Deborah Maria Sophia
(Reuters) – An increase in surveillance footage of a gun that may have been silenced. Looking online for a backpack brand. Triangulation of rental bike data to reveal an escape route.
The shocking slaying of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson on Wednesday in Manhattan — what police called a targeted killing — sparked a bevy of sleuths and true-crime fans on social media looking for clues about the killer’s motivations and how he managed to flee the scene and, would seem to disappear in a city with a population of more than 8 million people.
By Thursday, police were examining evidence ranging from surveillance video to discarded items that could contain DNA to find the killer. Authorities also asked for the public’s help by releasing a photo that clearly shows his face.
Meanwhile, platforms including Bluesky, Reddit and X have released hundreds of posts from sneaker enthusiasts looking at videos and photos. “Dude had a muffler which is very hard to get, especially in a state like New York,” wrote one Reddit user.
Such forums abound with so-called Internet detectives who sift through publicly available reports to uncover information following major crimes. Sometimes they succeed: Internet searches helped investigators identify multiple rioters involved in the January 6, 2021 riots at the U.S. Capitol after Joe Biden won the 2020 presidential election.
But such “crowdsourced investigations” can also go wrong. After the Boston Marathon bombing in April 2013, Reddit users spread theories that implicated the wrong people, which were later expanded by publications including the New York Post. The FBI has released photos of its top suspects to stop speculation.
Social media helps people connect around a common topic, but it also blurs the line between news and speculation, said Tanir Oxman, a professor of communications at Marymount Manhattan College in New York.
“So many people no longer make the important distinction between getting verified information and talking/thinking about that verified information,” she said.
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A Reddit post about Thompson on the MorbidReality subreddit, which has more than 1 million members, has garnered more than 260 comments. Users speculated that the killer’s weapon was either a Station 6 pistol or an “exotic firearm called the B&T VP9.” Others focused on the backpack, calling it the “Peak Design 30L Everyday Backpack, Camera Bag.”
On X, some users tried looking for clues on Citi Bike, a bike rental system in New York City. One user posted details of a bicycle that appeared to be the only one that left the area shortly after the shooting and headed toward Central Park. Police later told the media they believe the killer likely used an unmarked e-bike, not a Citi Bike.
On Thursday morning, users picked up another tidbit: reports that the words “deny,” “defend,” and “drop” were carved into shell casings found at the site. These words evoke the title of the 2010 book. with a critique of the insurance industry titled “Delay Deny Defend: Why Insurance Companies Don’t Pay on Claims and What You Can Do About It.”
The comments sparked more chatter about the shooter’s motivations, from a federal investigation into the company in early 2024 to a lawsuit filed by a Florida pension fund alleging insider trading.
Retired FBI agent Jennifer Koffindoffer released a 26-minute video on X on Thursday in which she explained her thoughts on the murder, saying the killer knew exactly where and when Thompson would be. “It just tells me that there could be someone inside who knew when he was going to leave,” she said.
Coffindaffer did not respond to attempts to reach her on X or LinkedIn.
