Summary

The NYPD released unmasked photos of the suspect in the targeted killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, who was shot outside the New York Hilton Midtown on Dec. 4.

Surveillance footage traced the suspect’s movements before and after the crime, including his escape on an e-bike.

Investigators uncovered cryptic words on shell casings at the scene and recovered items possibly containing DNA evidence.

Authorities are using facial recognition and offering a $10,000 reward for tips. NYC Mayor Eric Adams confirmed the attack was premeditated and involved a silencer. Motive remains unknown.

  • lettruthout
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    1 year ago

    As the NYPD scrambled to find the killer, police deployed a swathe of investigators – uniformed and plain clothed – dogs, drones and helicopters in the hunt for the assailant, according to The Times.

    In 2023 there were 391 murders in NYC. For the police to deploy that amount of resources for this one murder kinda proves that the police work for the rich.

    • eldavi@lemmy.ml
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      1 year ago

      i suspect that the intense response from the authorities proves how much of a priority this is for our gov’t and i hope that this becomes a trend on the rich.

      • foggy
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        1 year ago

        Imagine hearing about something like this every few days instead of school shootings? Man…

        • Pacattack57
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          1 year ago

          I think the overall happiness of the population would go up if morally bankrupt people were killed every other day instead of children.

      • Rapidcreek
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        1 year ago

        Commit murder in NYC and I suspect the NYPD to be just as active especially when there’s video.

        • eldavi@lemmy.ml
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          1 year ago

          hundreds of people are killed every year in that city and none get this kind of attentions or response; even when they’re on camera being killed slowly while everyone watches (eg eric garner).

          • Rapidcreek
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            1 year ago

            Hundreds of people are not targeted murder victims in NYC every year.

            • eldavi@lemmy.ml
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              1 year ago

              the nypd has a track record of court cases and millions of dollar of fines for targeting specific groups in nyc; they know what they’re doing.

            • SmilingSolaris
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              1 year ago

              Oh and every other murder was random acts of violence? Fuck off with your narrowing of goalposts that didn’t even move them.

              • Rapidcreek
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                1 year ago

                No. Most murders happen between people that know each other very well. Few are assassinations on the street.

                • SmilingSolaris
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                  1 year ago

                  I hope you can self reflect enough to see what a silly position you argued yourself into. I’ll let you marinate in it.

        • ChronosTriggerWarning
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          1 year ago

          Remember when NYPD watched a guy attacking people on the subway with a knife?

          Big ol’ (X).

          • Rapidcreek
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            1 year ago

            Such is not the case here. Video shows there were many people on the streets at the time and the shooter was aiming at killing a specific person. This wasn’t an attempt at mass mayhem.

            • Fuckfuckmyfuckingass
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              1 year ago

              So the police should only act if it’s a targeted attack? Against a wealthy individual? Hopefully you don’t get a canker sore polishing those boots.

              • Rapidcreek
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                1 year ago

                Assassination on a city street is around upon by local police. It doesn’t matter how rich the victim is.

            • Spaceballstheusername
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              1 year ago

              So 10 years ago for escaped convits. Sounds like a lot of people between them and now got murdered that went unsolved that they used very little resources for.

              • Rapidcreek
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                1 year ago

                You asked. I googled. Something you might well have done, but did not. Now you complain of the first search result. Sorry, the spoon feeding is over.

                • Spaceballstheusername
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                  1 year ago

                  I was asking more when was the last time they did this to see the frequency of these manhunts. Lots of people get murdered every year but last manhunt was roughly 10 years ago. I didn’t complain about your answer I was just saying how much it speaks to the police’s lack of effort in protecting normal citizens.

    • Zaktor@sopuli.xyz
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      This isn’t just a murder, it’s potentially a statement about how the people who seem to be untouchable in the current social order are very very touchable. If that statement stands, it endangers the social order itself.

      Propaganda of the deed (or propaganda by the deed, from the French propagande par le fait) is specific political direct action meant to be exemplary to others and serve as a catalyst for revolution.

      It is primarily associated with acts of violence perpetrated by proponents of insurrectionary anarchism in the late 19th and early 20th century, including bombings and assassinations aimed at the state, the ruling class in a spirit of anti-capitalism, and church arsons targeting religious groups, even though propaganda of the deed also had non-violent applications. These acts of terrorism were intended to ignite a “spirit of revolt” by demonstrating the state, the middle and upper classes, and religious organizations were not omnipotent as well as to provoke the State to become escalatingly repressive in its response.

      https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Propaganda_of_the_deed

    • Kühlschrank
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      1 year ago

      Yeah I feel like this is another thing that is fully normalized - the cops are there to protect wealth. Just like how the health care industry’s practices have been normalized.

    • Optional
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      1 year ago

      True, but it wasn’t like we didn’t know. It’s just the hypocrisy of the police and the media doing their thing.

    • Chaotic Entropy@feddit.uk
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      1 year ago

      They’re going to be pretty keen to find and make an example out of a person that did something bad to someone of worth. Can’t let that stand unanswered, or Adams will lose donors.

      • danafest@lemm.ee
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        1 year ago

        Being wealthy and being a “person of worth” are almost mutually exclusive nowadays.

    • Gigasser
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      1 year ago

      Supposedly the shell casings have words engraved on them. Deny Defend Depose.

    • Ebby@lemmy.ssba.com
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      1 year ago

      I kinda get that vibe from the police too. Just $10,000? Don’t try too hard there, now.

      I was denied emergency life saving medication by my insurance (not united iir) and ended up in the hospital the next day for a week. Billed an average $15,000 a day each day.

      After the bills came in, it was apparent someone/algorithm put me in the hospital to bill the most money for profit. It was a nasty trick.

      Anyways, $10,000 seems like chump change to them. More of a “well, we tried” bounty.

      • Tiefling IRL@lemmy.blahaj.zone
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        1 year ago

        I know someone who lost their dad to medical issues. Their dad’s insurance is asking them for $200k

        When my eye condition was rapidly degenerating, insurance denied me the only procedure that could slow it down. Now my eyesight is absolute trash and the only reason I can even see is because I use $1000/lens glass lenses the size of a nickel

        The deductible for my sympathy hasn’t been met

        • BigFig
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          1 year ago

          The deductible for my sympathy hasn’t been met

          Hot damn that’s powerful

      • cm0002
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        1 year ago

        Health insurance denials and other insurance BS transcend through the entire 99%, even cops.

        • NuXCOM_90Percent@lemmy.zip
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          1 year ago

          Cops don’t give a fuck.

          It is the easiest go to these days (don’t worry, we’ll have even worse sooner than later) but look at Uvalde. Cops actively prevented parents from rescuing their children. Cops physically restrained a different cop who was trying to rescue his wife (she was murdered and he later resigned). They don’t even operate in their own self interest.

          So you can bet that the cop who Failure Drills the restrained suspect because “he’s a professional hitman who won’t be taken alive” will have denied claims and be desperate for any way to get life saving procedures done.

    • MegaUltraChicken
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      1 year ago

      If they unfortunately find him, jury selection is gonna be super interesting. I would let that guy go with a handshake and a good job.

    • adarza@lemmy.ca
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      1 year ago

      what guy? all i saw was a woman with pink hair and a nose ring.

    • satanmat
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      1 year ago

      Yes Sgt Shultz…. I zaw nothink!!!

  • AbouBenAdhem
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    1 year ago

    Pretty sure that’s Donald Trump—he even discussed his plan to shoot a man on 5th Avenue.

    • Bosht
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      1 year ago

      Every god damned person that’s seen the headline knows exactly what the motive was, but sure, it’s biiiiiig mystery.

        • modus
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          1 year ago

          He ditched a phone while he was fleeing the scene and used a fake NJ ID at the hostel. Hopefully the phone was a burner.

  • very_well_lost
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    1 year ago

    Oh shit, he’s hot…

    I kinda hate it when someone is this cool and this good looking. Save some positive qualities for the rest of us!

    • circuscritic@lemmy.ca
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      1 year ago

      While I hope he’s never caught or arrested, if he does end up being charged, I suspect there will be a lot of donations to his legal defense fund.

    • Kbobabob
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      1 year ago

      man and/or woman

      What a weird way to say person. Lol

      • Dem Bosain@midwest.social
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        1 year ago

        I’m just saying they were both here. We played Smash Bros. and stayed up late watching movies. Can you believe they’d never seen They Live?

  • blockheadjt@sh.itjust.works
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    1 year ago

    The guy in those photos has a different color coat and a different backpack… what makes the NYPD think they’re the shooter? Is there only one guy in NYC that wears a coat and backpack in checks notes December?

    • Glitterbomb
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      1 year ago

      Exactly, the one on the right isn’t even the shooter. It’s jake gyllenhaal trying to get photographs of the scene

    • SulaymanF
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      1 year ago

      If you look at the background, you’ll see the white balance of the photo is different. It’s the same coat, the photo is just tinted differently.

      • serendepity
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        1 year ago

        They’re not talking about the two unmasked photos in the article. If you look at the photos of the masked shooter, he had a different backpack (white/beige instead of black) and a different hoodie(no chest pockets).

        • Fondots
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          1 year ago

          I’m not saying it’s what happened here, but I’ve always figured that if I intended to commit a crime and escape, I’d change my outer clothes as fast as possible. If you were wearing a mask, if you put on a different jacket, backpack, hat, pants, and shoes you’re basically unrecognizable barring any recognizable scars or tattoos or whatever.

          I don’t know how much time would have elapsed between the two pictures, but if you plan for it by wearing two layers, it wouldn’t take very long to pull a second bag from your backpack and stuff the first backpack and your jacket into the second pack.

          It looks like the guy in both sets of pictures might be wearing the same sort of neck gaiter, but that’s pretty flimsy evidence to say the least

          • AugustWest
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            1 year ago

            But why would you change into an extremely similar looking jacket and backpack and continue to walk around with the same face covering? Why would you not change into a yellow puffer jacket and put a Knicks beanie on and get rid of the damn backpack entirely?

            • Fondots
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              Hypothetically, you’d still want to blend into the crowd, “yellow puffy jacket and Knicks hat” is pretty identifiable if someone were to see you changing your clothes, but darker colored midweight hooded jacket could probably describes like 75% of what everyone on any random street in New York is wearing at any given time in the winter.

              And the backpacks look like they’re totally different colors. You also wouldn’t want to ditch the bag or clothes too close to the chime scene, don’t want to leave behind evidence that might be easily linked to you.

              Can’t speak for the neck gaiter, a black gaiter is a pretty unremarkable article of clothing, I know a few people who have started wearing them semi regularly over the winter since COVID, it’s probably not enough to be identifiable on its own, he could have simply forgotten about it, it could be functional by hiding something identifiable (neck tattoos, scars, who knows, maybe even a tracheostomy that the insurance company fucked him over with in some way) he may have wanted to keep it readily at hand to quickly cover his face again if needed, etc.

              • AugustWest
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                1 year ago

                I totally agree and that was a dumb and exaggerated example. My point was only that if it really is the same person, it is too subtle of a change between jackets, where a cop on high alert would take an interest. Why not change into a completely different style of nondescript coat in a completely different color like black?

                • Fondots
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                  1 year ago

                  The picture quality leaves a bit to be desired, but the two jackets do look pretty different to me. It looks like one may be a quarter zip without any chest pockets and the other is a full zip with chest pockets. And because of the differing picture qualities it’s kind of hard to say just how similar or different the colors are, they almost look like different colors from one picture of the same jacket to the other.

                  Also there may have been some deliberate choice in that sort of dark earth tone kind of color (or at least that’s what the colors look like to me,) different witnesses could give different answers for what color that jacket even is, I could imagine people calling it black, grey brown, tan, or green, depending on the lighting, how close they were, how much attention they paid, etc. on top of eyewitnesses just being kind of generally unreliable, so until they were able to get the security footage, which probably was at least a few minutes, cops could potentially have been working on conflicting descriptions of the jacket color.

                  Side note: I work in 911 dispatch, so I spend a lot of my nights trying to get descriptions of people and vehicles, I get a lot of people really struggling to tell me what color something is that’s right in front of them, and when we have multiple callers about something we’re often going to get as many different descriptions as there are callers. I remember one major incident I worked where depending on which caller you got, the description of the subject was either an older white guy wearing camo, a young black guy in a hoodie, or 3 white teenagers in trench coats.

                  It also looks like there was just another picture released where he was wearing what looks to me like a black or navy puffy jacket.

                  Also worth noting, I don’t think the NYPD has been totally clear about where these pictures were all taken on the timeline, one was taken at the hostel he was staying at and I’m not even totally clear if it’s actually from the same day as the shooting or not.

    • MooseTheDog
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      1 year ago

      In the article: “It is not clear whether the photographs shared on X on the suspect are the same as those mentioned in CNN’s report.”. They’re literally making shit up.

  • Stern
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    1 year ago

    The gunman’s motive, however, still remains a mystery.

    Radiating “Historian saying they were roommates” energy.

    • bestagon
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      1 year ago

      “Defy, Defend, Depose”

      Hmm very criptic

      • unexposedhazard@discuss.tchncs.de
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        They are trying so hard to make it look like another “confused mentally ill crazy guy” and not like the rational composed individual with a clear message that he obviously is.

  • mohammed_alibi
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    1 year ago

    The suspect was wearing masks. This man is not wearing any masks and has a great smile. Clearly not the same person.

  • agless
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    1 year ago

    $10,000? I can’t even cover my health insurance with that

    • Nougat@fedia.io
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      And since you’ll have to fight to get those stitches covered by insurance …