The man being questioned in Pennsylvania in connection with the fatal shooting of a UnitedHealthcare CEO had a manifesto criticising healthcare companies, according to reports.
He was also found with a ‘ghost gun’ similar to the one used in last week’s shooting, police sources say, as well as a silencer and a fake New Jersey driver’s license.
Cops took him into custody at a McDonald’s in Altoona, Pennsylvania, where NYPD detectives are questioning him. Law enforcement officials told the New York Times of the alleged manifesto slamming profit-chasing healthcare firms.
Thompson, 50, was gunned down in New York at dawn on Wednesday, December 4, while walking to UnitedHealthcare’s annual investor conference at a Hilton hotel in Midtown Manhattan.
A motive is yet to be established, but investigators believe it was a targeted attack.
The manhunt to find the shooter is into its sixth day, with divers returning on Monday to New York’s Central Park.
Investigators have been combing the park and searching at least one of its ponds for three days, looking for evidence that may have been thrown into it.
Who was Brian Thompson?
Thompson was the chief executive of UnitedHealthcare, the insurance wing of parent company UnitedHealth Group Inc.
He had worked at the Minnetonka, Minnesota-based company for two decades and led its insurance division since 2021. He was one of the company’s highest-paid executives, with a $10.2 million annual compensation package.
Thompson kept a low profile, with UnitedHealth Group Inc.’s CEO Andrew Witty taking on a more public-facing role that included testifying before Congress.
Thompson started his career as a certified public accountant and graduated from the University of Iowa. He lived in the Minneapolis suburb of Maple Grove and was the married father of two sons in high school.
His wife, Paulette Thompson, told NBC News that her husband said some people had threatened him. She did not have details but suggested they may have had issues with insurance coverage.
Maple Grove Police Chief Eric Werner said his department had not received any reports of threats against the executive.
