by Pa Rock
True Crime Fan
The young man who gunned down Brian Thompson, the CEO of the insurance division of United Healthcare, in front of the Hilton Hotel on Sixth Avenue in Manhattan last Wednesday morning has apparently escaped from New York. The suspect, whom police are referring to as a "person of interest," was photographed inside of a New York City cab about 45 minutes after the shooting, and the cab reportedly dropped him at the city's main bus station at the Port Authority on 178th Street. He had arrived ten days earlier at the same bus station on a bus whose route had originated in Atlanta.
Where the young man went after boarding another bus on Wednesday following the shooting seems to be anybody's guess. The FBI has taken over the search for the killer and is conducting it on a "nationwide" basis - a fairly significant "upgrade" for a New York City street crime.
New York City had posted a $10,000 reward for information leading to the suspect's arrest, and the FBI has now added to that with a $50,000 reward. At this point there have been no reports of rewards being offered by either the victim's obscenely rich employer, United Healthcare, or his family.
In related news, New York City police found the shooter's backpack where he discarded it in Central Park. The backpack contained a Tommy Hilfiger jacket and some Monopoly money. ($50 for the purpose of getting out of jail?) Police have reportedly also searched a pond in Central Park. Some news reports are saying that police have DNA samples which are being analyzed and will be run through available crime databases in search of a match - which will take a couple of days. They are apparently also in possession of a "smudged" fingerprint taken from the suspect's new water bottle, the one he had purchased at Starbucks earlier on the morning of the shooting.
Yesterday New York City Mayor Eric Adams revealed that authorities know the name of the suspect but are not releasing it at this time. They also have copies of the photographs generated by the cab company.
The murder weapon was not in the backpack which police found and is still missing. That is likely why the pond in Central Park was searched. One news report referred to the gun as "distinctive," and another described it as being a "B&T Station SIX" pistol. It is not believed that the young shooter was a professional hitman, but he was familiar enough with his weapon that when it jammed while he was shooting, he was able to immediately clear it and continue firing.
With all of that accumulated information, an arrest should be imminent.
As I stated at the outset of this series, the murder of Brian Thompson is one that WILL BE solved. Nobody guns down a white millionaire on one of the classiest streets in the Big Apple and gets away with it. NOBODY! Enjoy you final hours of freedom, young man, because Big Brother is coming after you!
(The entire thrust of this story is rapidly changing from one of a street murder to a tale of national outrage against large, heartless insurers. Ultimately what happened last Wednesday morning in New York City may be remembered not for the victim whose blood stained a prestigious sidewalk, but for what drove the young shooter to essentially forfeit the rest of his own life by killing a fellow human being. Episode four will focus on the evolving public reaction to this crime. Stay tuned.)
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