UnitedHealthcare CEO shooting latest: ‘Net tightening’ on suspect as ‘Monopoly money’ found in Central Park backpack
UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson’s killer may have left the city, police said, after investigators recovered the suspect’s backpack in Central Park
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A manhunt continues for the masked gunman who killed UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson outside a New York City hotel as police uncover more evidence that is potentially linked to the suspect of interest.
Investigators uncovered a backpack in Central Park that is believed to have belonged to the suspected shooter late Friday. New York City Mayor Eric Adams said Saturday “the net is tightening” around the suspect.
Meanwhile, New York City Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch told CNN that investigators have a “huge amount of evidence” in their search for the suspect.
This includes DNA evidence, fingerprints and a “massive camera canvass” of the suspect’s movements, Tisch told the outlet.
Police have video of the man entering the Port Authority Bus Terminal after fleeing the scene of the shooting on a bicycle, but no video of him exiting, leading them to believe he left the city, Chief of Detectives Joseph Kenny told CNN.
The gunman was masked during the shooting and used a fake New Jersey ID to book a room at the HI New York City Hostel, but pulled down the covering during a flirty exchange with a clerk. Police say he arrived in New York after taking a Grayhound bus that originated in Atlanta, Georgia last month.
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Gun could be a firearm used in veterinary
NYPD investigators have hypothesized the gun used in the shooting of UnitedHealth CEO Brian Thompson could be a type of firearm used in veterinary.
“If an animal has to get put down, the animal can be shot without” the weapon causing a large noise,” Joseph Kenny said, per The New York Times.
The gunman used what appeared to be a silencer on the firearm when he shot Thompson on Wednesday morning.
Police uncover suspected backpack of gunman who killed UnitedHealth CEO Brian Thompson
On Friday evening, police in New York City found a backpack in Central Park that they believe was worn by the gunman who fatally shot UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson earlier this week.
The masked gunman, whose identity is still unknown, could be seen wearing a backpack in security footage that captured the methodical shooting outside of a hotel in Midtown, Manhattan on Wednesday morning. Moments after the gunman shot Thompson he took off on a bike and headed into Central Park. Video footage later captured him leaving the park and taking a taxi to a bus terminal, without the backpack.
Read more here:
Police uncover suspected backpack of man who killed UnitedHealth CEO Brian Thompson
Security footage captured the gunman wearing a backpack during the shooting but then without it while exiting Central Park
Image of backpack found in Central Park
ABC News has obtained an exclusive photo of the backpack that officials discovered in Central Park on Friday afternoon, believed to belong to the gunman who killed Brain Thompson.
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.
Reactions to the killing of insurance CEO reveal a deep anger over US healthcare
The reaction to Thompson’s murder reveals a deep anger among many Americans about the unfairness of the US health insurance industry, Richard Hall writes
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.