The masked gunman who fatally shot UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson reportedly left messages on bullet casings found at the crime scene.
According to The New York Times, law enforcement officials revealed the inscriptions on the three casings discovered outside the Hilton in Midtown Manhattan where Thompson, 50, was fatally shot. The inscriptions contained the words "deny," "delay," and "depose."
A source told CBS News the words weren't etched but written out in Sharpie. Other sources, including CNN, reported the messages could reference a phrase tied to the insurance industry. Delay, Deny, Defend is the title of a 2010 book by Jay M. Feinman about the exploitative practices of U.S. insurance companies.
Officials are investigating whether the messages could help determine a motive behind the killing, which police have indicated was "a premeditated, pre-planned, targeted attack."
Police recovered three live rounds and three discharged shell casings from the crime scene. "Depose" was written on a casing from a round that fired directly into Thompson, who was shot multiple times by the assailant. The masked gunman fled the scene on bicycle and remains at large.
Following the shooting on Wednesday, the New York Police Department executed a search warrant at a building in Manhattan that the suspect entered before he carried out what is widely considered to be a targeted hit.
The suspect was also seen on security camera footage from a nearby Starbucks approximately 20 minutes before the shooting. Items recovered at the Starbucks are being tested for potential DNA, while a cellphone found in a nearby alleyway was found to have "investigative value."
The suspect was last seen in Central Park. The NYPD is offering a $10,000 reward for information leading to his arrest.