Man questioned by police in case of murdered US health executive Brian Thompson

A man was being questioned on Monday in connection with last week’s killing of a top health insurance executive on a New York street, US media reported, as a nationwide hunt for the suspect continued.

The man was spotted in a McDonald’s restaurant in Altoona, a town 500km (300 miles) west of New York, by someone who tipped off the authorities, The New York Times reported.

He also had fake IDs similar to those used by the killer ahead of the murder, the outlet added, reporting that New York detectives were headed to Altoona.

Police have been looking into the possibility that the shooter used a long-barrel veterinary gun – normally used to euthanise animals – to commit the murder.

The gunman walked up behind Thompson, a senior figure at UnitedHealthcare – one of the country’s largest medical insurers – and shot him dead last Wednesday in front of bystanders, in an attack captured by a surveillance camera and since seen by millions.

Thompson was attending an investor conference in the Midtown business district.