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Police release video of suspect from surveillance cameras

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Words carved into shell casings, media reports say

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No motive has been determined

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Attack was planned, police say

NEW YORK, Dec 5 (Reuters) - New York police were

searching on Thursday for the man who killed UnitedHealth ( UNH )

executive Brian Thompson in a brazen attack outside a

Midtown Manhattan hotel and was last seen fleeing into Central

Park.

Thompson, the CEO of UnitedHealth's ( UNH ) insurance unit, was shot

from behind on Wednesday morning in what police described as a

targeted attack by a masked assailant lying in wait. It came

just before the company's annual investor conference at the

Hilton on Sixth Avenue.

The words "deny," "defend" and "depose" were carved into the

shell casings found at the scene, police sources told ABC and

the New York Post. Reuters has not independently verified that

information. The words mirror the title of a book critical of

the insurance industry published in 2010 titled "Delay Deny

Defend."

Investigators have not yet named a suspect and were still

looking for a motive, the New York City Police Department said

during a press conference on Wednesday morning. They have not

provided a briefing since.

"This does not appear to be a random act of violence," New

York City Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch told reporters.

"Every indication is that this was a premeditated,

pre-planned, targeted attack."

Security video showed the shooter behind Thompson, 50, raising

his handgun and firing at his back. Police said the gunman

arrived outside the hotel several minutes before Thompson and

waited for him to walk past before firing, ignoring other

passers-by.

The suspect, wearing a hooded sweatshirt and balaclava and

wearing a gray backpack, fled on foot before mounting an

electric bike and riding into Central Park, police said.

Police published a number of photographs of the suspect

taken from video cameras in the area, including one with the gun

raised and pointed toward Thompson and another of the suspect

fleeing on a bike.

Other photos captured a glimpse of his eyes, brow and the

bridge of his nose as he stood in a cafe, with a caption asking

the public for any help in identifying the man.

The killing took place on the morning of the city's annual

Christmas tree lighting at Rockefeller Center a few blocks away.

The event went ahead as planned under heavy security.

UnitedHealth ( UNH ) is the largest U.S. health insurer, providing

benefits to tens of millions of Americans, who pay more for

healthcare than people in any other country. Thompson, 50, had

been the CEO of UnitedHealthcare, a unit of UnitedHealth Group ( UNH ),

since April 2021.

The company has been grappling with the fallout from a massive

data hack of its Change Healthcare unit that provides technology

for U.S. healthcare providers, disrupting medical care for

patients and reimbursement to doctors for months.

Thompson had worked at UnitedHealth ( UNH ) since 2004 in several

divisions, according to a biography later removed from the

company's website.

"Our hearts go out to Brian's family and all who were close

to him," the company said in a statement.

Thompson's wife, Paulette, told NBC News on Wednesday that

he had been receiving some threats related to his job, but was

not specific. In a later statement she said "Brian was an

incredibly loving, generous, talented man who truly lived life

to the fullest and touched so many lives."

Police departments in both Maple Grove, Minnesota, where

Thompson lived, or in Minnetonka, where UnitedHealth ( UNH ) is based,

said they had no record of threats against him. The Minneapolis

Police Department said there was "no occurrence" of Thompson in

its records.