Detectives investigating the murder of UnitedHealthCare CEO Brian Thompson reportedly found shell casings with the words “deny,” “defend” and “depose” engraved on them.
Police sources report this ABC News that shell casings with the cryptic messages on them were found at the scene.
Detectives are now trying to determine what the words mean and whether they could possibly point to a motive for the 50-year-old’s murder.
Officers are still searching for the unknown assailant who shot Thompson outside the Hilton Hotel in Manhattan on Wednesday morning.
Authorities say he fled the scene on foot before fleeing to nearby Central Park on an electric bicycle.
Surveillance footage of the shooting shows Thompson walking alone outside the downtown hotel entrance when the gunman steps into view and opens fire.
The masked killer pulls out a large pistol with a silencer and shoots him in the back, sending the CEO staggering down the street.
The footage showed several bystanders witnessing the horror shooting, with a woman standing just feet away from the gunman when he opened fire.
Police sources told ABC News that shell casings with the cryptic messages on them were found at the scene
Officers are still searching for the unknown assailant who shot Thompson, seen here, outside the Hilton Hotel in Manhattan Wednesday morning.
Witnesses said the gunman waited outside the hotel for some time before the shooting, and that he knew which door Thompson would come out of before opening fire.
Newly appointed Police Chief Jessica Tisch said the gunman “appeared to be lurking for several minutes” before closing in on Thompson.
Surveillance footage from a nearby Starbucks shows the shooter inside the establishment prior to the incident.
Sources said CNN that the man bought two power bars and a bottle of water at the coffee chain.
Authorities found a phone and a water bottle near the crime scene that they believe is the one he bought at Starbucks, and were able to offer them DNA.
Officials have yet to determine a motive for the killing, but sources told ABC 7 they are investigating a possible grudge against the insurance company.
Tisch added, “Many people passed by the suspect, but he appeared to be waiting for his intended target,” saying it did not “appear to be a random act of violence.”
He was also caught on surveillance footage hanging out outside and appeared to be on the phone ten minutes before he opened fire The New York Times.
Thompson was scheduled to speak at an investor meeting at the hotel Wednesday morning, where he would announce United Healthcare’s hugely profitable 2025 financial outlook, including projected revenues of more than $450 billion.
His plan was well known, and witnesses said the suspected shooter even knew which door Thompson would exit through before opening fire.
Still, the investor conference reportedly began without interruption at 8 a.m. on the second floor of the Hilton until news of the shooting began to circulate.
Without knowing it was Thompson who was hit, one participant told the group that “someone got shot outside.”
CEO of parent company United Healthgroup Andrew Witty is said to have stopped the meeting at the hotel just after 8am when he heard of the tragedy.
He told those gathered: “We are dealing with a very serious medical situation with one of our team members. As a result, I’m afraid we’ll have to end the event.”