After days of digging through security footage, following a deluge of tips, and even sending divers to the bottom of a lake, police announced the arrest of a suspect on Monday in the murder of UnitedHealthcare’s CEO outside a Midtown Manhattan hotel last week.
The hunt began a few hours later Brian Thompson was shot to death on the sidewalk early Wednesday morning, with the suspected shooter walking away from the scene and riding his bike to Central Park, before taking a taxi to a bus depot that serves several neighboring states.
On Monday morning, a tip from a McDonald’s about 230 miles away in Altoona, Pa., led police to arrest Luigi Nicolas Mangione, 26 years oldwho authorities believe carried a gun believed to be the one used to shoot Thompson.
Here’s what we know so far about the shooting and the search that followed.
November 24
10:11 p.m. — Suspected shooter arrives in New York aboard a Greyhound bus at the Port Authority terminal. The bus left Atlanta and made six or seven stops on the way to New York. Police could not immediately determine where he got on the bus.
The man then took a taxi to the Hilton Midtown area of New York and stayed there for about half an hour.
Around 11 p.m. — The man took a taxi to the HI New York City hostel, located at 891 Amsterdam Ave., where he stayed until the morning of the shooting. He presents an ID that the police believe is fake. Two roommates in a shared bedroom with bunk beds never saw his face, police said, because he kept his mask on.
As he spoke with an employee in the hostel lobby, he briefly pulled down his mask and smiled — a moment captured on surveillance footage widely released by police.
November 29
Receive national news daily
Get the day’s top news, politics, business and current affairs headlines delivered to your inbox once a day.
The man was released from the hostel, where guests are automatically released if they fail to show up at the office by a certain time. Police do not believe he stayed elsewhere and returned to the same hostel the next day.
December 4
Around 5:30 a.m. — The suspected shooter leaves the inn well before dawn.
5:41 a.m. — He appears on video on 54th Street and Sixth Avenue, walking back and forth in the area of the Hilton Hotel where United Healthcare’s parent company, UnitedHealth Group, is holding its annual investor conference.
The police deduce that he cycled to the Hilton because it took him so little time to get there. “Could he have stolen the bike? These are things we are still investigating,” said NYPD Chief of Detectives Joseph Kenny.
At one point, he went to a nearby Starbucks and purchased a bottle of water and at least one energy bar before returning to the hotel.
6:44 a.m. — He shoots Thompson as the executive arrives alone, on foot, after walking from a hotel across the street. The man runs away.
6:48 a.m. — Man enters Central Park on a bicycle through the 60th Street and Center Drive entrance. It was in the park and away from security cameras that police believed he threw a gray backpack.
6:56 a.m. — He leaves the park at West 77th Street and Central Park West, still on his bike.
6:58 a.m. — He passes another camera on 85th Street and Columbus Avenue, still on his bike.
7 a.m. — He’s on 86th Street, no longer with the bike.
7:04 a.m. — He gets into a northbound taxi at 86th Street and Amsterdam Avenue.
7:30 a.m. – It is near the George Washington Bridge and bus terminal. It offers commuter service to New Jersey and Greyhound routes to Philadelphia, Boston and Washington.
After the attack, investigators found the words “delay,” “deny,” and “drop,” written in permanent marker on the munitions at the scene. The words mimic a phrase used by critics of the insurance industry.
December 6
Kenny and Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch reveal that investigators believe the shooter left New York on a bus. Investigators say he entered the George Washington Bridge bus station, but found no video of him leaving or boarding a bus.
“It could be a disgruntled employee or a disgruntled customer,” Kenny said of a possible motive during a briefing.
Police discover what they say is the man’s backpack. Its contents are not disclosed.
December 7
Police continue to search Central Park; divers are seen scouring a pond. NYPD releases additional photos showing suspected shooter alongside and in the backseat of a taxi. In both images, he is seen wearing a blue medical-style mask.
This undated photo released by the New York Police Department shows a suspect in the Dec. 4, 2024, fatal shooting of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson in a taxicab. Part of the image was blurred by the source. (NYPD via AP).
(NYPD via AP)
This undated photo released by the New York Police Department shows a suspect in the Dec. 4, 2024, fatal shooting of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson outside a taxicab. Part of the image was blurred by the source. (NYPD via AP).
(NYPD via AP)
Despite collecting a fingerprint while shopping at Starbucks and sending items for DNA testing, police have yet to publicly identify the suspect.
December 8
Divers are seen again near a pond in Central Park. Police refuse to comment on the investigation.
December 9
9:14 a.m. — Police in Altoona, Pennsylvania, are dispatched to a McDonald’s to respond to reports of a man matching the description of the suspect in the shooting.
Luigi Nicholas Mangione, 26, is in custody on unrelated charges, according to the Altoona Police Department.
Mangione possessed a gun believed to be the one used in last Wednesday’s shooting, as well as writings suggesting “ill will toward corporate America,” Kenny said Monday. He also wore clothes and a mask similar to those worn by the shooter, as well as a fake New Jersey ID card matching the one used to check into the Manhattan hostel, Kenny said.
© 2024 The Canadian Press