Comedian Bill Burr compared United Healthcare CEO Brian Thompson to a ‘gangster’ as he revealed the possible ‘motive’ behind the executive’s shocking murder outside a New York hotel.
Thompson, 50, was in Midtown Manhattan last week to attend the company’s Investor Day conference when he was shot by a masked assailant outside the Hilton in the early morning hours.
Burr, 56, initially expressed his condolences for Thompson and his family, but revealed how his feelings quickly changed as he learned more about the circumstances surrounding Thompson’s career.
“I was sitting there reading an article and a guy said, ‘Oh my God, he’s such a great guy; he had a wife and kids, and he’s such a great guy,'” Burr began.
“And then you find out that he and the other guys he works for are getting sued for $121 million because they dumped a stock and didn’t tell the other people.”
Burr did not mince his words about his views on corporate misconduct.
“It’s like there’s your motive,” he said of the targeted killing. “They’re gangsters, dude. And then one of them gets hit or something, and they’re like, I was good, he was such a good guy. It’s a dirty game.’
The legal controversy Burr is referring to involves a lawsuit accusing Thompson and other executives of insider trading.
Comedian Bill Burr has revealed the chilling ‘motive’ that may have played a role in the shocking death of United Healthcare CEO Brian Thompson, who was shot in New York last week.
UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson was shot and killed outside the Hilton on Wednesday morning
As Thompson staggered down the street, a witness in the hotel lobby sprinted away
The case involves allegations that they sold company stock ahead of public disclosures that negatively impacted stock prices, leaving other investors in the dark.
Thompson was a prominent figure in the healthcare industry and had served as CEO of United Healthcare, a division of UnitedHealth Group, since 2021, with his murder sending shockwaves through the health insurance industry.
As the frustrating search for the killer began its fifth day on Sunday, investigators faced a tantalizing contradiction: They have a wealth of evidence, but the shooter remains a mystery.
One conclusion they are certain of, however: it was a targeted attack, not a random attack.
They know he ambushed Thompson at 6:44 a.m. Wednesday as the executive arrived at the Hilton for his company’s annual investor conference, using a 9mm pistol that resembled the weapons farmers use to put down animals without causing a loud noise.
They know that ammunition found near Thompson’s body bore the words “delay,” “deny,” and “deposit,” a phrase used by critics of the insurance industry.
The fact that the gunman knew the UnitedHealthcare group was holding a conference at the hotel and what route Thompson would take to get there suggested he might have been a disgruntled employee or client, NYPD Chief Joseph Kenny said.
The suspect was captured on surveillance camera checking into a youth hostel on the Upper West Side
The suspect was arrested at 86th Street and Columbus Avenue two minutes after leaving Central Park on Manhattan’s Upper West Side.
The bag was found by police during their second visit to the park and was placed between boulders just south of the park carousel.
Over the weekend, police divers were seen searching a pond in Central Park where the killer fled after the shooting.
Officers searched the park for days for possible clues and found his backpack there on Friday.
They didn’t immediately reveal what was inside, but said it would be tested and analyzed.
Early Sunday afternoon, police declined to comment on the contents of the backpack, or the results of the search of the pond, saying no updates were planned.
Investigators have urged patience, saying the process of gathering evidence that will hold up in court is not as fast as it appears on TV.
Hundreds of investigators are sifting through video recordings and social media, investigating tips from the public and interviewing people who may have information, including Thompson’s family and co-workers and the gunman’s randomly assigned roommates at the Manhattan hostel where he was staying.
Detectives took a break when they came across security camera footage of an unguarded moment at the hostel in which he briefly showed his face.
Police are tracking the gunman’s steps using surveillance video and it appears he left the city by bus shortly after the shooting outside the New York Hilton Midtown.
He was seen on video about 45 minutes later at a bus station in the city, Kenny said.
A New York City police officer walks through bushes and foliage in Central Park as he searches for a backpack that police say was dropped in the park by the person suspected of killing Thompson
As the high-profile search expands across state lines, the FBI announced late Friday that it was offering a $50,000 reward for information leading to an arrest and conviction, in addition to the up to $10,000 reward offered by the NYPD.
The police assume that the suspect acted alone.
Police have distributed the footage to news outlets and on social media, but have so far been unable to identify him using facial recognition — possibly because of the angle of the footage or restrictions on how the NYPD can use that technology, Kenny said .
Late Saturday, police released two additional photos of the suspected shooter, which appeared to be from a camera mounted in a taxi.
The first shows him outside the vehicle and the second shows him looking through the partition between the rear seat and the front of the cabin. In both cases, his face is partially hidden by a blue medical-style mask.