Summary

UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson was fatally shot in a targeted attack outside a New York Hilton hotel, with investigators describing the killing as meticulously planned.

The gunman fled on foot, then by rental bike, and possibly left the city via bus. Shell casings at the scene had words like “deny” and “defend” inscribed, hinting at a motive linked to Thompson’s work.

Experts suggest the shooter may have military or weapons experience but left key clues, including surveillance footage and discarded items.

Police are analyzing evidence, including DNA, to identify the suspect.

  • meathorse@lemmy.world
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    19 days ago

    Well, I’ll be damned! The republicans were right!

    All it takes is a good-guy with a gun!

      • ✺roguetrick✺@lemmy.world
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        18 days ago

        If failing to close a murder file impressed the police they’d be in a constant state of amazement. About half of homicides are solved and I’m sure premeditated murder outside of family is much much lower than that. 5 to 10 percent for organized crime/gangs for example.

        • jonne@infosec.pub
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          18 days ago

          Yeah, but this is one they want to solve. They don’t care if a random person gets shot in the Bronx.

    • frezik@midwest.social
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      19 days ago

      Even avoiding airports, he could be on the other end of the country by now.

      Isn’t there’s something where if the police don’t find a suspect in the first few days, they probably won’t? May not apply when the case has this much attention and the police are motivated.

      • NuXCOM_90Percent@lemmy.zip
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        19 days ago

        “The first 48 (hours)” is misleading.

        First, it is mostly a function of how much the cops care. If they care about finding someone they will get off their asses. If they don’t, they will just procrastinate and ignore it. This is why you have stories of families frantically trying to get any help at all to find their loved one that was written off as “a junkie” or “a slut”.

        Second, it matters more when you are dependent on grocery store security cameras and the like that might only have 24 hours of capacity anyway. Less so when you are relying on train stations and bus stations that got all that 9-11 money.

        Third? The cops likely already have all they need to identify him. He was allegedly tracked to having got on a bus in Atlanta. They have a few photos of his face. And basically everyone is in the DMV databases. That gives a general tri-state area (possibly an outright car if they check long term parking for the period he was away) and they can narrow that down by employment status (taking a few weeks off to go off grid is not something a Starbucks barista is allowed to do) and even UHC records to see who was denied a claim in the past few years (fortunately THAT doesn’t narrow shit down at all).

        So they can eventually find him. It is inevitable.

        That said: This is the cops. The first white guy who looks vaguely like the shooter and who has no alibi will be heroically killed by the cops when they went to ask him questions and he opened fire while screaming “I am the guy who killed the UHC CEO and I feel really really bad about it and only did it because I am woke and hate my life and please forgive me officer but I will never be taken alive. Also I am pro illegal immigrants and am spraying fentanyl around in case any cops piss hot after this.”. Also he had a dime bag of weed on him for some reason. Sorry, half a dime bag.

    • Corkyskog@sh.itjust.works
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      19 days ago

      I had to turn off ne2s when they were saying it’s now a multi state manhunt and it’s important to keep this in the public eye.

      I was like good point, let me stop watching.

    • AllNewTypeFace@leminal.space
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      19 days ago

      It would be good for him if they never catch him, but if they do, and he is sentenced to death as would be expected, his last words could greatly magnify the historical impact of his act, as with the anarchist/labor martyrs of the early 20th century.

      That is, unless the media deliberately suppress what he actually said and report his last words as “skibidi toilet” or a declaration of undying love for some Jodie Foster analogue or something, thus proving that the shooter was nuts, as anyone who had a grudge against America’s healthcare providers would have to be.

      • luciferofastora@lemmy.zip
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        18 days ago

        healthcare providers

        I know this is indirect speech how they’d spin it, not your own words, but I fucking hate the way these vampires are spun as “providers” - they don’t provice jack shit except the rare case of “I provide the wealth to shoulder large financial burdens at once” (but we all know the fine print on that).

        The actual providers, on the other hand, have to watch a mother’s entire world collapse when she’s told her child is gonna die because the treatment isn’t affordable and the insurance that made her come all this way to find an in-network doctor in the first place decided the kid should try Yoga or whatever bullshit.

        • AllNewTypeFace@leminal.space
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          18 days ago

          I’m sure the propaganda ghouls in the US are currently talking with one voice about how Brian Thompson was one of the carers, who gave his life to helping the sick, and how his killer is bound for the lowest circle of Hell alongside Hitler, Oswald and the Rosenbergs.

          • luciferofastora@lemmy.zip
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            18 days ago

            Bitch, my boss is doing more for my healthcare.

            Spontaneous Home Office because I caught a cold? If you mark it on your time sheet, I might have to reprimand you, so just don’t.

            Doctor’s appointment with awkward scheduling? If it interferes with important meetings, we’ll have to see if we can make it work, otherwise just mark it in your calendar so I know when you’re unavailable, catch up the hours whenever.

            Granted, it’s an office job and I’m doing good work, so he has little reason to object, but that puts him above Thompson already.

        • felbane@lemmy.world
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          18 days ago

          So you’re saying there’s a difference between healthcare providers (doctors/surgeons/nurses/PAs/etc) and wealthcare providers (insurance companies)?

      • MonkeyBusiness@sh.itjust.works
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        18 days ago

        What I’ve seen the media do is that they will under-report the story and highly focus on a meaningless attention-grabbing event to distract from it. Whenever I see lots of news reporting on something meaningless but engaging, I think they’re covering an important story that they don’t want us to see.

        I would really like to see a site that aggregates independent media so that we could see news headlines by media that isn’t handicapped by political connections.

        • SpaceCowboy@lemmy.ca
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          18 days ago

          There’s plenty of sites that’ll give you whatever AI written garbage that’ll conform to your personal political beliefs.

          The real problem is revenue is drying up for media that confirms their sources and reports the facts without having a political slant to it.

          People only viewing media that conforms to their personal biases is what got Trump elected.

      • SirEDCaLot@lemmy.today
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        18 days ago

        sentenced to death

        New York has no death penalty afaik.

        They’ll throw him in prison where he’ll be treated like royalty.

        • ylph@lemmy.world
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          18 days ago

          They can easily prosecute this as a federal crime in a federal court. Crossing state lines might be enough to do it, and they can probably add some additional charges like terrorism. Federal murder can be eligible for death penalty.

  • Rooskie91@discuss.online
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    19 days ago

    You know the rich are shitting their pants over this. It’s gotta be like a David and Goliath thing for them. It’d be a great time to start a private security company.

    • Zombiepirate@lemmy.world
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      19 days ago

      I’m sure Academie (or whatever they’re calling Blackwater these days) and the Pinkertons are about to see a lot of new business.

    • Steve@communick.news
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      19 days ago

      It’ll fade. Unless…

      It happens every three months or so. With escalating difficulty. All they way to being found dead alone in their office. Then slow down to every 18 to 36 months. That’s when they’d be scared enough to actually change corporate policies.

        • Steve@communick.news
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          18 days ago

          After writing my comment, I thought of mass shooters tweaking their tactic, and going to different kinds of locations. Like certain board rooms.

          • kingthrillgore@lemmy.ml
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            15 days ago

            It’s going to be harder after Wednesday. I’m certain Sodexo, ABM, Cintas, etc are going to scrutinize all the support staff working at every F500 from now on, since that’s ideally the closest working class staff to any C-level.

            • Mirshe@lemmy.world
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              17 days ago

              And these C-levels are all gonna get private, armed security baked into their comp packages now - the guys who are actually competent, not John With His Dad’s Revolver.

        • kent_eh@lemmy.ca
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          18 days ago

          but something like a bomb in the boardroom,

          …also risks killing innocent people in adjacent parts of the building.

          The janitor and the guys fixing the elevator don’t need to become collateral damage.

          • Krono@lemmy.today
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            18 days ago

            Certainly the assassination of Ferdinand is a proximate cause of WWI, but there were much greater forces in play. The great powers had giant mechanized armies for the first time, they had plans for the deployment of millions on very strict deadlines, and they had the belief that failure to meet those deadlines would mean national destruction.

            I think it is more plausible to argue that propaganda of the deed helped to end the gilded age and usher in the New Deal era, which was America’s golden era.

            I also act under political desperation. Only under the most optimistic assumptions will electoralism be able to save us from climate change; currently the most likely outcome is human extinction. If the propaganda of the deed has only a 5% chance of saving us from our modern gilded age and the resultant climate-induced end of civilization, then I say it is a chance we must take for we are running out of serious options.

    • NuXCOM_90Percent@lemmy.zip
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      19 days ago

      As much as I would totally hate to see the average board room turned into a kindergarten classroom: Not gonna happen. Just expect to see more stories about security guards “roughing people up” and more cops told to bring a spare piece and a dime bag to the site of a self defense shooting when one of the roid fiends unloads on someone for looking at them funny.

    • treadful@lemmy.zip
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      19 days ago

      It’s gotta be like a David and Goliath thing for them.

      This is the bad timeline though. I’m just waiting to hear that this guy was a pro hired by a C-suite rival. Not some hero of the commons.

    • demizerone@lemmy.world
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      18 days ago

      Elon was building droids to replace workers, but now they are going to have to use them to protect Elon.

      • Zier@fedia.io
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        18 days ago

        Someone will find a way to hack the droid and turn it on the ‘protected’ individual.

        • lightnsfw@reddthat.com
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          18 days ago

          Hopefully the hacker waits until the droids develop a good name for themselves and all the CEOs have one. Then flip them all at once iRobot style.

    • emax_gomax@lemmy.world
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      19 days ago

      I mean yes, but also these execs are more than rich enough to just have a 24/7 guard detail on retainer. They’ll be mildly inconvenienced by that tho so bets are they’ll step back and put a pazzi as the face of their companies.

    • Biggles@lemmy.myserv.one
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      18 days ago

      Politicians in particular should be rethinking about how much they really want to be complete shitheads in public. Perhaps turn down the glee when they enact harmful legislation as well.

  • Fashim@lemmy.world
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    18 days ago

    How about these fucking class traitors use their resources to catch the murderers of decent everyday people instead

    • Rakonat@lemmy.world
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      18 days ago

      There are three kinds of people in this world. Those who benefit from the system, those who are exploited by the system, and those who deluded themselves into thinking the system benefits them.

      • iopq@lemmy.world
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        18 days ago

        What about the people who delude themselves that they are not beneficiaries of the system?

    • 4lan@lemmy.world
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      18 days ago

      Why don’t you call the tip line and ask them yourselves? Your son could be shot in the face in broad daylight and they were just move on the next day. They would never look for your son’s murderer.

      Why are they protecting the ultra wealthy more than they are protecting the working class??

      Maybe the police are not here to protect us after all?

      • Soulg@sh.itjust.works
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        18 days ago

        Ok like the police suck but they would absolutely look for a murderer in that instance. No reason to exaggerate when they’re bad enough

  • hperrin@lemmy.world
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    19 days ago

    Oh no. What if they never find him? What if this poor, sweet, humble, *checks notes* absolute monster of a healthcare CEO never gets justice.

    Narrator: but he already got justice.

  • Etterra@lemmy.world
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    18 days ago

    Further proof that if you’re smart enough you can usually get away with it, and a reminder that cops are only effective because must criminals are fucking stupid.

    • Blackmist@feddit.uk
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      17 days ago

      Most murders aren’t premeditated killing of what is basically a stranger.

      If you’re not on the scene when the police arrive, not a family member, not somebody with a known grudge and not a rival gang member, don’t brag about the killing to your friends, and don’t visibly flee the scene in your own car, then they’re reduced to the CSI stuff, which I’ll wager is far less effective than it is on the show.

      And also don’t give your DNA to 23 and Me.

  • foggy@lemmy.world
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    19 days ago

    If he planned this much and they don’t know his names homie is long gone by now

    • FaceDeer@fedia.io
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      19 days ago

      Those discarded items might not even have his DNA on them. Everyone knows about DNA evidence nowadays, if he’s really on the ball it’d be easy enough to pick up some random decoys.

      • Paddzr@lemmy.world
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        19 days ago

        Doesn’t it also require the DNA to be stored on file to be matched? They haven’t even got a suspect to get DNA from.

        • Decq@lemmy.world
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          19 days ago

          No, they could pinpoint you just by dna of relatives. Hence why the whole 23andme is such a terrible idea.

          • FuglyDuck@lemmy.world
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            19 days ago

            If those were his items, and his dna on those items, sure. Iirc, this is how they got the BTK killer- a familial match.

          • jagged_circle@feddit.nl
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            18 days ago

            They can’t pinpoint you. DNA is about as terrible as fingerprints and lie detectors. They’re all full of false positives.

            • Decq@lemmy.world
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              18 days ago

              Sure its not perfect but if they can narrow it down from a few million people to just a few 100/1000’s that makes fibding someone much easier .

              • jagged_circle@feddit.nl
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                18 days ago

                Nah, this tech isn’t useful to prove you’re a suspect. Its only use is to prove that someone is not a suspect

                • SpaceCowboy@lemmy.ca
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                  18 days ago

                  They got his face on camera… maybe. Assuming it’s the same smiling guy and with a partial DNA match, I’d think that’s enough to get a court order to get a blood sample to get a better DNA match.

                  Of course that’s assuming the smiling guy is the same guy AND one of his relatives did 23andme AND they can find and arrest him.

  • roofTophopper@lemmy.world
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    18 days ago

    Let’s see here. It’s currently the 7th. I wonder what other things happened in NY that need attention. Everyday is indeed a busy day.

  • HomebrewHedonist@lemmy.ca
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    18 days ago

    If you look at this jacket in this picture closely and compare it to the one at the scene of the crime, they don’t match. This is the wrong guy.