A 26-year-old American man was arrested Monday after a five-day hunt for the murder of the boss of a health insurance giant in New York, according to court documents. He is also being prosecuted for illegal possession of weapons and false documents.
The man was arrested by “members of the Altoona police”, 500 kilometers west of New York, “for possession of firearms”, New York police said.
>> Reread: The boss of a health insurance giant killed in the street in New York
Several photographs captured by video surveillance cameras before and after the “targeted and unscrupulous murder of Brian Thompson, director of UnitedHealthcare” had been released. The suspect was recognized by an employee at a McDonald’s restaurant in Altoona, who contacted local police.
American media images showed the young man leaving a police vehicle handcuffed to be escorted to a Pennsylvania state court. A judge kept him in custody pending his transfer to the New York courts for possible indictment.
Firearm kit
The suspect was described by police as a native of Maryland (northeast), whose last known address was in Honolulu, Hawaii. He graduated in 2020 with a master’s degree in engineering science from a private university in Pennsylvania. The police found a firearm kit, “which could have been made by a 3D printer”, and a silencer.
The suspect also carried a fake New Jersey ID card “matching the identity used to check into a New York hotel” before the attack, as well as a three-page handwritten document describing his “hostility to against American companies,” police said.
But the authorities have not commented further on the possible motives for the assassination. According to American media, the words “delay” and “deny” – terms referring to rejections of health care claims by insurance companies – were written on the shell casings found at the crime scene .
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