The gunman who took the life of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson last week is still on the run from police, but now some online appear to be rooting for him.
Even though he opened fire at Thompson in the middle of Manhattan, with countless security cameras capturing his actions, investigators have not been able to identify or locate him. However, the New York Police Department has shared that they have clues that could help them regain his trail.
NYPD Chief of Detectives Joseph Kenny has shared that police believe the gunman left New York City, as he was seen entering a cab that took him to a Port Authority bus terminal.
“Those buses are interstate buses,” Kenny said. “That’s why we believe he may have left New York City.”
Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch has called the shooting a “premeditated, preplanned targeted attack.” At a news conference, she added that Thompson was on his way to speak at a conference for his company when the gunman “fired several rounds” at him from behind.
Tisch also noted that the gunman was “lying in wait for several minutes” before he opened fire on Thompson.
But while law enforcement continues to look for the gunman, searching ponds in Central Park where he may have ditched the weapon, security camera footage throughout the city, and potential motives, some online appear to be cheering for the shooter.
The New York Post reported on the strange turn of events, sharing that a hostel on the Upper West Side where the man is believed to have stayed during his time in the city is receiving loads of bad reviews online. Some have gone as far as to call the workers “narcs” for cooperating with the police.
The New York Times reported that there has also been a wave of online frustration that’s come out about the health insurance industry, with many voicing their support for the gunman on social media.
NBC News reports that while those on the internet who love true crime usually flock to unsolved cases for the chance of discovering who is behind the crime, many are staying out of it.
“I have yet to see a single video that’s pounding the drum of ‘we have to find him,’ and that is unique,” Michael McWhorter, better known as TizzyEnt on TikTok, shared with NBC News. “And in other situations of some kind of blatant violence, I would absolutely be seeing that.”
Another well-known internet personality who discovers the identities of people who do racist or seemingly criminal acts in viral videos, Savannah Sparks, shared with the outlet that her community is feeling “apathetic towards” the killing.
Sparks said her community has “concepts of thoughts and prayers. It’s, you know, claim denied on my prayers.”
Sparks has helped law enforcement in the past, but when asked if her community would help, she said, “Absolutely the f--- not.”
Thompson’s family said in a statement last week that he was “an incredibly loving father” to his two sons and wife.
“We are shattered to hear about the senseless killing of our beloved Brian,” the statement said. “Brian was an incredibly loving, generous, talented man who truly lived life to the fullest and touched so many lives.”