good morning. 11:00 a.m. eastern, 8:00 a.m. pacific. we begin with breaking news in new york city where the ceo of united healthcare, brian thompson, was shot and killed. this according to two law enforcement officials. the shooting occurred just before 7:00 a.m. outside the new york hilton hotel in midtown manhattan. joining us now, sam brock who's at the scene and former director for counterintelligence. sam, what's the latest? >> reporter: police have not confirmed the identity of the 50-year-old who died but one of our reporters spoke with brian thompson's wife and she confirmed to him that her husband has died. police told her it was a planned attack and they are searching

for the person who shot him. additionally she said her husband was facing threats. didn't specify what kind. their conversation ended with this woman telling our reporter she has to go console our children. that may explain why it's taken this long for nypd to identify thompson. perhaps they hadn't notified next of kin until recently. i'm in between 6th and 7th avenue. you're looking at a scene of a crime scene unit van in the middle of the street. detectives and police officers have been going in and out of the this building. it's the hilton parking structure. they had an investor day today at the hotel. obviously, that has been canceled. where we are positioned, we're about five or six blocks north of 30 rock then a couple blocks south of central park.

question becomes where did the person who shot brian thompson go. there's a large swath of land in the middle of the city, the heart of it, where there's a ton of traffic. cameras everywhere. there are a couple of images that have emerged that we're trying to confirm of the alleged shooter and this is according to a source speaking with cnbc wearing black pants, black hoodie and a gray backpack. that's all we know about his description and the idea that there's a massive man hunt underway to try to find him. nypd is holding a press conference at 11:30. they have only characterized this as a homicide that they are investigating here in the midtown north presinct of manhattan. cnbc was able to confirm a couple out of other details, namely that the shooter used a silencer and that it was a planned attack. that tracks with what mr.

thompson's wife told us this hour. that's all information that's out there at this point. there's some reporting that the person may have been waiting ten or 12 minutes ahead of time. the location obviously where the search is focusing, not confirmed, but we are expecting an update. >> thank you so much. frank, i'm just wondering with the information that sam has been able to gather for us, what are you seeing here? >> so there's a few things going on right now. you've got the immediate crime scene that has to be processed. nypd's great at that. they'll be looking for spent shell casings. the cameras all tie in together in manhattan. that crime scene's going on simultaneously with a fugitive hunt. we have a murderer on the loose in new york city. he could be anywhere at this point, proximity of public transportation, but the cameras

are going to help with that, as are the public. this guy had a mask on. he's got that off now. may have changed clothing. third, we've got this deep background investigation that's going on in conjunction with corporate security at united healthcare. i spent five years at a high level of corporate security fortune ten company. just the idea this was an investor's meeting rings bells. shareholder meetings, investor meetings for large corporations are perhaps the most highest security challenge for a company. you've got people who are unhappy, for example, with the performance of the company. they're all coming. it's tightly secured. may be why this event happened outside of the building because once the ceo entered that conference, there would be extremely tight security. it could also be that in a megacorporation employing half a million people around a world, insuring 170 million clients around the world, you are going to have people upset with the insurance company on any given

day. and corporate security typically keeps a list. i used to call it the frequent flier list, of people who are irate, concerning, troubling. they'll be asking, give us your list. who's been threatening your ceo. >> so many issues to look at, frank. for the things you mentioned and that sam was mentioning, do we take anything out of the fact that this person used a silencer and it all seems to indicate from sam's reporting and cnbc, is that this may have been a planned affair? >> yeah, absolutely. everything's looking like this was targeted. the ceo was targeted. this was someone with a beef with this man and or his company. the use of the silencer is to draw less attention in a crowded rush hour environment in midtown manhattan. i've stayed at that hilton. i've spoken at large conventions that the hilton.

most notably the new york bar association and i can tell you many exits and entrances. thousands of people attending conventions coming in and out, grabbing morning coffee. all of that chaos. this man did not want to be heard when he did this and the mask means he did not want to be seen. but this person will get caught eventually. this is too, he's too tied to this company or this ceo. >> and also the, you talked about this earlier. the cameras that exist all around the place and you know, if he got into the subway system, there are cameras there. but it's, the fact there is a gunman out there, a killer out there, that we haven't been able to find. >> yeah, look, it's a concern. if there's any bright spot and there's never a bright spot in a fatality, if people are worried about going about their

business, this seems to be targeted. this does not seem to pose a threat to the general population. i know 30 rock is going to have a tree lighting this evening. the christmas deck orations are up. i think you'll see extended security for that event, but i would feel very safe attending that event tonight. >> thank you so much. sam, thank you. the nypd will be giving an update at 11:30 eastern. situation is still developing. now to what could be a critical moment for president-elect trump's pick for defense secretary, pete hegseth. back on capitol hill today for more meetings with lawmakers this as multiple republican sources say that as many as six republican senators are not comfortable with hegseth. meantime, trump is said to be considering replacing hegseth is ron desantis.

that's according to two sources familiar with the decision making. nbc news reach out to desantis' office but has yet to receive a response. and ten current and former fox news employees allege hegseth drank alcohols in ways that concerned them. trump transition spokesperson called the allegations disgusting, completely unfounded, and false. all this as the president-elect's choice to head the drug enforcement administration, hillsboro county sheriff, has withdrawn his name from consideration. with us now, garrett haake. nbc news senior national security correspondent, courtney kube, juanita toliver. we'll get to hegseth in a minute, but first, garrett, just got word donald trump is bringing peter navarro back to

the white house? >> that's right. navarro, who was a senior trade adviser then spent time in prison for contempt of congress for refusing to talk to the january 6th committee, will now be coming back in a similar role. he'll be a trade and manufacturing policy adviser. this is a position that wouldn't have to be confirmed by the senate. he'll be able to continue to give advice and counsel to trump on tariffs and how and where to apply them around the world, jose. >> and courtney, now going back to the hegseth issue, it seems that donald trump may be having second thoughts and hegseth? is desantis the only name on the list of potential replacements? >> no, he's not. we're hearing about a couple of other possibles. i should say that ever since donald trump and frankly before he became the president-elect, we've been hearing about a whole long list of individuals who could be selected to be the, to lead up the department of defense. this is no different.

what is different this time though is this is the first time we're hearing about real talk about the possibility of pete hegseth, who was selected to be donald trump's pentagon secretary, secretary of defense, the first time that we're hearing some questioning of the possibility of this nomination actually making it through to a confirmation. you mentioned ron desantis. he has some military experience. he was an attorney in the military and he's been running the state of florida as a governor. so he has experience running a government organization institution. also, we are hearing about republican senator from iowa, joni ernst. we're also hearing a surprising name. florida republican congressman, mike waltz. now, of course, he was named to be the national security adviser for president-elect donald trump. so this would be a move before he actually really is even in the job of national security

adviser to a new role. he served in the military, did combat deployments and has become close to trump and the trump family in recent years. we're hearing another name that may be familiar. that's republican senator from tennessee, bill haggerty. he is another one. a little bit more diplomatic experience having served in this position as an ambassador, but all those names are out there. the reason this is so notable today is that for the last several weeks, despite all the concerns we've heard about pete hegseth and some of his policy decisions and now these character concerns that have been coming out over the last three weeks or so, for the first time now, we are hearing real talk about people who could possibly replace him for the job, jose. >> and i know you helped break the story of the current and former fox news employees speaking out about pete hegseth's alleged drinking.

how concerned are they? >> yeah, so this goes to one of those character concerns that we frankly have been hearing about now in multiple reports. where ours is a little different here is this is talking, we spoke with ten current and former fox news employees who spoke about how his drinking impacted them while they were working with him. now, these are individuals who said he would show up for the popular weekend news program, fox and friends, sometimes only minutes before the show was about to go on the air. and at time, he would be clearly hungover, even talking about it. there were even several occasions where he came in still smelling of alcohol from the night before, talking about how he had been out late or not being home at all. this caused a lot of stress on the pressure on the staff. as anyone knows who's worked on a show, when the host is not reliable, it causes a lot of pressure and concern for the people who are working on that show. none of these individuals said

that they can recall a time where he was, he didn't show up for an appearance or was actually notably visibly drunk on the air, but they did say this was something that caused a lot of concern behind the scenes. while we know about cases back to 2017 where this was occurring, we spoke to individuals who said it was more in recent years. >> courtney kube, thank you very much. garrett, hegseth responded to the allegations with a post on x this morning that reads in part, quote, our warriors never backed down and neither will i. what are you hearing from republican senators? >> well, look, hegseth is full steam ahead. he's continuing with his meetings today. his mother who was involved in one of these episodes was on fox news this morning defending him. we believe hegseth himself may sit for an interview later today

to defend more completely, but there are questions among senators including folks who have more sort of a pro trump bench. it's not just kind of the remaining more moderate, more traditional republican senators who are concerned about hegseth and i think these meetings are going to be very important. these lawmakers understand they don't want to have the wrath of trump brought down on him especially before hegseth has gotten to a confirmation hearing. there are varying degrees of dug inness here from lawmakers who didn't like the hegseth pick to begin with to those who are becoming increasingly concerned by the drip, drip, drip of negative press coverage he's received non-stop over the last week. >> garrett, there's been talk of maybe two or three republican senators who in general term,

would be seen to go one way or another on trump's different choices, but it's more than two or three? >> yeah, that's right. two or three is not necessarily a problem. republicans are going to have a three-seat majority in the senate, which means they can afford three no votes, assuming every democrat opposes a nominee, and still get their nominees confirmed with vance breaking a tie. it's only if you get more than three no votes that you find yourself in trouble. when we were tracking the matt gaetz nomination to be for attorney general, we were hearing about upwards of six potential no votes. that's kind of the ballpark where we are now with hegseth. although it's not clear that any of those no votes are as dug in as the opposition to gaetz was. it's a fluid situation and hegseth is clearly being given some time by the trump team to try to clean it up himself, but the clock very well may be ticking as trump is continuing to announce other pentagon posts, including a nominee for secretary of the army, which he selected within the last 20

minutes. >> lance, what do you make of all this? >> well, i think if you are that concerned about pete hegseth and he's up for one of the biggest jobs in the country. if you are that concerned, my issue with this story is no one's willing to go on the record and put their name out there. if you are that concerned about his drinking on the job and stuff, for gosh sakes, just put your name out there and tell us how you feel. because now this morning, we have some of his co-hosts he worked with saying none of this is true. that's the issue i have with stories like this. it's just littered with anonymous sources then today we have people saying it's not true. i think it does a disservice to not only hegseth, but the voters and everybody else out there trying to figure out what's going on. having said that, he's doing what he needs to do. i think it would be great if he did an interview, but i go back to these type of stories that have anonymous sources are not helpful to the process.

especially when you see that his co-workers are coming out saying something opposite today. >> juanita, to his point, pete hegseth's mother went on fox news this morning. here's part of what she said. listen to this. >> i want people to look at pete, judge people, or understand him for who he is today. and to disregard the media. that was seven years ago. and most of it is misinformation. pete is a new person. he's redeemed, forgiven, changed. >> you think hegseth's nomination has reached a tipping point? >> i think i appreciate what garrett went to when he highlighted how the parallels of this track with the parallels of what we saw from matt gaetz who went through those meetings on capitol hill and said everything was on track. the trump transition team said everything was on track until it wasn't. until he got the call from

donald trump to step down. i also think this is going to depend on what comes next in terms of these stories. when i read the reports of the former employees and when i read that e-mail from hegseth's own mother and see it compared to what she says today, i think people can look at that and say, okay, this is a mother trying to do what she can for her son, but her words were printed. i do think when it comes to hegseth, he has to really be clear about where he stands with donald trump and the fact that donald trump is considering and is being reported who he's considering to replace him at the dod nominee, that can't make him comfortable. that can't make him feel confident and it seems as though trump is bracing for another loss handed to him by senate republicans. >> and garrett, hegseth's mother on fox news today was very clear that she, you know, repudiates that e-mail she sent him. apparently, she sent another e-mail after that with a

completely different perspective but, she certainly was just making the point that that e-mail was a personal, private e-mail to her son that she regretted almost immediately. >> yeah, look, jose, i don't know anything ant how that e-mail ended up in the hands of "the new york times" but i'll say two things about the reporting on this generally. one, hegseth's mother i guess told the times in that original reporting that she sent a second e-mail repudiating the first and would provide that to the times. as best i'm aware, it's never shown up so we're left to just wonder about the contents. on courtney's reporting about hegseth's time at fox, that was something that we at nbc news presented to fox news and gave them six or seven hours to respond to on the record if they were inclined to do so, to push back against any of those allegations in that piece yesterday. they chose not to. so what they're saying today is all well and good but having had the opportunity to respond directly to the claims in that piece in time with the actual

reporting, they chose to say nothing. >> garrett haake, juanita, and lance, thank you so much. right now inside the nation's highest court, arguments are underway in a landmark case that could have major implication for transgender minors all across the country. plus, a live report from seoul as a political crisis unfolds in south korea after its president declared martial law then took it back. and we're keeping our eye on new york city, where at 11:30 eastern, the nypd is going to be giving an update on the fatal shooting of the united healthcare ceo. we're back in 90 seconds. you're watching jose diaz-balart reports. reports. it's olay bodh with skin care ingredients and 10x more vitamin b3 complex. so, in 14 days see visibly better skin. olay body wash. discover yours.

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and for a limited time, get iphone 16 pro with apple intelligence. get four, on us. on any unlimited plan. only on verizon. we are following breaking news. right now, the u.s. supreme court is hearing a landmark case on transgender rights. they're considering whether states can bar gender affirming healthcare for transgender minors. case brought by transgender teens and their families challenges a new law in tennessee that prevents trans kids from accessing puberty blockers and hormone therapy. today's case also marks the first time that an openly transgender lawyer is arguing before the supreme court. joining us now, ken dilanian who's outside the supreme court and shelby chesnut, executive director of the transgender law

center. ken, get us up to speed on the arguments as of right now. >> reporter: good morning, jose. the legal question in this case is whether this tennessee law violates the constitutional protections against sex discrimination and the biden administration is supporting the plaintiffs in arguing that it does and they're citing a 2020 supreme court decision that ruled that the federal civil rights law protects transgender people on the basis of sex discrimination. but that was a different kind of case where they were interpreting a federal statute rather than a constitutional question here. so we've had sort of parallel arguments today on this question of whether this law amounts to sex discrimination. that's sort of an obscure legal idea. there's also been a debate about the merits of the issue. whether evidence suggests these medical interventions are a good idea or not. for example, justice kavanaugh was pointing out, he raised the question, why do you want us to

constitutionalize this when in europe, they're pumping the brakes on this. in britain, there's been restrictions placed on these interventions for minors but there hasn't been a ban. the biden administration says this ban in tennessee and half the other states, is draconian and could cause a lot of harm for people who really need these treatments. there's huge implications. not just for tennessee. many other states. and donald trump has promised to come in and try to impose a national ban, at least when it comes to medicare and medicaid coverage of these treatments. so some profound implications in this case here before the supreme court. >> ken dilanian in front of the supreme court. thank you very much. shelby, just wondering what you make of the arguments so far. >> i mean, what a historic day for americans and really all people who believe that trans people are included in the constitution and i think this

case is really squarely about whether trans people are protected under the constitution. >> in what ways? what are the most significant aspects of this case? >> well, i think it's arguing there is no transgender exception to the u.s. constitution and the court is needing to reject the efforts to deny trans people equal access under the law. but i also think that it's about whether trans kids, their families and their doctors have the right to make medical decisions that are are in the best interest of their lives. >> it's so interesting. how did it get to the supreme court? >> yeah, i mean, i think this is a historic day for our communities and i think the timing of it could not be more critical given the recent election and given the sort of path ahead. as we've seen, there's 24 states there are banning trans youth from accessing healthcare and i think this would codify a lot of what states abilities have to do, but also making very clear

that trans people are protected under the constitution and are not considered sort of secondary to any laws that apply to all people. >> you represent transgender law center. what are you hearing from the people you serve? >> i think people are very, very excited about today. i know that many of them are gathered at the capitol in front of the supreme court right now advocating for trans rights. i think we're in a moment where trans people are under increased scrutiny and media attention, but i think we're seeing day in and day out, trans communities continuing to fight for their rights but the rights of everyone around them. i think that this would be, would aid in making sure our rights, particularly the right of trans youth, are enshrined in the u.s. constitution. >> it's important to underline that much of the focus is on minors.

>> correct. and you know, go ahead, sorry. >> no, i just -- >> yeah, i think we're in a moment where if the court ruled against trans young people and our families and our doctors, that we're basically saying that we don't deserve life saving healthcare like everyone else. so i think that it is a moment where i think we're starting with youth, but if this does not rule in our favor, i think it is opening a door for broader discrimination against bodily autonomy on all people. not just trans people, but likely then to pave the way for the ban on trans adults accessing healthcare. >> i know you're good friends with the first trans attorney to argue by the supreme court. how does chase feel about this moment in time? >> i think he is very clear he is the right person to be making these arguments and he has spent his career dedicating his life to the rights of trans people,

but really all people. i couldn't be more proud to see him doing what he's doing today. >> shelby, i thank you very much for being with us this morning. very much appreciate your time. >> thank you so much. and we're keeping our eye on new york city where any minute now, the nypd is going to be giving an update on the fatal shooting of the united healthcare ceo. there you see the podium. it's set up. we'll go to it live when it begins. plus, the president, critical u.s. ally, now facing impeachment one day after he briefly declared martial law, sending shock waves across the globe. where this political crisis goes next. you're watching jose diaz-balart reports on msnbc. you're watching jose diaz-balart reports on msnbc so i saved hundreds. with the money i saved i thought i'd get a wax figure of myself. cool right? look at this craftmanship. i mean they even got my nostrils right. it's just nice to know that years after i'm gone this guy will be standing the test of ti...

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33 past the hour. you are seeing on your screens the area where the nypd is about to hold a news conference with the latest on the shooting death of the ceo of united healthcare in manhattan this morning at 7:00 in the morning. we also have breaking news today about lawmakers in south korea that are taking steps towards impeaching that country's president one day after he shocked the world by declaring martial law then reversing it after immediate and widespread backlash. six opposition parties submitted articles of impeachment today

calling the move a quote, unconstitutional and illegal declaration of martial law. south korea, a crucial u.s. ally in the region and home to nearly 30,000 u.s. troops including the thousands stationed along the demilitarized zone with north korea. joining us now from seoul, south korea, is janice mackie frayer. what's the latest there today? >> reporter: well, opposition parties here made the move to impeach the president and a vote could come as early as friday. there were some lawmakers threatening of him arrested over this declaration of martial law that has tossed democracy into turmoil here. there were more protests today. all the while, he's been silent. he's not been seen or heard from publicly since this started. thousands of people were marching in the streets calling for his resignation. we were at the national assembly

meeting earlier where people were holding a rally and it was remarkable to think that just 24 hours before, it was an incredibly different scene where the military was making a move on the legislature building. in some cases, crawling through smashed windows. there were barricades that had been put up. helicopters were hovering and landing in the grounds. there was one lawmaker who was live streaming as he tried to climb a fence to get back into the legislature building to participate in that emergency vote that forced him to reverse the martial law decision. so, why did he do it? there is every indication that this was a political move on his part against the government here. he cited north korean anti state forces at play, but advisers are saying this seemed to be an

expression of his frustration with the political deadlock that he's found himself in since he was first elected with this opposition thinking that martial law won't be a way of breaking that. it's a bold move. it's one that caught the u.s. completely off guard. the white house and pentagon have said that they have been in touch with south korean officials at every level. that they're having discussions but they're not elaborating on whether those discussions include assurances of what happens next because that is the big question here, which is a key ally in the region to the u.s. helping the u.s. counter the influence of china as well as north korea as it grows increasingly hostile and closer

to russia. so what it means for his political future, there is every indication that if he does not step down, he will be impeached, forced to resign. it's not a matter of if he will be ousted, but when. jose? >> and this was yun received by the white house with a state dinner not too long ago. >> reporter: president biden has spent several years shoring up relationships in the region. fostering alliances with japan, south korea, the philippines. so this throws those loyalties into question, especially at a time when there will be a president coming into the white house who isn't as enthusiastic about regional alliances. so there is some geopolitical

anxiety that's stemming from what's happening here and certainly a lot of questions about his next move and what it means for south korea. >> thank you so very much. appreciate it. of course, we're waiting on that nypd update on the fatal shooting of the united healthcare ceo. we will bring it to you as soon as it begins. you are watching jose diaz-balart reports on msnbc. wa diaz-balart reports on msnbc been using toilet paper that doesn't hold up. hold it, mister! here's new charmin ultra strong. it cleans better*, you can count on it. new charmin ultra strong has a diamond-weave texture that's more durable and it cleans better* so you can use less. ahh, much better. hey! you passed the clean test, and your math test. oh yeah! we all go. why not enjoy the go with charmin.

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43 past the hour. we're going right into the news conference. >> hotel, the suspect approached from behind and fired several rounds, striking the victim at least once in the back and at least once in the right calf. many people passed the suspect but he appeared to wait for his intended target. the suspect fled first on foot then on an e bike and was last seen in central park on center drive early this morning. the victim was removed to roosevelt hospital where he was pronounced. we've been in touch with his family, friends, colleagues and they are very much in our thoughts and prayers at this hour. the full investigative efforts of the new york city police department are well underway and we will not rest until we identify and apprehend the shooter in this case. the women and men of the nypd take enormous pride in the work

they to each day and night to drive down crime and violence in our city. right now, we are asking the public for your help. if you have any information about this case, call crime stoppers at 800-577-tips. we have increased the reward in this case to $10,000. i want to be clear. at this time, every indication is that this was a premeditated, preplanned, targeted attack. millions of people will be enjoying the tree lighting tonight among other holiday events and the nypd will be out there with them keeping them safe. for some preliminary details about today's tragic incident, i pass it over to our chief of detectives, chief joe kenny. >> thank you. the information i'm about to give you is preliminary.

this morning at 6:46 a.m., patrol officers responded to a 911 call of a person shot in front of the hilton hotel at 1353 avenue of the americas. between west 53rd street and west 54th street. at 6:48, officers arrive and find the victim, brian r. thompson, with gun shot wounds to his back and leg. he was remooifed to roosevelt hospital where he was pronounced dead. detectives from night watch, manhattan homicide responded and began their investigation. wenl that the shooter arrived at the location on foot about five minutes prior to the victim. he stands alongside the building line as others pass him by. from video, we see at 6:44 a.m., the victim is walking alone towards the hilton after exiting

his hotel across the street. we believe the victim was headed to the hilton hotel to attend the united health group investors conference that was scheduled to start at 8:00 a.m. the shooter appears to be a light skinned male, wearing a light brown jacket, a black face mask, black and white sneakers and a distinlive gray backpack. he ignores pedestrians, approaches the victim from behind and shoots him in the back. he walks toward the victim and continues to shoot. it appear it is gun malfunctions as he clears the jam and fires again. the shooter flees on foot into an ally way between 54th and 55th street. he gets on an electric e city bike towards central park where at 6:48 a.m., we have the shooter riding the bike into

central park at center drive. at the scene, we recover three live 9 millimeter rounds and three discharged 9 millimeter shell casings. the motive is unknown but 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. this does not appear to be a random act of violence. we are seeking information from the public to help the shooter. as commissioner said, we have upped the reward up to $10,000 for information. you're urged to contact crime stoppers. all information will be kept anonymous. thank you very much. >> a couple of questions. shimon, cnn. >> it's about an hour and 20 minutes before the start of the conference. is there any indication he was going to meet someone because it's pretty early. is he on his way to meet someone there at the conference? >> he leaves the hotel dressed like he's attending.

we're working with his co-workers to get that information, but as of right now, he's, you know, in charge of the conference, so we believe he was getting there to help set up. >> just the city bike. do you know where that bike is now? does he dock it or does he keep riding it? >> we're still tracking video of the last we see with him on that bike is in central park. >> is there a way to track that bike? >> there are gpss on those bikes we'll with working with the company. >> were any words exchanged, if so, what were the words and i'm told a cell phone was recovered in alley way. >> we're working through that cell phone. obviously, we'll be processing it forensically. we don't have audio of the incident. >> nothing -- >> well, there's one witness standing right next to the victim when he was shot. we're still trying to identify that victim. excuse me, that witness.

>> thank you. chief, was he checked into the hotel across the street alone? was he in the city alone? was he accompanied by anybody? did he have any known enemies that you've been able to find so far? >> we're reaching out to law enforcement in minnesota and interviewing his co-workers and family members to see if there have been threats against him in the past. as far as who he was in the hotel with, we're doing a search warrant now that might give more information. >> based on the surveillance we've seen on this individual, do you feel like he's a professional -- do you feel like this was an individual who -- and also would attempt in any way. >> about whether he's a professional, we have no way of knowing that. from watching the video, it seem he's proficient in the use of

firearms but as far as the tree lighting, i'll leave that to chief. >> morning. just really quick. we don't, this incident will not affect the tree lighting. the tree lighting is slated to start at 7:00 p.m. the show, the actual lighting of the tree will be closer to 10:00. 9:55 p.m. we will have a massive police presence out there around rockefeller center from 57th treat to 47th street. we'll have plain s out there. we'll have our strategic response group assets. intel division out there. a lot of assets out there to make sure people come out and have a good time and we're going to have additional police officers in the subways as well so people can take mass transit to make it easier to travel into the city and enjoy the tree. this is a terrible event but we're going to go on and people are going to enjoy the tree

lighting tonight. >> the mayor said there was evidence recovered at the scene that would indicate this was not a random event. i'm wondering what that was. by looking at the gun, it appears there's a silencer on the gun. does it indicate not only premeditation, but that it's somebody who might have been a professional? >> we won't know that until we identify the shooter or recover the firearm. you see a glimpse of the gun. we're not able to make a determination on whether or not a silencer was used on the quick glimpse of video. we can't tell. i'm not going to commit to saying that at this time. that would be part of our investigation. there's a cell phone recovered in the alley way and we will process that forensically and see if it comes back to this shooting. >> so you don't think the cell phone was -- >> once again, this investigation is less than five

hours old. that will be part of our investigation. >> chief, do we know when thompson arrived to new york city? my understanding was that he was staying close by to the hilton but not the hilton. has anything in the video indicates these two individuals crossed paths? >> as of right now based on the current video we have, it doesn't appear they crossed paths and he arrived in new york on monday. >> all right. going to take two or three more. >> chief, did he typically travel with a security detail and even though it's early, is there anything to indicate there had been issues with a patient who was denied coverage in minnesota or more recently, someone who lives here? >> from speaking to other employees, doesn't seem he had a security detail. he left the hotel by himself. was walking, didn't seem like he had any issues at all.

he did not have a security detail. >> as far as coverage, i know that's typically an issue with these major companies. any reason to believe he had been the subject of a threat? >> once again, we're looking at everything. we're looking at his social media. we are interviewing employees. we are interviewing family members. we will be speaking to law enforcement in minnesota. >> two more. >> sorry, i was just going to ask if any cursory look at any social media, whether it's the company, his personal social media, his family's. is there anything obvious that sticks out at this early stage in this investigation? >> we have not uncovered anything at this time. the investigation is still too early. >> last question over here with jake. >> how's it going? with the suspect still at large last seen in central park, are you urging new yorkers to avoid the park? is the nypd deploying its drones? i was wondering is there any indication when he gets the city bike that he's a city bike

member? sometimes if you're not a member, you can pay to use it. i don't know if you're able to tell on surveillance. >> answer the part about the city bike, but in terms of we're encouraging new yorkers to go about their daily lives and business but to be alert. we put the picture out. you're putting the picture out. we want people to take a look. if they see anything suspicious, hear anything suspicious, we ask them to call 911, reach out to our detectives. with incidents like this, of course, we put a heavy deployment into manhattan. put additional resources out. we have the drones out. we have aviation out. we have canine out. when an incident like this happen, we don't spare any expense. we put all of our resources out there to support the chief of detectives mission and to keep new yorkers safe. so we'll have a massive presence out there around the tree lighting, but throughout manhattan as well. until more information develops and to support the chief and

what he needs to make a quick arrest. >> as far as where he got the city bike, we're still working that through. we're pulling video from numerous locations, numerous sources and we have him on a timeline walking and what we're very fortunate is he has that very distinctive gray backpack on. we saw him walking then riding the bike. so we don't have video or witness confirmation on how he obtained that bike. >> regarding the cell phone -- right now when you're saying a cell phone. >> a cell phone was recovered. we will confirm that later on down. through our forensic examination. >> thank you, everyone. this concludes our press conference. thank you for your time and attention. >> that was the latest from the nypd on a still developing story. i want to go to frank, nbc news senior national security analyst. also with us, former federal prosecutor, barrett berger. frank, there's a lot of

information there that one can determine that this was a planned, preplanned incident. also interesting that the clip apparently misfired or got clogged and he immediately was able to unclog it. three live rounds found. three spent rounds found. what does it tell you, frank? >> yeah, i mean, there is, this press conference was chock full of information. with regard to the jamming of the weapon and his ability to clear it, yeah, i don't take a whole lot from that because three spent, three live rounds found. that's a bad jam. and it's likely his fault. so i wouldn't necessarily say we're dealing with some kind of professional aassassin. he knows how to clear a jam. bad news, he had to eject three live rounds to do it. interesting for me was the revelation this ceo was going to walk by himself, unescorted by

security detail, to his annual investors meeting. not something i'm accustomed to. that's a big no-no for me. sometimes, there's an ideology and mindset that i'm fine, i'm just crossing the street. good news is he appeared to stay at a different hotel than the meeting was happening in. that's highly recommended. in my time, five years as an executive, the annual investors meeting was a serious concern because people upset about company performance. you have to publicly announce the date and location if you're publicly traded and united is publicly trades, the sec requires you to announce in advance where that meeting is going to be so you've got a sitting target there and it's fascinating that he had no detail on him. >> there's an investigation currently underway. this investigation continues when they find this person because odds are, they're going to find this person, but what

does it look like in these hours? >> i think law enforcement is focused on two things. first, interviewing as many witnesses as they can. not only people that saw the shooting happened and sounds leek they've talked to a number of people that did, but people that may have known his schedule, known what his plans were. they are going to cast a wide net. talk to as many people as they can that knew everything about his actions this day and what led him to be there. the second thing they're going to do is searches. both for physical evidence, for electronic evidence. they said they found a phone there. i would not be surprised if they're searching all of the victims' cell phones, computers, social media to see if there's anything they can glean from looking into this. they may also be searching social media for people who may have been speaking about the victim, putting negative things out there. just seeing if there's anything that lights a spark they can try to follow.

>> barrett, new york city is a place where there are a lot of cameras and there's a lot of information gathering going on. >> if you're going to commit a crime like this, you don't want to do it in new york city. there are so many cameras within the city, leaving the city, license plate readers. my guess is they will be able to see a very nice trail of where the shooter went after he committed the crime, how he was able to get this e bike, where he took the bike. new york is a place that it is very easy to actually follow people and get that video trail, which will ultimately help them prove this case. >> you know, frank, the fact this was carried out at 7:00, right before 7:00 in the morning on a real busy day in new york city. i'm just wondering, the fact they've been able to see him go from walking to an e bike then disappear into central park. disappear into central park.