The suspected gunman who shot and killed UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson had checked into an Upper West Side hostel using a fake New Jersey ID in the days leading up to the brazen attack, law enforcement sources told The Post.
The suspect had used the ID to book a space at the HI New York City Hostel at 891 Amsterdam Ave. in Manhattan back on Nov. 30, according to sources.
The suspect in insurance CEO Brian Thompson’s murder used a fake ID to check into a youth hostel, law enforcement sources said. DCPIA subsequent probe, however, revealed the ID was fake, the sources said.
The cold-blooded killer was pictured in chilling surveillance images flashing a smile inside the same hostel before gunning down Thompson outside the Hilton Hotel in Midtown early Wednesday.
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.
- 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.
- Thompson’s shooting led to sick support online, and even spurred a tasteless lookalike competition in NYC.
- A person of interest has been nabbed by police officers inside a McDonald’s in Altoona, Pa.
- The suspect has been identified as Luigi Mangione, 26, originally from Towson, Md. He’s an Ivy League graduate who hated the medical community.
Follow along with The Post’s live updates on the news surrounding Brian Thompson’s murder.
Cops and FBI agents scoured the hostel after video captured the gunman in the area shortly before the fatal shooting.
Authorities said they found the ID the suspect used to book a room at the HI New York City Hostel at 891 Amsterdam Ave. in Manhattan. James Keivom
The probe revealed, however, that the suspect used a fake ID. Obtained by NY PostA search of a hostel room rented by the suspect yielded nothing of note as of Thursday afternoon, sources said.
As the manhunt for the killer continued, sources said cops had since recovered the burner phone he ditched as he fled the crime scene and disappeared into Central Park just minutes after killing the executive.
The suspect was seen making a call on the phone as he made his way to the hotel on Sixth Ave, police said.
Officials have also found one of the water bottles that he purchased at a Starbucks on West 56th Street and Sixth Avenue — just a few minutes from the hotel.
— Additional reporting by Emily Crane
