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 non-public 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 loss of life.

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

Ten days earlier than the exec was shot useless exterior a lodge 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 taking pictures, Mangione was in handcuffs.

Here’s every little thing we all know up to now 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 exterior the Hilton lodge in Midtown Manhattan for about 5 minutes when Thompson exited, police stated. The suspect was noticed at a close-by Starbucks on West 56th Street and sixth Avenue shortly earlier than the taking pictures.

The shooter, who was carrying a masks, approached Thompson from behind and shot him in the appropriate calf and again at 6:46 a.m. Video of the incident exhibits the shooter calmly strolling up behind Thompson earlier than taking pictures 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 instructed reporters.

The taking pictures was a “premeditated, pre-planned targeted attack,” police stated late on the morning of December 4. Thompson appeared unaware he was in peril and had no safety element close to him, Kenny instructed 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 exhibits the suspect coming into the Port Authority Bus Terminal, police stated. However, they didn’t discover footage of him leaving, indicating he had left the town on a bus.

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

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

New clues emerged

On December 5, police launched photographs 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 data relating to 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 taking pictures unfolded, in keeping with legislation 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, stated legislation enforcement sources.

He then checked into an Upper West Side hostel, left on November 29, after which used a faux New Jersey ID to test 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 keeping with CNN. His whereabouts from November 30 to Wednesday morning are nonetheless unclear.

Both Greyhound and the hostel’s guardian firm, Hostelling International USA, instructed ABC News in an announcement that they’re “fully cooperating with the NYPD” however can’t remark additional as a result of lively investigation.

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

New York City Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch instructed 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 ebook by Jay Feinman in regards to the insurance coverage trade bears the same title: Delay Deny Defend: Why Insurance Companies Don’t Pay Claims and What You Can Do About It. The ebook 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 stated. He additionally had a spiral pocket book which laid out his plot to “wack” Thompson at his “parasitic bean-counter convention”, in keeping with The New York Times.

Wife reveals Thompson acquired threats as police seek for motive

Thompson’s spouse, Paulette Thompson, instructed NBC News within the hours after the taking pictures that her husband had been receiving threats. UnitedHealth Group was conscious of regarding threats in opposition to its executives, CNN reported.

“There had been some threats,” she instructed 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, pals and enterprise leaders gathered for Thompson’s personal funeral service in his Minnesota hometown on Monday – the identical day his suspected shooter was arrested in Pennsylvania.

Over a dozen state troopers, 100 vehicles and two dozen black SUV’s lined the Life Lutheran Church in Maple Grove, as safety measures had been put in place for mourners, in keeping with 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 quick aftermath of the taking pictures, Thompson’s sister Elena Reveiz instructed 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 stated in an announcement 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 places of work in Minnetonka, Minnesota.

Fake bomb threats had been made in opposition to two properties, one owned by Thompson and the opposite owned by his spouse, shortly after he was shot.

The two properties, that are lower than a mile aside in Maple Grove, Minnesota, had 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 dwelling in separate properties in Maple Grove for years, The Wall Street Journal studies.

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

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

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

Thompson was additionally named in a lawsuit filed by a Florida pension fund earlier this yr accusing UnitedHealth of hiding an antitrust investigation by the Justice Department from shareholders whereas insiders offered inventory, in keeping with the Journal. Thompson had not answered the claims in court docket earlier than the taking pictures on December 4.

Under his management, UnitedHealthcare supplied 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 latest 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.