'Deny,' 'depose,' 'defend' found written on shell casings near the scene of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson's killing, source says

Investigators have collected a torrent of evidence in Wednesday's fatal shooting of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson in midtown Manhattan, including apparent messages from the shooter on shell casings found at the scene and a Starbucks cup thought to have been discarded by the gunman, as the massive search for the shooter continued for a second day Thursday, a law enforcement source told Newsday.

The NYPD released two new images of the gunman Thursday depicting him without a face mask, his dark eyebrows visible, and asked the public for help identifying him. Surveillance video previously released of the suspected shooter showed him hooded and masked. Police said the man is "wanted for questioning" in connection with Thompson's killing. In one new image, he smiled widely.

Police, working with federal law enforcement agencies — including the New York/New Jersey Regional Fugitive Task Force — have already received a slew of tips, which resulted in a Long Island Rail Road train en route to Seaford being stopped Wednesday evening, the source said.

The shell casings were marked with the words "deny" and "depose" and "defend," the police source said. Multiple news outlets have reported that those words are typically used in the health insurance industry. The words also echo a 2010 book titled "Delay, Deny, Defend" with the subtitle "Why insurance companies don't pay claims and what you can do about it," which was written by Jay M. Feinman.

Investigators have also searched an Upper West Side hostel on Amsterdam Avenue where the shooter is believed to have stayed before what police have called the targeted and brazen assassination of Thompson, the source said. Investigators were able to connect the shooter to the hostel by backtracking his movements through surveillance video before the shooting, the source said.

Investigators searched the hostel, where the shooter stayed in Room 408, according to the source. It was unclear what, if anything, investigators found.

The American Youth Hostel building, a 19th century landmarked brick structure originally known as the Association Residence for Respectable Indigent Females as it was a site to aid widows of the American Revolution and the War of 1812, was constructed in the 1880s and landmarked by New York City in 2007, according to its landmark plaque.

Thompson, 50, of Maple Grove, Minnesota, was in New York for an annual investors meeting of UnitedHealth Group, the parent company of UnitedHealthcare, which is the nation's largest health insurance provider.

The suspect was caught on camera entering Central Park after he fled the shooting scene, the source said. He traveled on Center Street in the park and was wearing the gray backpack he was seen wearing at the time of the shooting. Police have seen video of the gunman exiting the park without the backpack, but investigators have not yet located it despite extensive searches.

The suspect was also seen on video visiting a Starbucks before the shooting, the source said. Police recovered a Starbucks coffee cup, which the suspect was seen discarding outside the Starbucks, the source said. It was the only cup in the container, the source said. Investigators also found a candy wrapper; both the cup and wrapper are being examined for possible fingerprints and DNA, the source said.

On Wednesday morning, just before 7 a.m., a masked gunman approached Thompson from behind and opened fire on him as he walked on a sidewalk outside the Hilton Hotel on Sixth Avenue between West 53rd and 54th streets, police said.

"It appears the suspect was lying in wait for several minutes," NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch said Wednesday, adding: "Many people passed the suspect but he appeared to wait for his intended target."

Thompson was shot at least once in the back and in the right calf, said Tisch. Thompson was pronounced dead at Mount Sinai West Hospital, previously known as Roosevelt Hospital, at 7:12 a.m., police said.

Police said Wednesday they had no motive for the shooting. Thompson's widow, Paulette Thompson, told NBC News that her husband had been the subject of threats recently, though she said she didn't have details.

"There had been some threats," she said, according to NBC News. "Basically, I don’t know, a lack of coverage? I don’t know details. I just know that he said there were some people that had been threatening him."

Police said the gunman's weapon appeared to malfunction during the attack, but he unjammed it and continued firing, suggesting he had a level of expertise with firearms.

The gunman fled the scene northbound, going into an alley between West 54th and 55th streets, then continued on foot on Sixth Avenue before getting on an electric bike and riding into Central Park, police said. A cellphone found in the alley is being examined by investigators, though it wasn't clear if it was connected to the shooter.

Police said they recovered from the scene three live 9 mm rounds and three shell casings.

Thompson became chief executive of UnitedHealthcare in April 2021, according to the company. Previously, he was CEO of its government programs. He joined the company in 2004.

Crime Stoppers and the NYPD are offering a reward of up to $10,000 for information on the case, police said.