CEO shot dead in New York 26-year-old "trembling" when arrested - charged with murder
The head of a large insurance company is killed in the middle of Manhattan. Only days later do the police catch a suspect. He had caught the eye of a fast food restaurant employee.
10.12.2024, 05:36
10.12.2024, 07:47
dpa
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- The New York district attorney's office filed charges against the suspect in the murder of insurance manager Brian Thompson late Monday evening (local time).
- Police said they had arrested the man after a tip from a witness who had seen him in a McDonald's.
- According to police, the 50-year-old Thompson, head of health insurer UnitedHealthcare, was alone on his way to the annual investor conference of parent company UnitedHealth Group when he was killed last Wednesday.
Several days after the fatal shooting of the head of a US insurance company in the middle of New York, a suspect has been arrested around 400 kilometers away. The 26-year-old man was discovered in a fast-food restaurant in the city of Altoona in the state of Pennsylvania, the investigating authorities announced. An employee of the restaurant, which is about a five-hour drive from the metropolis of New York, recognized the 26-year-old from mugshots and called the police.
The man was charged with murder in Manhattan, among other things, US media reported, citing court documents. In Blair County, Pennsylvania, he was also charged with possession of a firearm without a license. He was denied release on bail. According to Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro, he was to be transferred to a detention center later that night.
Suspect was carrying a gun with a silencer
When the suspect was asked by a police officer in the fast food restaurant whether he had been to New York recently, he began to tremble, according to the investigating authorities. The check revealed that he was carrying a 3D-printed gun with a silencer. He was also carrying forged identification documents and a handwritten document accusing insurance companies of profiteering.
Following the arrest, the 26-year-old's family said on social media that they were "shocked and devastated". According to US media, a statement from a lawyer was not initially available.
The head of the billion-dollar US insurer United Healthcare, Brian Thompson, was shot at close range near New York's Times Square on Wednesday and died of his injuries in hospital. The murder of the 50-year-old, which was filmed by surveillance cameras, and the public manhunt for the perpetrator made headlines around the world.