Bullet casings from CEO's killing apparently were inscribed with words referring to health insurance claim denial tactics

Bullet casings recovered at the scene of Wednesday's fatal shooting of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson — which New York City police called a "brazen" and "premeditated, preplanned targeted attack" — apparently were inscribed with words referring to health insurance claim denial tactics.

NBC News reported that three live 9mm rounds and three discharged 9mm shell casings were found at the scene. Citing two law enforcement officials, the New York Times said police are investigating apparent messages on the casings, specifically words such as “delay” and “deny," which may point to ways health insurance companies attempt to avoid paying patient claims.

'Threatening patients with a financial penalty for making the wrong decision could have a chilling effect on seeking emergency care.'

The New York Post published a similar report, noting that sources said words such as “deny,” “depose,” and “defend” were engraved on live rounds and shell casings. The Post added that the words are similar to the main title of a 2010 book, “Delay, Deny, Defend: Why Insurance Companies Don’t Pay Claims and What You Can Do About It.” CBS News published a video report discussing the apparently engraved words.

The Times added that patients, lawmakers, and others have fiercely criticized UnitedHealthcare — one of the America’s largest health insurers — for denying patient claims.

The Associated Press said Thompson drew attention in 2021 when UnitedHealthcare, "like its competitors," was criticized for its intention to deny payments "for what it deemed non-critical visits to hospital emergency rooms."

“Patients are not medical experts and should not be expected to self-diagnose during what they believe is a medical emergency,” the American Hospital Association's chief executive wrote in an open letter addressed to Thompson, according to the AP. “Threatening patients with a financial penalty for making the wrong decision could have a chilling effect on seeking emergency care.” The AP said United Healthcare responded by delaying rollout of the change.

After his fatal shooting, Thompson's wife said he had been receiving "threats." Paulette Thompson told NBC News in a phone call that "there had been some threats. Basically, I don’t know, a lack of coverage? I don’t know details. I just know that he said there were some people that had been threatening him."

A separate New York Post story — which cites a Wall Street Journal report — added that for years, Thompson, 50, and his wife had been living in separate homes less than a mile from each other in Maple Grove, Minnesota.

The Post also reported that Thompson at the time of his killing was facing a Justice Department probe for insider trading.

What else do we know?

Police continue to look for the shooting suspect. NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch said the suspect appeared to be lying in wait for Thompson for several minutes, CBS News reported, adding that a senior NYPD official said the suspect's arrival before Thompson outside the Hilton indicates that he knew about the CEO's comings and goings.

More from CBS News:

Police are using surveillance footage to determine how the suspect spent the hours before the shooting. At 5 a.m. Wednesday, about two hours before the attack, surveillance cameras captured the suspect outside near the Frederick Douglass Housing Project on Manhattan's Upper West Side, according to NYPD officials. Police executed a search warrant at a building in the area on Wednesday night. Police said they believe the suspect may have stayed there the night before the attack.

Police also released surveillance images showing the suspect at a Starbucks two blocks from the shooting at 6:17 a.m., less than half an hour before the shooting. Police told CBS News they found unspecified "forensic evidence" at the Starbucks and that items recovered there are being tested for possible DNA and fingerprints by the NYPD's Crime Scene Unit. The suspect paid with cash, police said.

Police said the suspect then waited for Thompson, who left his hotel shortly after 6:40 a.m. and headed to the Hilton across the street, CBS News reported. NYPD Chief of Detectives Joseph Kenny said police are speaking to Thompson's coworkers to understand why he was headed to the hotel so early but acknowledged that Thompson was in charge of a conference there and may have been headed there to help set up.

The suspect approached Thompson from behind at 6:44 a.m., then shot him at least once in the back and once in the right calf, CBS News said, adding that a security camera captured the moment of the shooting.

Wanted poster for suspect in killing United Healthcare CEO Brian Thompson in New York City, Dec. 4, 2024. Photo by Alex Kent/Getty Images

According to NBC News, Kenny said at a Wednesday news conference that "the shooter then walks toward the victim and continues to shoot. It appears that the gun malfunctions as he clears the jam and begins to fire again."

The suspect initially was described as a white male wearing a black hoodie, black pants, black sneakers with a white trim, and a gray backpack who was using a gun with a silencer, an individual familiar with the matter told CNBC. Kenny later told CBS News that the suspect was wearing a light brown or cream-colored jacket and that his backpack was "very distinctive."

NYPD News posted on X other images here and here showing the person the outlet says is the suspect.

You can view a Wednesday morning report from CBS News here on the manhunt for Thompson's killer.

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