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What we know about New York City shooting of UnitedHealthcare boss Brian Thompson

UnitedHealthcare chief executive Mr Thompson was walking towards the Hilton hotel in Midtown Manhattan, where the company was hosting a conference on 4 December, when he was shot from behind.

Mr Thompson had been in his role for three years. Pic: UnitedHealthcare/AP
Image: Mr Thompson's wife said he had been receiving threats. Pic: UnitedHealthcare/AP
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Nearly a week after the chief executive of America's biggest health insurance provider was killed, a man has been charged with his murder.

Brian Thompson, 50, was the chief executive of UnitedHealthcare - the fourth-largest public company in the United States.

He was targeted by what experts claim is a "seasoned, professional killer", who shot him on 4 December as he was walking into a Manhattan hotel where his company was holding a conference.

Luigi Nicholas Mangione, 26, was arrested on Monday after a McDonald's employee in Pennsylvania alerted the authorities to a customer, who was found with a gun, mask and writings linking him to the ambush.

He was initially arrested on a firearms charge by police in the town of Altoona, but has now been charged with murder.

What happened?

The shooting happened at 6.45am on Wednesday 4 December - just before sunrise.

Brian Thompson was in New York City for UnitedHealthcare's annual investors conference, which was due to start at 8am.

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Healthcare boss gunned down

As he walked towards the entrance of the Hilton hotel on Sixth Avenue, in Manhattan's midtown, CCTV footage shows a gunman emerging from two parked cars behind him.

The suspect draws his weapon and fires at least three times at close range - around 15ft (4.6m) away from him on the pavement.

The Hilton hotel on Sixth Avenue, Midtown Manhattan, where the shooting took place. File pic: Reuters
Image: The Hilton hotel where the shooting took place. File pic: Reuters

Mr Thompson is shot in the back and the calf and falls to the ground.

The weapon, believed to have been fitted with a 9mm silencer, appears to jam, at which point the shooter fixes the problem and fires again.

A map shows the scene of the shooting outside the Hilton hotel
Image: A map shows the scene of the shooting outside the Hilton hotel

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There was at least one bystander present, but the gunman does not approach them, instead crossing the street and disappearing down an alleyway on the other side of the road.

Wanted posters show CCTV pictures of him on an electric bike, which police say he fled the scene on before getting a taxi to a bus station.

An image of the individual sought in connection to the investigation of the shooting death of Brian Thompson, the CEO of UnitedHealth.
Pic: NYPD/Reuters
Image: CCTV shows the suspect fleeing on an e-bike. Pic: NYPD/Reuters

Emergency services arrived at the scene, which is near to the Rockefeller Center, where the famous annual Christmas lights switch-on took place hours after the shooting.

The UnitedHealthcare conference started on time as planned - but an hour later the chief executive of the firm's wider group Andrew Whitty appeared on stage to say it was being cancelled.

Police officers stand near the scene where the CEO of United Healthcare Brian Thompson was reportedly shot and killed in Midtown Manhattan.
Pic: Reuters
Image: Police officers guard the crime scene outside the Hilton hotel on Sixth Avenue. Pic: Reuters

Who was Brian Thompson?

Brian Thompson joined UnitedHealthcare from an accountancy firm in 2004 and was named chief executive officer in April 2021. He previously served as chief executive of the firm's government programmes business.

UnitedHealthcare is the largest provider of Medicare Advantage plans in the US and manages insurance for employers and state and federally-funded programmes.

It is the fourth largest public company in the country - behind Walmart, Amazon and Apple.

Top CEO shot dead outside hotel in New York City
Image: Brian Thompson. Pic: UnitedHealth Group/AP

He lived in a suburb of Minneapolis, Minnesota, which is about a 20-minute drive from the company headquarters.

He studied at the University of Iowa - and was married with two children.

His wife Paulette Thompson told NBC News that he had said "there were some people that had been threatening him" but gave no further details.

The police chief of the suburb where Mr Thompson lived, Eric Werner, said his department had received no reports of threats towards him.

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His sister-in-law, Elena Reveiz, told the New York Times: "He was a good person and I am so sad."

UnitedHealthcare described him in its statement as a "highly respected colleague" and a "friend to all who worked with him".

What do we know about Luigi Mangione?

Mangione was arrested around 230 miles west of New York, in the state of Pennsylvania.

Luigi Mangione charged with murder of CEO Brian Thompson
Image: Luigi Mangione charged with murder of CEO Brian Thompson

Police said he had a silencer and a gun "both consistent with the weapon used in the murder".

They said the gun appeared to be a "ghost gun" - a weapon that can be assembled at home from parts and without a serial number - and that it was possibly made using a 3D printer.

Mangione also had a fake New Jersey ID - with the name Mark Rosario - matching a document used by the suspect to check into a hostel in the city before the attack, said New York Police Department Commissioner Jessica Tisch.

He was found carrying a "handwritten document" which Ms Tisch said spoke "to both his motivation and mindset".

CCTV of a person wanted in connection with the murder of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson.
Pic: NYPD
Image: CCTV footage of the suspect. Pic: NYPD

NYPD chief of detectives Joseph Kenny said that from the document, it appeared he had "some ill-will towards corporate America".

Mr Kenny said Mangione was born and raised in Maryland, has ties to San Francisco and has a last known address in Honolulu.

He is the grandson of a wealthy property developer and philanthropist, and the cousin of a current Maryland state legislator.

He appears to have an active social media presence.

Luigi Mangione had a fake New Jersey ID
Image: Luigi Mangione had a fake New Jersey ID

One account, appearing under his name and picture on the X platform, regularly shares and reposts think pieces, with frequent topics such as artificial intelligence (AI), philosophy, and the future of humanity.

Officials described last week's shooting as a "premeditated, pre-planned, targeted attack" and "not a random act of violence".

New York police commissioner Jessica Tisch said the killer appeared to have been "lying in wait for several minutes" for Mr Thompson to approach the hotel.

Timeline of the suspect's movements

24 November

Investigators believe that the suspect travelled to New York in late November on a Greyhound Bus from Atlanta.

After arriving in the city, he took a taxi to the vicinity of the Hilton hotel, where the UnitedHealthcare conference was held 10 days later, NBC New York, an affiliate of Sky News' US partner NBC News, reported.

He was there for about half an hour.

At around 11pm local time, he checked into the HI New York City Hostel, which is near Columbia University, using a fake ID and paying in cash, chief of detectives Joseph Kenny said.

Suspect in Brian Thompson murder
Image: Pic: NYPD
Suspect in Brian Thompson murder
Image: Pic: NYPD

Photos of the suspect smiling in the lobby of the hostel on Manhattan's Upper West Side appear to be one of the few times he removed his face mask, Mr Kenny added.

People who shared a room with the suspect at the hostel said he didn't speak to them, and nothing of investigative value was found in a search of the hotel room.

New York International Hostel, where the suspect is believed to have stayed, in the Upper West Side area of New York City. Pic: Reuters
Image: New York International Hostel, where the suspect is believed to have stayed, in the Upper West Side area of New York City. Pic: Reuters
A map showing the location of the hostel
Image: A map showing the location of the hostel

4 December

At around 6.15am on the morning of the shooting, the suspect is seen on CCTV exiting a subway station.

Further footage shows he went to Starbucks and bought a bottle of water and two protein bars - the wrappers of which were found with a mobile phone in the alleyway he fled through.

At 6.44am local time, Mr Thompson is shot from behind as he arrives at the Hilton hotel.

Map showing movements of the gunman
Image: Map showing movements of the gunman

Outside the hotel, crime scene investigators found several shell casings, with the words "defend", "deny", and "depose" written on them, city law enforcement officials said.

Minutes later, at 6.48am, the suspect is seen entering Central Park on an electric bike, according to NBC New York.

Just under 10 minutes later, at 6.56am, he is seen again on the bike, now out of the park.

The suspect was spotted again at 7am at 86th Street, no longer with the bicycle.

A member of the NYPD Crime Scene Unit takes a picture of a shell casing found at the scene where the CEO of UnitedHealthcare Brian Thompson was  shot and killed in Midtown Manhattan
Image: Shell casings were found at the scene. Pic: Reuters
Bullets lie on the sidewalk at the scene outside the Hilton Hotel in midtown Manhattan where Brian Thompson, the CEO of UnitedHealthcare, was fatally shot.
Pic: AP
Image: Bullets on the pavement at the scene of the crime. Pic: AP

At 7.04am, the suspect is seen getting into another taxi.

At around 7.30am the suspect arrives at the Port Authority bus station that offers services to New Jersey and Greyhound routes to Philadelphia, Boston and Washington DC, according to Mr Kenny.

A map showing the suspected gunman's movements after the shooting of Brian Thompson
Image: A map showing the suspected gunman's movements after the shooting of Brian Thompson

9 December

A McDonald's employee called police about a suspicious person in the Altoona restaurant, and police later said they discovered he had with him a gun similar to the one used in the fatal shooting.

Mangione appeared in court for a preliminary arraignment and was charged with two felonies - forgery and carrying a firearm without a licence - and three misdemeanours: tampering with records or identification, possessing instruments of crime and providing false identification to law enforcement, according to NBC News.