The gunman who killed the CEO of the largest US health insurer appears to have left New York City shortly after the brazen ambush that shook corporate America, police officials said Friday. But he left something behind: a backpack that was found in Central Park.
Three days after the shooting of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, police still did not know where the gunman was or had a motive for the killing. Investigators were looking into whether the shooter was an employee or a disgruntled client of the insurer, NYPD Chief of Detectives Joseph Kenny told reporters.
Video the gunman escapes shoot on Wednesday it showed him riding a bicycle to Central Park and later taking a taxi to a bus terminal that provides commuter service to New Jersey and Greyhound routes to Philadelphia, Boston and Washington, DC, according to Kenny.
Police have video of the man entering the bus station but no video of him leaving, leading them to believe he left the city, Kenny said. CNN first reported that the suspect may have fled the city on the bus.
New York City police have released unconscious images of a suspect, taken at Starbucks before the death of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson. Bullet casings found at the site were reportedly emblazoned with the words 'deny' and 'depose.'
An abandoned backpack found in Central Park
Investigators on Friday found a backpack in the park worn by the gunman at the time of the shooting, police said, after a large sweep through a large area with lakes and ponds, meadows, playgrounds and forests.
Police did not immediately reveal what, if anything, was in the bag, but said it would be examined for clues.
The gunman made sure to conceal his identity with a mask during most of his time in town – including the attack and while he ate – but left he found evidence as a result of the largest city in the country and its network of security cameras.
The gunman arrived in New York City on November 24, and shot Thompson 10 days later, outside his company's annual investment conference at a hotel just blocks from Radio City Music Hall and Rockefeller Center. .
The gunman got off a bus that originated in Atlanta and made several stops along the way, Kenny said. Police have not determined where he went on the bus.
Investigators believe the suspect used a fake identification card and paid cash, Kenny said, when he entered the hostel, which has a cafe, along with private and private rooms and is blocks from Columbia University.
Discarded items were tested by the police
Investigators have tested a discarded water bottle and a protein bar packet in traces of the gunman's DNA. They were also trying to get more information from a cell phone found on his escape route.
Photos of the suspected shooter taken in the lobby of a hostel on Manhattan's Upper West Side appear to be from the same time he removed his mask, Kenny said.
The pictures see a man laughing in the HI New York City hostel lobby. They are among a collection of photos and video that have been circulated since the shooting – including photos of the attack, as well as images of the suspect at Starbucks beforehand.
“From every indication we have from witnesses, from the Starbucks, from the hostel, he kept his mask on the whole time except for the one instance where he was photographed with the mask off,” Kenny said. .
His roommates in the hostel also said that he did not talk to them. Nothing of investigative value was found when the suspected shooter's room was searched.
Kenny was asked on Friday how close he felt the police were to arresting someone.
“This is not Blue Blood. We're not going to solve this in 60 minutes,” he said. “We are diligently going through every piece of evidence we can come across. Ultimately, when awareness is raised, we have to present all these facts to a judge and a jury, so we're taking our time, getting it right and making sure that we going to get justice for this victim and closure for. his family.”
Quotes about weapons
Security video of the shooting shows the killer approaching Thompson from behind, firing several shots from a gun equipped with a silencer, barely pausing to clear a jam as the executive fell on him the pavement
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The words “delay,” “deny” and “depose” were scrawled on the bullet, one word on each of the three bullets, Kenny said. A law enforcement official previously told The Associated Press that the words scrawled on the bullet were “deny,” “defend” and “depose.” The messages mirror the phrase “delay, deny, defend,” which is often used by lawyers and critics about insurers who delay payments, deny claims and defend their actions.
Thompson, a father of two sons who lived in a suburb of Minneapolis, had been with Minnesota-based UnitedHealthcare since 2004 and served as CEO for more than three years.
After Thompson's death, the insurer's parent company, UnitedHealth Group Inc., abruptly ended its annual investor conference held in New York.
The shooting has affected the health insurance industry in particular, forcing companies to reassess security plans and delete pictures of executives from their websites. Another Minnesota-based health care company said Friday it was temporarily closing its offices out of an abundance of caution, asking employees to work from home.
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