He was quizzed by police in Altoona, Pennsylvania, after being found with a distinctive weapon like that used in the brazen shooting of Brian Thompson, NBC News and others reported. The man was spotted in a McDonald’s restaurant in Altoona, a town 300 miles (500 kilometers) west of New York, by someone who tipped off the authorities, The New York Times reported. He also had fake IDs similar to those used by the killer ahead of the slaying, the outlet added, reporting that New York detectives were headed to Altoona.

Police have been looking into the possibility that the shooter used a long-barrel veterinary gun – normally used to euthanize animals – to commit the murder. The gunman walked up behind Thompson, a senior figure at UnitedHealthcare – one of the country’s largest medical insurers – and shot him dead last Wednesday in front of bystanders, in an attack captured by a surveillance camera and since seen by millions. Thompson was attending an investor conference in the Midtown business district.

Police have yet to suggest a motive and would not confirm media reports that the words “delay” and “deny” – language often used by insurance companies to reject claims – were written on shell casings found at the scene.

The New York Police Department told AFP that detectives had no update for the media, while the Altoona Police Department did not respond to requests for comment. An image released of the smiling suspect was obtained from a youth hostel where the gunman apparently stayed before the hit, with media reporting he had lowered his mask to flirt with a receptionist.

    • TragicNotCute@lemmy.world
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      13 days ago

      The man was on a Greyhound bus traveling through Altoona on Monday morning, sources said, when he got off and walked into a McDonald’s where a witness recognized him from the images of the suspect circulated by police.

      The McDonald’s employee reported him, and “because of that, we believe we have a strong person of interest,” New York City Mayor Eric Adams said at a news conference Monday.

      https://abcnews.go.com/US/unitedhealthcare-ceo-shooting-latest-net-closing-suspect-new/story?id=116591169

      • Karyoplasma@discuss.tchncs.de
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        13 days ago

        Isn’t a report of a random McDick’s employee just hearsay? Dude should just plead the fifth and then they either charge him or don’t.

        • NOT_RICK@lemmy.world
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          13 days ago

          A tip like this is all that’s necessary for a cop to have probable cause to search and detain you. Hearsay is for the courtroom, not the police investigation

        • TragicNotCute@lemmy.world
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          13 days ago

          To detain a suspect in the US they need reasonable, articulable suspicion of a crime that person has committed. Like it or not, a tip followed by items in his possession checks that box.

            • NOT_RICK@lemmy.world
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              13 days ago

              Definitely a little odd, but maybe he was moving slow in order to be careful? I dunno, it’s just within the realm of plausibility.

              Supposedly he had a manifesto on his person, which seeing as this was ideologically motivated is unsurprising. I’d want to have that on me in case the cops smoked me if I was him. Gotta get the word out regarding the reasoning so they can’t just peg you as a crazy person.

              • borari@lemmy.dbzer0.com
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                13 days ago

                I agree. I remember reading that some nypd cops had gone down to atl to do something. You disappear on a bus, they’re gonna be searching for you at your destination. If you hop off the bus and lay low somewhere close, maybe you slip through some cracks.

                Sounds like it would have worked if it hadn’t been for some McDonalds employee who reported him. I don’t think McDonald’s franchises are known for providing the best PPO90 plans to their employees, the ultimate irony here would be if that employee needed the $50k to pay off some medical debt.

                • ℍ𝕂-𝟞𝟝@sopuli.xyz
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                  13 days ago

                  the ultimate irony here would be if that employee needed the $50k to pay off some medical debt

                  That’s how the system is designed to work.

                • DrPop@lemmy.world
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                  12 days ago

                  I hope they forget to pay the taxes on their reward and stick with a $14k tax bill

              • MelodiousFunk@slrpnk.net
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                13 days ago

                Gotta get the word out regarding the reasoning so they can’t just peg you as a crazy person.

                So leave it at the scene. Daisy chain 7 firewalls VPNs from Starbucks. Snail mail it to multiple international news outlets. Plenty of deep bodies of water to dispose of the other evidence. Either dude wanted to get caught, or this is a railroad job.