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The murder of a top healthcare boss has the hallmarks of a “practised, seasoned, trained professional killer”, according to a former FBI special agent.

Terry Rankhorn told Kay Burley on Sky News Breakfast the footage of the shooting in New York City, which police are treating as a targeted hit, was “chilling”.

UnitedHealthcare chief executive Brian Thompson, 50, was ambushed at 6.45am local time on Wednesday as he walked to the company’s annual investor conference at a Hilton in Midtown.

UnitedHealthcare chief executive officer Brian Thompson.
Pic: UnitedHealth Group/AP
Image:
UnitedHealthcare chief executive officer Brian Thompson.
Pic: UnitedHealth Group/AP

The attacker fired multiple times at Mr Thompson and continued despite the gun briefly jamming, according to police.

Shell casings, recovered from the scene, had the words “defend”, “deny”, and “depose” written on them according to Sky News’ US partner, NBC News, which spoke to a senior New York City law enforcement official.

“What you can determine from his behaviour is this person is a practised, seasoned, trained professional killer,” Mr Rankhorn said.

“He doesn’t run up like an inexperienced, emotional but amateur killer… this person calmly walks out,” he added.

“He paces his target. He draws his weapon. He takes careful aim and then fires at his target once. And then you can see the weapon malfunction.

“He calmly clears the malfunction, fires again, and advances on his target. This isn’t some drug-addled murderer. This is a professional.”

An image of the individual sought in connection to the investigation of the shooting death of Brian Thompson, the CEO of UnitedHealth.
Pic: NYPD/Reuters
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Police have issued images of the suspect who is still on the run. Pic: NYPD/Reuters

Security cameras also captured the gunman’s escape on an e-bike into Central Park. Police used drones, helicopters and dogs in an intense search, but he has not been traced.

New York City Police Department (NYPD) commissioner Jessica Tisch said the shooting was no random act of violence, but a “premeditated, pre-planned, targeted attack”, although the motive is unclear.

“It does seem that he’s proficient in the use of firearms as he was able to clear the malfunctions pretty quickly,” added Joseph Kenny, NYPD chief of detectives.

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Police reveals details on the shooting of a CEO in New York

Suspect in Brian Thompson murder
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A reward of up to $10,000 (£7,851) has been offered for information. Pic: NYPD/Reuters

Police released images of the man, who wore a hooded jacket and a mask that concealed most of his face.

Mr Rankhorn shared his thoughts about the man’s getaway: “He clearly had a preplanned escape route. This is someone who knows their craft. They’re practised at it. And, it was an extremely effective and efficient assassination.”

“The e-bike is actually a shockingly effective tool in New York City because of the traffic… they can weave in and out of traffic even if he was being pursued by a police-marked vehicle.”

Questions remain over motive


diana magnay headshot

Diana Magnay

International correspondent

@DiMagnaySky

How quick it is to remove the traces of a murder, a brazen assassination at that.

Not 12 hours since UnitedHealthcare chief executive Brian Thompson was gunned down in midtown Manhattan and pressure washers were hosing down what was left of the crime scene outside the Hilton hotel.

For now we have no idea whether the gunman was a hired assassin or a man with a personal vendetta.

We have no idea of his motive or of the motive of those who may have paid him.

He had the look of a professional, or one certainly familiar with a gun, but there are millions of Americans who are familiar with guns.

All we do know is he is still on the run after an extraordinary killing, vanished into the many millions who call NYC their home.

Read more from Diana here

The murdered CEO had been receiving recent threats but hadn’t been altering his travel routine, according to his wife Paulette Thompson.

Mr Rankhorn cast doubt on whether that was a major line of inquiry for investigators. “The recipe for murder is: motivation, means and opportunity. It’s quite likely that a lot of these threats were just incidental,” he said.

“I really, really, really doubt that this is some dissatisfied insurance customer from middle America who flew to New York City and planned out a very professional, well-executed assassination. That just doesn’t make sense.”

NYPD has offered a reward of up to $10,000 (£7,851) for information leading to an arrest and conviction.

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Mexican navy training vessel hits New York’s Brooklyn Bridge – as reports say three injured

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Mexican navy training vessel hits New York's Brooklyn Bridge - as reports say three injured

A Mexican navy ship has hit the Brooklyn Bridge during a promotional tour in New York City.

The New York Fire Department said authorities were responding to injuries but had no details about how many people might have been hurt or whether they were on the vessel or on the bridge.

Sky’s US partner network NBC News reports that at least three people were seriously injured in the incident.

The Mexican navy said in a post on X that the Cuauhtemoc, an academy training vessel, was damaged in the accident, which has prevented it from continuing its voyage.

Eyewitness video of the collision posted online showed the mast of the ship, which was flying a large Mexican flag, scraping the underneath of the bridge.

Pic: AP
Image:
Pic: AP

The vessel then drifted toward the edge of the river as onlookers scrambled away from shore.

The Mexican navy said the status of personnel and material was under review by naval and local authorities, which were providing assistance.

More on New York City

The Cuauhtemoc is about 297ft long and 40ft wide, according to the Mexican navy. It sailed for the first time in 1982.

A New York Police Department harbour unit prepares to board the Cuauhtemoc. Pic: AP
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Pic: AP

Each year, it sets out at the end of classes at the naval military school to finish cadets’ training.

It left the Mexican port of Acapulco, on the Pacific coast, on 6 April with 277 people onboard, the navy said at the time.

This breaking news story is being updated and more details will be published shortly.

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One person dead after explosion outside fertility clinic in California

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One person dead after explosion outside fertility clinic in California

One person has died in a bomb explosion near a reproductive health clinic in California, authorities have said.

The incident took place in Palm Springs, a city two hours east of Los Angeles, and is being investigated as a possible car explosion.

The city’s mayor Ron DeHarte said one person died in the blast, adding that the bomb was “either in or near” a vehicle. The deceased’s identity is not known, Palm Springs police said.

Dr Maher Abdallah, who runs the American Reproductive Centers clinic, told the Associated Press his facility was damaged but all staff were safe and accounted for.

The explosion damaged the office space where the practice conducts patient consultations, but the IVF lab and stored embryos were unharmed, he added.

“I really have no clue what happened,” he said. “Thank God today happened to be a day that we have no patients.”

Debris covers the ground after an explosion on Saturday, May 17, 2025 in Palm Springs, Calif.  (ABC7 Los Angeles via AP)
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Debris covers the ground after the explosion. Pic: ABC7 Los Angeles/AP

In a statement posted on Facebook the clinic said it was “heartbroken” to learn someone died in the explosion and added: “Our deepest condolences go out to the individuals and families affected.”

It continued: “Our mission has always been to help build families, and in times like these, we are reminded of just how fragile and precious life is.

“In the face of this tragedy, we remain committed to creating hope – because we believe that healing begins with community, compassion, and care.

The clinic will be fully operational on Monday, it added.

“This moment has shaken us – but it has not stopped us. We will continue to serve with strength, love, and the hope that brings new life into the world,” the statement concluded.

Debris covers the ground after an explosion on Saturday, May 17, 2025 in Palm Springs, Calif.  (ABC7 Los Angeles via AP)
Image:
Pic: ABC7 Los Angeles/AP

The Palm Springs city government said in a post on Facebook that the explosion happened on North Indian Canyon Drive, near East Tachevah Drive, before 11am local time (6pm GMT).

A burned-out car can be seen in a parking lot behind the building in aerial footage.

The blast caved in the clinic’s roof and blew debris across four lanes of the road.

Another person said he was inside a cannabis dispensary nearby when he felt a massive explosion.

Nima Tabrizi said: “The building just shook, and we go outside and there’s massive cloud smoke.”

Investigators from the FBI and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives are travelling to the scene to help assess what happened.

California governor Gavin Newsom has been briefed on the explosion, his press office said.

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James Comey: Trump says ex-FBI director’s seashells post ‘meant assassination’

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James Comey: Trump says ex-FBI director's seashells post 'meant assassination'

A former FBI director has been interviewed by the US Secret Service over a social media post that Republicans say was a call for violence against President Donald Trump.

James Comey, who led the FBI from 2013 until he was fired in 2017 by Mr Trump during his first term in office, shared a photo of seashells appearing to form the numbers “86 47”.

James Comey, then the FBI Director, in July  2016. File pic: AP/J. Scott Applewhite
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James Comey later removed the Instagram post. File pic: AP

He captioned the Instagram post: “Cool shell formation on my beach walk.”

Some have interpreted the post as a threat, alleging that 86 47 means to violently remove Mr Trump from office, including by assassination.

What does ’86 47′ mean?

The number 86 can be used as a verb in the US. It commonly means “to throw somebody out of a bar for being drunk or disorderly”.

One recent meaning of the term is “to kill”, according to the Merriam-Webster Dictionary, which said it had not adopted this meaning of 86 “due to its relative recency and sparseness of use”.

The number has previously been used in a political context by Matt Gaetz, who was President Donald Trump’s pick for attorney general but withdrew from consideration following a series of sexual misconduct allegations.

Mr Gaetz wrote: “We’ve now 86’d…” and listed political opponents he had sparred with who ended up stepping down.

Meanwhile, 47 is supposedly representing Mr Trump, who is the 47th US president.

Mr Comey later removed the post, saying he thought the numbers “were a political message” and that he was not aware that the numeric arrangement could be associated with violence.

“I didn’t realise some folks associate those numbers with violence. It never occurred to me, but I oppose violence of any kind, so I took the post down,” Mr Comey said.

Mr Trump rejected the former FBI director’s explanation, telling Fox News: “He knew exactly what that meant. A child knows what that meant… that meant assassination.”

Donald Trump Jr accused Mr Comey of “casually calling for my dad to be murdered”.

US Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem confirmed in a post on X that Mr Comey had been interviewed as part of “an ongoing investigation” but gave no indication of whether he might face further action.

The Secret Service is part of the Department of Homeland Security.

White House deputy chief of staff Taylor Budowich said Mr Comey had put out “what can clearly be interpreted as a hit on the sitting president of the United States”.

“This is deeply concerning to all of us and is being taken seriously,” Mr Budowich wrote on X.

Another White House official James Blair said the post was a “Clarion Call (…) to terrorists & hostile regimes to kill the President of the United States as he travels in the Middle East”.

Read more US news:
Smokey Robinson under criminal investigation
Cassie challenged over Diddy ‘freak off’ allegations

Mr Trump fired Mr Comey in May 2017 for botching an investigation into 2016 democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton, the White House said at the time.

While Mr Comey was the director of the FBI, the agency opened an investigation into possible collusion between the Trump 2016 presidential campaign and Russia to help get Mr Trump elected.

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