NYPD officers depart from AYH hostel
NYPD community affairs officers depart from the AYH hostel on Manhattan's Upper West Side as the search continues for the suspect in the murder of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson. (Jennifer Mitchell, FOX News Digital)
The suspect wanted in the brutal murder of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson used a false identity to check into a New York City hostel before the brazen execution-style killing, police say. told FOX News.
Officials said the suspect used a fake ID and paid in cash.
Fox News digital cameras captured police officers leaving the AYH hostel on Manhattan's Upper West Side on Thursday. It is unclear whether the hostel is directly connected to the search for Thompson's killer.
A panoramic view of the AYH Hostel on the Upper West Side of Manhattan, New York, on Thursday, December 5, 2024. The suspect in the murder of United Healthcare CEO Brian Thompson may have been staying here. (Jennifer Mitchell, FOX News Digital)
Former NYPD cop 'skeptical' United Healthcare CEO gunman is professional, focuses on weapon of choice
New York City police have been hunting the suspect since early Wednesday morning. A police source told Fox News that the suspect dropped a burner cell phone in an alley after the shooting. Officials said police are examining the data left on the phone and fingerprints left on the device.
Police are also investigating a water bottle purchased at a Starbucks near the murder scene. Police officials said DNA from the bottle is being used to build a profile of the suspect. The suspect reportedly paid in cash at Starbucks.
Thompson was brutally shot to death on a New York City sidewalk just before 7 a.m. Wednesday morning. Police have been searching for the suspect ever since.
The gunman had been in New York for about 10 days before fatally shooting Thompson, a senior law enforcement official told The New York Times.
Former New York City Police Department Inspector Fox News contributor Paul Mauro said the type of weapon used by the shooter could give police an advantage, citing rumors that the suspect may have been working as a hitman. .
“There's been a lot of speculation about him being a hitman, a professional hitman, and all sorts of other things, but I'm hesitant about that and keep in mind the fact that professional hitmen mostly exist in movies. I want to tell people, 'They don't really exist,''' Mauro told FOX News Digital. Mauro says everything we know so far is just speculation.
New photo reveals the identity of the suspect who shot and killed United Healthcare CEO, who appears to have left a message on the bullet casing.
In a video obtained by Fox News Digital, Thompson is seen walking on the sidewalk outside the Hilton Hotel in midtown Manhattan early Wednesday morning. a masked man shoots him before fleeing the scene.
“What we know so far is that he was very calm and obviously knew the route… That doesn't mean it wasn't a murder-for-hire. Something like that actually “The idea that this is a 'professional shooter' is something I'm skeptical about,” Mauro said.
David Katz, a former DEA firearms instructor and current CEO of Global Security, a firearms expert, said that although he is not an expert, the suspect may have been using an unusual handgun. We agreed on one thing.
Katz told Fox News Digital that he believes the weapon was a bolt-action pistol, a “modern version of a World War II pistol.”
“His hand action is consistent with the weapon's action,” he said, noting that after firing, “he immediately manually racked the slide with his left hand.”
“He knew he had to turn the chamber every time he fired,” he said. Katz said the suspect “was not a seasoned spy” and “made a lot of stupid mistakes.”
“If it's that pistol, it's a very unique pistol and they don't make that many pistols,” he said, adding, “If it's that pistol, they made him “We'll be able to narrow it down to a very small number of buyers,” he added. ”
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Fox News Digital’s Brie Stimson and Stepheny Price contributed to this report.
