The masked gunman who killed UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson outside a Midtown hotel and is yet to be nabbed by the police went to the nearby Starbucks before the killing. The footage from the Starbucks revealed that the killed was talking on the phone about 10 minutes before he opened fire at Thompson.
The killer bought coffee, water bottle and two PowerBars from the store. The cops rummaged through the trash can of the Starbucks as he was seen tossing his coffee cup and bottle there.
Killer is skilled, methodical
From the surveillance footage, the investigators thing the killer is skilled because it seems that the gun he used got jammed in between but the killer was able to clear it with his victim standing in front of him. And he continued firing. He then ran into an alleyway and took an e-bike.
The bullets that he used also had a cryptric message — “deny”, “depose”, and “defend” are the words engaged on live rounds and shell casings left behind by the killer. The NYPD is investigating if the killer intentionally or unintentionally left any message in those bullets or inside the Starbucks.
Many people passed the suspect
50-year-old Brian Thompson was on his way to speak at UnitedHealth Group’s investor conference when he was attacked and killed. Police said the gunman was waiting for his prey for several minutes and many people passed the masked man. Thompson’s wife Paulette Thompson said her husband was receiving threats but she was not aware of the details. “Basically, I don’t know, a lack of coverage? I don’t know details. I just know that he said there were some people that had been threatening him,” she said
Social media user claims he knows where the killer escaped
A social media user confidently claimed that he scraped through the data of the company whose e-bike the killer took to flee the crime scene. Th post went viral and controversial/
“I happen to continuously scrape Citibike data every minute, so I can see where individual bikes go. The only northbound Citibike to leave within 10 minutes of the shooting from any dock near the hotel went to Madison Ave & E 82nd St. Bike #421-6511 left the dock at 54 St & 6 Ave at 6:44 AM, and was docked at 6:52 AM at Madison Ave & 82nd St. This is the *only* bike that left within 10 minutes of the shooting and headed northbound,” the user wrote though others debated that police later said that company’s e-bike was not used.