Sunday, December 8

Several days after UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson was shot in New York City, his killer has still not been found. Here's a rundown of his suspected path before and after the shooting.

Thompson was shot multiple times on Wednesday morning by a masked shooter clothed in black, with the incident taking place outside the New York Hilton Midtown. He was heading into the hotel for an annual investor conference for the UnitedHealth Group, which is the parent company of UnitedHealthcare. Read more about the initial shooting here.

The gunman waited outside the hotel for around five minutes before firing at Thompson with what looks to be a silencer on his gun, but he quickly walked away before anyone could process what had happened. The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and New York Police Department (NYPD) are on the case, and they are putting all of their manpower and resources into finding the criminal.

Also, New York City is filled with cameras, helping officials track his path before and after the shooting. Here's the rundown:

1. The shooter is suspected to have arrived in New York City last month on a bus from Atlanta.

   • Detectives are contacting Greyhound, the bus service, to see exactly when and where he purchased the tickets for the bus.

2. Investigators think he could have been staying in the HI New York City Hostel, which is located on Amsterdam Avenue in the Upper West Side.

   • They also believe that he used a fake ID from New Jersey to check in at the hotel, further shrouding his identity.

3. Hours before the shooting, footage from a camera in the Upper West Side shows him carrying a large object similar to a battery for an electric bicycle.

4. The suspect, dressed in all-black clothes and a mask, stops at a Starbucks, purchasing two protein bars and a disposable water bottle.

5. Just after his stop at Starbucks, the shooter waits in front of the New York Hilton Midtown before shooting Brian Thompson.

6. The suspect fires at Thompson three times, leaving behind the 9-millimeter bullet casings from the shots.

   • Investigators have found that the words "deny," "defend," and "depose" were written on them in permanent marker.

   • The casings could partially reveal the motive of the killer, as some insurance companies, including UnitedHealthcare, are disliked by many people due to their common denials of claims.

   • The casings could also give a clue to the shooter, as the government's advanced systems can identify if the gun was used in a previous crime based on the exact shape and markings of the casing.

7. The gunman quickly leaves the scene of the shooting, crossing West 54th Street, where the hotel is located.

8. He leaves a burner phone in an adjacent alleyway, and throws his water bottle and a wrapper for his protein bar in a nearby trash can.

   • This burner phone could be useful to find who he contacted prior to the shooting, but officials have not been able to unlock it yet.

   • Also, the wrapper and bottle are being analyzed for fingerprints or DNA, which could help identify the suspect.

9. The suspect emerges onto West 55th Street, where he gets onto an electric Citi bike and rides northward on 6th Avenue, toward Central Park. He then enters the park through the small road known as Center Drive.

10. The gunman leaves his backpack inside some bushes in the park, hiding it from view.

    • Investigators found the backpack, hidden away, only to find that it was full of Monopoly money. They also found a jacket inside.

11. He emerges from Central Park into the Upper West Side, around West 77th Street, still on his bicycle.

12. The gunman gets into a taxi around the intersection of West 86th Street and Columbus Avenue, still in the Upper West Side.

13. He is spotted getting out of a taxi at a Washington Port Authority bus stop on West 178th Street, between the George Washington and Alexander Hamilton Bridges of Interstate 95. By this time, the shooting is already 45 minutes in the past.

14. The shooter is suspected to have left New York City on a Greyhound bus, which was likely headed back to Atlanta.

Investigators are still yet to find the shooter's gun and bicycle, which are two crucial clues to discovering his identity and possible location. However, the FBI and NYPD are taking this case extremely seriously-- the FBI is offering a $50,000 reward to anyone with information on the identity or location of the suspect, and the NYPD is offering an additional $10,000. The NYPD has also deployed over 100 officers to investigate across Central Park, as well as a cluster of drones.

Also, other companies have beefed up security around their CEOs, attempting to safeguard them from any other incidents that could be motivated by this one.

Fact of the Day (Reader's Digest): African elephants actually have the strongest sense of smell of any animal. Their nose has over 2,000 olfactory receptors-- over twice as many as dogs have and over five times as many as humans have. In fact, their sense of smell is so good that they can even identify quantities with it!

Quote of the Day: Kindness is the language which the deaf can hear and the blind can see. (Mark Twain)

Word of the Day (Merriam-Webster): Misbegotten (adj)- Misbegotten describes things that are badly planned or thought out.

In a Sentence: They were sent on a misbegotten diplomatic mission that was sure to fail.