UnitedHealthcare CEO shooting latest: Man being held for questioning in Pennsylvania, sources say
Written by ABC Audio. All rights reserved. on December 9, 2024
(NEW YORK) — A man in Altoona, Pennsylvania, was stopped with a fake New Jersey ID and is being held for questioning in connection with the murder of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson in New York City, law enforcement sources told ABC News.
The man was on a Greyhound bus traveling through Altoona on Monday morning, sources said, when he got off and walked into a McDonald’s where a witness recognized him from the images of the suspect circulated by police, sources said.
The man had a similar gun to the one used in Wednesday’s assassination-style killing outside a Midtown Manhattan hotel, sources said.
One of the Altoona man’s fake IDs also matched the fake ID shown by the suspected gunman when he checked into an Upper West Side hostel before the shooting, sources said.
Altoona police have also recovered a computer.
Local law enforcement told NYPD it looks like their suspect, sources said. The NYPD is sending detectives to Altoona, which is in central Pennsylvania, about 100 miles east of Pittsburgh.
Law enforcement is asking Greyhound for its passenger manifest, to see what name he gave them, sources said.
Meanwhile, new video obtained by ABC News shows the killer waiting for Thompson moments before the shooting. The video shows others pass by, and then, when the masked gunman sees Thompson, he runs across the street and opens fire.
The video, which has not previously been seen publicly, appears to support the police narrative that the shooter targeted Thompson because he loitered while others wandered by.
Police haven’t established a motive but said they haven’t uncovered evidence that would show the killing had anything to do with Thompson’s private life.
On Wednesday morning, the masked gunman shot Thompson at point-blank range outside the New York Hilton Midtown, where Thompson’s company was holding an investors conference. NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch described the attack as “brazen” and “targeted.”
Right after the shooting, the suspect fled by bike through Central Park to the Upper West Side. He then took a taxi to the Port Authority bus facility at 178th Street and boarded a bus out of New York City, according to police.
NYPD officials released new images this weekend of the suspect in the back of a taxi, where he could be seen peering through the open slider in the partition between the seats. Another photo appeared to show the man walking by the window of a cab.
The FBI is assisting the nationwide manhunt, according to law enforcement sources.
NYPD detectives arrived this weekend in Georgia. Investigators have said the suspect arrived in New York on Nov. 24 on a bus that originated Atlanta, although it’s unclear if his travels began in Atlanta.
In New York on Sunday, members of the New York Police Department’s dive team searched underwater in Central Park near the Bethesda Fountain.
The suspect’s backpack — with a jacket and Monopoly money inside — was found nearby in Central Park.
Police have not recovered the distinctive gun used in the shooting.
ABC News’ Bill Hutchinson, Jon Haworth, Ivan Pereira and David Brennan contributed to this report.
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