Video of NYPD Searching for UnitedHealthcare CEO Shooter Sparks Mockery

A video of NYPD officers searching for the person who shot UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson has sparked mockery on social media.

On December 4, Thompson was shot and killed at 6:45 a.m. in midtown Manhattan. The New York Police Department and Federal Bureau of Investigations have been searching for the shooter.

Footage of NYPD officers walking through Central Park in search of the shooter has elicited jokes from the public. On Sunday, user @JPHilllllll posted a video on X, formerly Twitter, with the caption: “This Fox segment on the search for the shooter is incredible. Look at how the NYPD searches Central Park lol.”

The video, which has been viewed more than 2.5 million times, has received hundreds of comments, with one user writing: “I’ve looked MUCH harder to find missing cats. Not a murderer.”

“Kids put more effort into Easter eggs lol,” another added, while a commenter said, “They don’t seem to be looking that hard.”

In the video, an officer can be seen briefly shaking a small bush before walking away, prompting one X user to comment, “The look under the bush by lifting one branch had me.”

Despite the mockery of the officers’ search efforts, on December 6, the NYPD located a backpack in the park that it believed belonged to the shooter.

On TikTok, user @dailybez created a viral video related to the NYPD’s search for Thompson’s killer. In the 20-second clip, she said: “I just got off the train, and there were a couple cops on the platform. They seemed pretty chill, so I was like, I’m gonna go talk to them. And I walked up and I go, ‘Hey, did you find the guy yet?’ And they both started laughing.

“The fact that they started laughing means they’re not looking. They don’t care.”

Newsweek has contacted the NYPD for comment via email.

The gunman, who is at large, shot three bullets at Thompson that were labeled with the words “delay,” “deny” and “depose.” It was initially reported that the words on the bullets were “defend,” “deny” and “depose.”

Social media users have speculated on whether the words on the shell casings referenced Delay, Deny, Defend: Why Insurance Companies Don’t Pay Claims and What You Can Do About It, a 2010 book about the insurance industry.

Jennifer Coffindaffer, a former FBI agent, previously told Newsweek that the attack was “calculated.”

She said, “This is very personal anger over a loss of a loved one, perhaps due to an insurance denial.”

The FBI is offering a $50,000 reward to anyone with information on the gunman.

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