Investigators are days away from DNA results in evidence connected to the shooter who gunned down UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, The Post has learned.
The potential DNA evidence has been recovered from a water bottle believed to have been dropped by the masked gunman as he fled from shooting Thompson outside the Hilton hotel in Midtown, as well as bullets from the scene, sources said.
A Starbucks coffee cup from the shooter is also being processed for DNA evidence, according to sources.
What we know about the shooting of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson
- Brian Thompson, the CEO of insurance giant UnitedHealthcare, was gunned down Wednesday outside a luxury Midtown hotel in a “brazen, targeted attack,” police said.
- The methodical killer used a firearm with a silencer outside the Hilton hotel along Sixth Avenue.
- The gunman fired at Thompson multiple times, striking his back and right calf before fleeing on foot.
- The NYPD released a new photo of the hooded suspect standing in front of the counter at the Starbucks at West 56th Street and 6th Avenue, just minutes from the Hilton hotel where he gunned down Thompson, 50.
- Thompson was named CEO of UnitedHealth in April 2021. He joined the company in 2004. He was one of several senior executives at the company under investigation by the Department of Justice.
- Thompson’s wife, Paulette, said her husband had been getting threats before he was killed.
- The NYPD is investigating a possible message — which appears to include the words “deny,” “depose” and “defend” — engraved on live rounds and shell casings left behind by the masked assassin.
Follow along with The Post’s live updates on the news surrounding Brian Thompson’s murder.
The manhunt for the shooter — which entered its third day Friday — has involved investigators tracking his movements across New York City going back to his apparent arrival on Nov. 24 on a bus from Atlanta pulling into Port Authority.
All places that investigators confirmed the suspect visited have been combed for DNA evidence and fingerprints, including the Upper West Side hostel room where he stayed, sources said.