The NYPD was back in Central Park looking for more evidence after discovering the backpack they believe a gunman ditched following the killing of United Healthcare CEO Brian Thompson. News 4’s Gaby Acevedo reports.
A day after NYPD officials said the gunman who stalked and killed UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson likely fled New York City by bus, NBC New York learned detectives have been sent to Atlanta, Georgia to follow possible leads to find the killer.
Two officials familiar with the investigation said NYPD detectives would be working with local Atlanta authorities in their pursuit of Thompson's killer. Atlanta police officials confirmed that its department would be providing assistance to the New York City investigators.
Investigators in Atlanta will be searching for video from Greyhound bus stations along the route to New York City for possible clues, multiple sources told NBC New York. Detectives have been working on the belief that the suspected shooter arrived in New York City on a Greyhound bus from Atlanta on Sunday, November 24, around 9 p.m.
Investigators believe the suspect used a fake identification card and paid cash, Kenny said, when he checked in at the hostel, which has a café along with shared and private rooms and is blocks from Columbia University.
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The FBI announced late Friday that it was offering a reward of up to $50,000 for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the man responsible for the shooting. The NYPD had previously offered $10,000.
The FBI's New York Field Office is working with the New York City Police Department to seek the public's assistance in identifying the unknown suspect responsible. Information may be reported to the FBI's toll-free tip line at 1-800-CALL-FBI (1-800-225-5324) or the New York City Police Department's toll-free tip line at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477).
The manhunt for a gunman who executed the CEO of UnitedHealthcare on a midtown Manhattan street this week stretched into a fourth day Saturday, with investigators zeroing in on the suspect's movements before and after the shooting that rocked the country.
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Video of the gunman fleeing Wednesday's shooting showed him riding a bicycle into Central Park and later taking a taxi to a bus terminal that offers commuter service to New Jersey and Greyhound routes to Philadelphia, Boston and Washington, D.C, according to Kenny.
Police have video of the man entering the bus station but no video of him exiting, leading them to believe he left the city, Kenny said.
Investigators on Friday found a backpack in the park that had been worn by the gunman during the shooting, police said, following a massive sweep to find it in a vast area with lakes and ponds, meadows, playgrounds and woods.
The gun used to kill Thompson was not found in the bag, three sources familiar with the investigation said, but a jacket was found inside. It's not yet clear if that jacket was the one worn by the suspect during the shooting.
Police were back in Central Park on Saturday searching near where the bag was found, wooded sections and near fountains to look for additional evidence, the sources added.
Police conducted a grid search of the area in the park, along with a drone search, senior officials told NBC New York. The bag was then located through a later search by CRC officers.
The unopened bag was transported to a lab, where the exterior will be searched for fingerprints or DNA, and then it will be opened to see what may be inside, officials said.
Investigators have tested a discarded water bottle and protein bar wrapper in a hunt for his DNA. They also were trying to obtain additional information from a cellphone found along the gunman's escape route.
Photos of the suspected shooter that were taken in the lobby of a hostel on Manhattan’s Upper West Side appear to from the only time he removed his mask, Detectives Joseph Kenny said. The images, showing a man smiling in the lobby of the HI New York City hostel. They are among a collection of photos and video circulated since the shooting — including footage of the attack, as well as images of the suspected gunman at a Starbucks beforehand.
"From every indication we have from witnesses, from the Starbucks, from the hostel, he kept his mask on at all times except for the one instance where we have him photographed with the mask off,” Kenny said.
His roommates at the hostel also said he didn't speak to them. Nothing of investigative value was found in a search of the suspected shooter's hotel room.
"This is the safest big city in America, and I know that an incident like this will strike at the core of that title that we have. But this city is a safe city," Mayor Eric Adams told CNBC Friday. "We have an amazing police force, and they continue to draw down crime the entire time that I've been in office, and so we're going to continue to ensure that safety with the omnipresence of our uniformed police officers and some of the tools that you don't see, but at the same time as I want to ensure their safety, I do not want to do anything at all that's going to hamper the investigation and the apprehension of the person responsible for this crime."
The NYPD also believes the alleged gunman left behind writings on the shell casings that police found at the crime scene, a senior New York City law enforcement official briefed on the investigation tells NBC News.
Dramatic surveillance video obtained by NBC New York and described by police appears to show Thompson walking down the sidewalk on 54th Street towards the hotel entrance when a gunman comes up behind him and shoots him in the back. Police said the shooter's gun jammed but he was able to clear it several times and shoot Thompson in the front before leaving the scene, first on foot and then on an e-bike.
Thompson, 50, had been CEO of UnitedHealthcare since April 2021. A father of two sons, he had been with the company since 2004.
“Brian was a highly respected colleague and friend to all who worked with him,” the insurer’s Minnetonka, Minnesota-based parent company, UnitedHealth Group Inc., said in a statement. "We are working closely with the New York Police Department and ask for your patience and understanding during this difficult time.”
Thompson's family taped a statement to the door of one of their homes, obtained by KARE 11, in Maple Grove, Minnesota.
"We are shattered to hear about the senseless killing of our beloved Brian. Brian was an incredibly loving, generous, talented man who truly lived life to the fullest and touched so many lives," it read. "Most importantly, Brian was an incredibly loving father to our two sons and will be greatly missed. We appreciate your condolences and request complete privacy as our family moves through this difficult time."
Eric Werner, the police chief in the Minneapolis suburb where Thompson lived, said his department had not received any reports of threats against the executive.
