OAN Staff Brooke Mallory
5:41 PM – Friday, December 6, 2024
Law enforcement officials verified to the press on Thursday night that the masked shooter wanted for stalking and fatally shooting UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, reportedly took a bus from Atlanta, Georgia, to New York in order to commit the murder.
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The authorities believe that the suspect is now back in Atlanta.
After getting off the bus at the Port Authority bus station in Manhattan on November 27th, the shooter landed in New York City and went to a hostel.
“We are fully cooperating with authorities on this active investigation. As it is ongoing, we cannot provide further comment at this time,” a Greyhound spokesperson told Fox News.
When Thompson, 50, was walking from his midtown hotel towards the company’s annual investor conference at a Hilton Hotel across the street—blocks from popular tourist destinations like Radio City Music Hall, the Museum of Modern Art, and Rockefeller Center, where the famous Christmas tree was lit on Wednesday night—he was ambushed in the early hours of the morning and killed. New York City police said that the evidence clearly suggests that the attack was planned.
Following the shooting, the suspect abandoned a burner phone in an alley, according to police sources who spoke to FOX. Police are now investigating fingerprints left on a water bottle, a burner phone, and data that was on the phone.
According to two law enforcement sources who reached out to the press on Thursday, the masked shooter who followed and killed the chairman of one of the biggest health insurers in the United States, had the words “delay,” “deny,” and “depose” written on his ammunition, mirroring a phrase used by industry critics.
One of the officials, who spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity since he was not permitted to publicly disclose specifics of the probe, said that the phrases were scribbled in permanent marker.
The expression “delay, deny, depose” is frequently used by attorneys and critics of the insurance industry to describe strategies aimed at avoiding payment on claims. It describes how insurance companies postpone payments, reject claims, and then defend their positions. Physicians and patients have increasingly criticized health insurers such as UnitedHealthcare for rejecting claims or making it more difficult to acquire care, which is life-saving in many cases.
Meanwhile, Atlanta police announced that they will “be providing assistance as needed” as well. However, since the crime was committed in New York, ATL authorities noted that their spokespersons, in addition to ATL officials, will not be making any further comments or statements regarding the case.
UnitedHealthcare, Humana, and CVS were all included in a Senate report in October that described which companies have the highest denial rate for certain Medicare Advantage patients.
Additionally, in April, UnitedHealth said that it expected $1 billion to $1.15 billion in “direct” costs in 2024 as a result of a cyber attack. The healthcare company said it also projected another $350 million to $450 million “business disruption” hit, which includes lost revenue. The announced losses came after ransomware attackers took control of critical systems at the company’s Change Healthcare business earlier this year, which limited patients’ access to prescriptions and stopped payments to care providers.
Meanwhile, social media users chimed in and expressed their own theories and thoughts on the recent shooting.
“Two things can be true at the same time: 1. Health insurance companies can be ruthless & oftentimes take advantage of people in their most vulnerable moments. 2. We shouldn’t be celebrating a civilian getting murdered in broad daylight,” said one X user.
“Not saying a brazen assassination is ever right but do you know the story on them? They got hit by ransomware and instead of telling anyone, they sat on the problem for months while doctors couldn’t get paid and patients couldn’t get care. Then when the doctors came and complained, they offered them loans to get them through the rough time. Then they waited longer. Then they bought the doctors out for pennies on the dollar. Scum of the earth,” said another.
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