Star Tribune
UHC CEO Brian Thompson is shot and killed in New York City
After clearing the jam, the shooter began to fire again, Kenny said, and then fled on foot.
Responding to reporter questions, Kenny said police don’t know if the shooter could have been a professional, nor could investigators say if there was a silencer on the weapon. From watching the video, he said, “it does seem that he’s proficient in the use of firearms as he was able to clear the malfunctions pretty quickly.”
After his initial flight from the scene, the suspect was later seen riding an e-bike, including when he was spotted in Central Park.
“The motive for this murder currently is unknown,” Kenny said. “Based on the evidence we have so far, it does appear that the victim was specifically targeted. But at this point, we do not know why.”
United Healthcare CEO Brian Thompson.
Thompson was CEO of UnitedHealthcare, the nation’s largest health insurer. It is a division of Minnetonka-based UnitedHealth Group, which is the fourth-largest public company in America behind Walmart, Amazon and Apple.
His wife, Paulette Thompson, told NBC News that he had been receiving threats. “There had been some threats,” she said in a phone call with NBC News. “Basically, I don’t know, a lack of coverage? I don’t know details. I just know that he said there were some people that had been threatening him.”
Star Tribune
One dead, one seriously wounded in shooting in Brooklyn Park strip mall parking lot
One person died and another was seriously wounded in a shooting Saturday afternoon in a Brooklyn Park parking lot.
Brooklyn Park police officers responded to a shooting around 2 p.m. Saturday in a strip mall parking lot near the busy intersection of Brooklyn Blvd. and Bottineau Blvd., not far from a Target and a Menards.
Officers found two victims and began to aid them before both were taken to a hospital, according to a police spokesman.
One of the victims was later pronounced dead. The other was seriously wounded. Identities for the victims werenot available Saturday night.
Star Tribune
Body found in river in Cannon Falls believed to be that of 60-year-old missing man
A body found in the Cannon River on Saturday afternoon is believed to be that of a 60-year-old man missing since Monday, Cannon Falls police said.
Christopher Dobson had been missing since Monday night, when a missing person report was filed after he didn’t return home after taking his dog for a walk. Police officers followed footprints in the woods toward the river before requesting assistance, because it was getting cold and dark, from local fire departments, Goodhue and Dakota county sheriff’s offices and the State Patrol, which sent in a helicopter.
The search continued for much of the week with aerial and amphibious drones as well as rescue personnel on the ground.
When the body was found in the river Saturday afternoon, the missing person search was suspended pending positive identification of the body by the medical examiner’s office.
Star Tribune
Red Lake police officer Jesse Branch remembered as public servant, cowboy, lover of pranks
“At that age, you would think that people would be a little bit more open to what they wanted to do. But Jesse, I think he had a pretty good idea,” Riggs said.
“He was one of those kind of kids that was just involved in a lot of different stuff — one of which being the rodeo — and wanting to be a part of this [law enforcement] community for so long, and then he finally got his dream to come true.”
Branch joined the sheriff’s posse, following in the footsteps and gallops of his father, Leonard Branch, and served North Country First Responders in Bemidji. The law enforcement agencies of Red Lake, Bemidji and Beltrami County work closely together, Riggs said, so a loss like this impacts many first responders.
“Officer Branch was a member of our community,” Riggs said. “He was truly a servant with a servant’s heart, and served in the capacity of so many things, you know, someone who volunteers that kind of time for their community, for the betterment of public safety, is truly a servant.”
Loved ones told stories during services Saturday for Red Lake police officer Jesse Branch, who died in a car crash when responding to a call the day before Thanksgiving. The funeral was held at the Red Lake Nation Tribal College’s Humanities Center in Red Lake, Minn. (Anthony Souffle/The Minnesota Star Tribune)
Kingbird said he grew up in Red Lake but that Branch “knew more people here than I did.” It was reflected in the crowd that gathered in the campus humanities building and the long procession that traveled from Red Lake to Bemidji for Branch’s burial at Holy Cross Cemetery.
“It’s a tragic day for law enforcement,” said Minnesota Public Safety Commissioner Bob Jacobson. “Anytime we lose somebody who serves on public safety, police officers, firefighters, we want to be present to honor the sacrifice that they made. Be here for their fellow law enforcement officers, for their families that are grieving. It just takes a toll on the whole community, and we want to be here to honor them.”