UnitedHealthcare CEO shooting latest: NYPD releases new photos of masked gunman as manhunt expands to Atlanta
New images come after police found the UnitedHealthcare shooting suspect’s backpack in Central Park containing two items: a Tommy Hilfiger jacket and Monopoly money
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The NYPD has released two new photos of the suspected shooter wanted for the murder of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson.
In the images, shared late on Saturday night, the unnamed accused gunman is captured outside a taxi and then in the back of the cab. A medical mask is again covering his face.
The images come as police continue to uncover more evidence in the case, finding the suspect’s backpack in Central Park late Friday. Inside was two items: a Tommy Hilfiger jacket and Monopoly money, sources told ABC News.
The murder weapon is yet to be found, with police seen searching the pond near Bethesda Fountain in Central Park Saturday as they probe the theory the killer used a veterinary gun.
While New York City Mayor Eric Adams insisted “the net is tightening” around the suspect, much remains a mystery as of Sunday morning. With the manhunt now entering its fifth day, the killer’s identity and his motive is still unknown.
Some NYPD investigators arrived in Atlanta Saturday as the manhunt goes multi-state.
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What does the UnitedHealth CEO shooting tell us about American healthcare?
When the CEO of one of the largest medical insurance companies in the United States was gunned down on the street in Midtown Manhattan on Wednesday, his death quickly turned into a larger conversation about the much-reviled industry in which he worked.
Brian Thompson, a 50-year-old father of two, had been in New York City for a conference when he was killed in what police believe was a targeted shooting.
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Words written on bullets were “delay”, “deny”, “depose”
Three words that were written on bullet casings found at the scene of the shooting mirror language used by critics of health insurance companies: “delay”, “deny”, “depose”.
Critics often use those words to call out insurers for delaying payments, denying claims and defending their actions. A 2010 book used similar words as those seen on the bullet in it’s title: Delay, Deny, Defend: Why Insurance Companies Don’t Pay Claims and What You Can Do About It .
New York Police Department Chief of Detective, Joseph Kenny, told reporters each word was written on a bullet.
Contents of backpack are unknown
It is unclear at this time what items may, or may not, have been in the backpack that police found in Central Park.
Detectives told The New York Times they were not going to open the backpack until it was examined at a forensic lab for evidence.
Police locate backpack and other items in Central Park
New York Police officers have uncovered what is believed to be the suspected shooter’s backpack in Central Park, a law enforcement agent told CNN on Friday evening.
The backpack was reportedly located between two boulders south of the Central Park carousel. That area is now being surveyed by crime scene technicians, according to The New York Times.
This is the second night in a row that police have searched the park looking for items that may have belonged to the person of interest. So far, police have not been able to identify the masked man.
Along with the backpack, police confiscated what appeared to be clothing and “a heavy object” according to The New York Times.
Police searching for shooter’s backpack in Central Park
A dozen officers were searching for the shooter’s backpack near the intersection of 65th Street and Center Drive in Central Park on Friday, the New York Times reported.
The backpack appeared to be left behind by the gunman on Wednesday after he shot and killed CEO Brian Thompson. Video shows the gunman exiting the park without the bag.
Police on Friday searched trash cans, grates, storm drains and leaf piles in the park. It’s not clear if anything has been found yet.
Atlanta police assisting NYPD in UnitedHealthcare CEO shooting investigation
The Atlanta Police Department said Friday that they are assisting the New York City police department “as needed” as part of the investigation into the killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson.
On November 24, more than a week before the shooting, the suspect traveled on a Greyhound bus from Atlanta to New York by bus, law enforcement sources told Fox News.
“As of this afternoon, on December 6, 2024, the Atlanta Police Department was contacted by the NYPD and will now be providing assistance as needed. The NYPD is the lead agency in this investigation so please direct all questions to their Public Affairs Office. The Atlanta Police Department will not be able to provide interviews or answer any questions regarding this investigation.”
The manhunt for the shooter continues.
Investigators say shooter ‘definitely planned this out’
The gunman who killed UnitedHealthcare CEO “definitely planned this out,” authorities told CNN on Friday as the manhunt continues.
NYPD Chief of Detectives Joseph Kenny said they video of the suspect about 30 minutes before the shooting, “walking and wandering around the hotel area before he committed this act.”
“He knew what time the victim was going to be walking by. He knew what hotel this conference was going to be in,” Kenny said.
Investigators are still going through footage as the NYPD has access to “tens of thousands of cameras” around the city, New York City Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch said, something she said has been “huge” in the investigation.
New video emerges of CEO shooting suspect
The suspect in the CEO shooting was captured on video dumping something on a pile of trash minutes before the killing of Brian Thompson.
Police say there may be DNA on whatever he dumped that could help them learn his identity.
The man is seen walking on West 55th Street toward the Hilton at 6:19 a.m. on Wednesday, according to footage obtained by Newsweek.
He walks past the first pile of blue plastic bags near the Stage Star Deli at 105 West 55th Street and then pauses in front of a pile of white plastic bags. The video at the deli captures the man as he leans forward and places some small object on one of the bags and continues walking.
Thompson was gunned down outside the Hilton at 6:45 a.m.