NYPD expresses concerns UnitedHealthcare CEO shooting could inspire copycats
NEW YORK (WABC) -- The NYPD has credited good police work for helping to catch the suspect in the murder of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, but they say their work is far from over.
Now they are investigating why and working to prevent any copycat killings or attacks.
Eyewitness News sat down with top NYPD officers on Tuesday to talk about the investigation.
"By getting that picture out to the public, not only locally, but nationally, is what really, really helped us here," said NYPD Chief of Detectives Joseph Kenny.
Both Kenny and Deputy Commissioner of Intelligence and Counterterrorism Rebecca Weiner noted the importance of an invested public in Monday's apprehension of Luigi Mangione, who was taken into custody at a McDonald's nearly 300 miles from the crime scene in Midtown.
"Whenever an incident of this high prominence takes place, our work is to get ahead of any resonance and in particular, any copycat activity that it may inspire," Weiner said.
Corporate executives face increased threats of doxing, targeted harassment and violence following the murder, according to a law enforcement bulletin obtained by ABC News.
"Many social media users have outright advocated for the continued killings of CEOs, with some aiming to spread fear by posting 'hit lists' referencing specific corporate executives," the bulletin said.
The document includes photographs of a banner draped on a highway overpass that includes the words "deny, defend, depose," the same words police said were found on shell casings at the scene of Thompson's murder.
The NYPD is monitoring increased vitriol on social media.
"We do a lot of work in the online space, we also do a lot of work in the 3-D space," Weiner said. "And we also, as part of that, we'll surge resources, protective resources, around the city wherever we need to, when we're anticipating and dealing with a big uptick in threats."
By most accounts, Mangione was intelligent, raised in a prominent Baltimore family... going from valedictorian to inmate QQ7787.
"And I think that's what the investigation is going to help us reveal," Weiner said. "And that extraordinary shift in fate from all of the background that led him to where he is today is what has the world so intrigued by this incident."
The high-profile crime put New Yorkers on edge - it was a brazen, targeted killing of a prominent CEO. It took five days of deep detective work to lead police to their suspect.
"Some of the detectives hadn't been home since Wednesday morning, working on this case," Kenny said. "So it was a sense of relief, not only that the danger be mitigated, that he'd been apprehended, but it was a sense of relief for my detectives that they could finally catch a break."
(ABC News contributed to this report.)
ALSO READ | What we know about Luigi Mangione, suspect in UnitedHealthcare CEO's murder
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