Police find bullet casings with cryptic inscriptions on Midtown CEO’s shooting death

Shell casings found at the Midtown crime scene where UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson was shot Wednesday had cryptic words scrawled on them, NYPD officials confirmed Thursday morning.

The shooting took place outside a Midtown Hilton Hotel, where Thompson was attending an investor conference. Police officers said they executed a search warrant at another nearby hotel where Thompson was staying. Police also said they visited hostels on the Upper East and Upper West Sides as part of their investigation.

Police officials did not say how many shell casings the NYPD had seized, but confirmed reports that they included the terms “deny,” “defend” and “dumping.” The police were unable to provide any further information about the contents.

The words on the bullet casings could shed light on the motive of the shooter, who officials said carried out a targeted, premeditated attack on the 50-year-old manager outside New York’s Hilton Midtown Hotel on Sixth Avenue, where UnitedHealth Group’s annual event was taking place The investor conference was scheduled to take place on Wednesday.

Several users of the online forum noted the similarity to the name of the 2010 book “Delay, Deny, Defend: Why Insurance Companies Don’t Pay Claims and What You Can Do About It” by Jay M. Feinman.

At the HI New York City Hostel on the Upper West Side on Thursday morning, guests said police had come by earlier to investigate, although guests didn’t know at the time what the officers were investigating.

“They all went to the fourth floor. They were pretty relaxed,” said Alice Brooks, visiting from Britain. “To be honest, we didn’t really think anything of it.”

An NYPD flyer posted on a street pole outside the hostel advertised a reward of up to $10,000 for information that could lead to the suspect’s arrest.

Police also released new images Thursday of a man they said was wanted for questioning in connection with the shooting. They were the first pictures that showed the man without a mask. Police did not immediately disclose when and where these images were taken.

As of Thursday morning, police had not arrested or charged any suspects. Police said the gunman was last seen on an e-bike in Central Park on Wednesday morning, adding that they were examining surveillance videos in the area and using dozens of drones to try to track his movements.

This is a developing story based on preliminary police information and has been updated.