-hour later.

Police described the shooter as a white man carrying a black hoodie and black pants with a grey backpack. Police introduced on December 6 they discovered what seems to be that very same backpack in Central Park.

The shooter fled the scene by way of an alleyway on an e-bike. He biked by way of Sixth Avenue to Central Park. Soon afterward, safety footage reveals the suspect coming into the Port Authority Bus Terminal, police mentioned. However, they didn’t discover footage of him leaving, indicating he had left town on a bus.

Thompson was within the metropolis to talk on the UnitedHealth Group’s annual Investor Conference the day of his demise.

“Brian was a highly respected colleague and friend to all who worked with him,” the corporate mentioned in a press release. “Our hearts go out to Brian’s family and all who were close to him.”

New clues emerged

On December 5, police launched pictures of the suspect along with his masks pulled down. The images got here from a surveillance video on the New York City hostel the place the suspect was staying.

On the afternoon of December 6, new clues emerged as police continued to piece collectively info concerning the suspected assailant’s whereabouts earlier than the CEO was fatally shot.

The armed suspect is reported to have traveled by way of Greyhound bus to New York 10 days earlier than the capturing unfolded, in response to regulation enforcement sources who spoke to CNN.

Police say he arrived in New York City on November 24 after leaping on a bus departing from Atlanta.

On the day he arrived in New York City, he was captured on surveillance video stepping off the bus at round 9 p.m. and noticed strolling by way of the Port Authority Bus Terminal in Manhattan, mentioned regulation enforcement sources.

He then checked into an Upper West Side hostel, left on November 29, after which used a pretend New Jersey ID to verify again in on November 30.

While within the hostel, he slept in a multi-person room with two different males and wore a masks for almost all of his keep, in response to CNN. His whereabouts from November 30 to Wednesday morning are nonetheless unclear.

Both Greyhound and the hostel’s mother or father firm, Hostelling International USA, advised ABC News in a press release that they’re “fully cooperating with the NYPD” however can not remark additional because of the energetic investigation.

Authorities discovered three stay 9mm rounds and three discharged 9mm shell casings, in addition to a cellphone, on the scene of the capturing. They additionally recovered a sweet wrapper and water bottle believed to belong to the suspect, in response to ABC News.

New York City Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch advised CNN on December 6 that investigators had a “huge amount of evidence” of their search, together with DNA proof, fingerprints and a “massive camera canvass” of the suspect’s actions.

The bullet casings police discovered on the scene had the phrases “deny”, “defend” and “depose” written on them.

A 2020 e-book by Jay Feinman in regards to the insurance coverage trade bears an analogous title: Delay Deny Defend: Why Insurance Companies Don’t Pay Claims and What You Can Do About It. The e-book describes itself as an “expose of insurance injustice and a plan for consumers and lawmakers to fight back”. Feinman didn’t remark when contacted by The Independent.

At the time of his arrest, Mangione was carrying a 262-page manifesto, a ghost gun, silencer and false ID playing cards, police mentioned. He additionally had a spiral pocket book which laid out his plot to “wack” Thompson at his “parasitic bean-counter convention”, in response to The New York Times.

Wife reveals Thompson acquired threats as police seek for motive

Thompson’s spouse, Paulette Thompson, advised NBC News within the hours after the capturing that her husband had been receiving threats. UnitedHealth Group was conscious of regarding threats towards its executives, CNN reported.

“There had been some threats,” she advised the outlet. “Basically, I don’t know, a lack of [health insurance] coverage? I don’t know details. I just know that he said there were some people that had been threatening him.”

Family and leaders mourn CEO

Family, buddies and enterprise leaders gathered for Thompson’s non-public funeral service in his Minnesota hometown on Monday – the identical day his suspected shooter was arrested in Pennsylvania.

Over a dozen state troopers, 100 automobiles and two dozen black SUV’s lined the Life Lutheran Church in Maple Grove, as safety measures have been put in place for mourners, in response to Fox News. The information outlet reported {that a} sniper was noticed on the church roof and a safety code was wanted to get into the service.

In the speedy aftermath of the capturing, Thompson’s sister Elena Reveiz advised The New York Times that her brother was a “good person, and I am so sad.”

“Brian was an incredibly loving, generous, talented man who truly lived life to the fullest and touched so many lives,” Thompson’s household mentioned in a press release to Minnesota information outlet KARE. “We appreciate your condolences and request complete privacy as our family moves through this difficult time,” the assertion continued.

Thompson was a father of two. Before taking the CEO job in 2021, he labored as the corporate’s head of presidency applications. As CEO, Thompson labored out of UnitedHealthcare’s workplaces in Minnetonka, Minnesota.

Fake bomb threats have been made towards two houses, one owned by Thompson and the opposite owned by his spouse, shortly after he was shot.

The two houses, that are lower than a mile aside in Maple Grove, Minnesota, have been focused on Wednesday night, The Minnesota Star-Tribune reported. The menace was despatched by way of e-mail to a number of individuals who then notified police. Thompson and his spouse had been residing in separate houses in Maple Grove for years, The Wall Street Journal experiences.

The threats weren’t credible and thought of an occasion of “swatting,” police mentioned.

“No devices or suspicious items were located during the investigation,” a Maple Grove police spokesperson mentioned in a press release. ”The case is taken into account an energetic investigation, whereas the incident seems to be a hoax.”

Thompson saved a low profile with little public identify recognition, the Associated Press reported.

Thompson was additionally named in a lawsuit filed by a Florida pension fund earlier this 12 months accusing UnitedHealth of hiding an antitrust investigation by the Justice Department from shareholders whereas insiders offered inventory, in response to the Journal. Thompson had not answered the claims in courtroom earlier than the capturing on December 4.

Under his management, UnitedHealthcare offered protection to greater than 49 million folks, making it the biggest insurance coverage firm within the US. The community consists of 1.3 million physicians and care professionals throughout almost 7,000 services.

Under Thompson, the corporate made $74 billion in income in the newest quarter, incomes the title of the biggest subsidiary of UnitedHealth Group. Thompson made $10.2 million yearly and was one of many firm’s highest-paid staff.