Police find bag of attacker who killed UnitedHealthcare CEO and say he was able to flee NY by bus

The gunman who killed the CEO of America’s largest health insurer likely left New York City on a bus shortly after the ambush that has shocked corporate America, police said Friday. But he left something behind: a backpack that was discovered in Central Park.

Three days after the murder of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, police still did not know the name or whereabouts of the attacker, or his motive, Chief of Detectives Joseph Kenny told reporters. Investigators were looking into whether he could be a disgruntled employee or a customer of the company, he added.

The FBI announced Friday night a $50,000 reward for information leading to an arrest and conviction.

Video of the gunman fleeing the scene of the shooting on Wednesday showed him riding a bicycle toward Central Park and then taking a taxi to a bus station that offers commuter service to New Jersey and Greyhound routes to Philadelphia, Boston and Washington. , DC, Kenny noted.

Police have images of the man entering the station but not leaving, leading them to believe he left the city, he added.

Investigators found a backpack in the park on Friday that had been used by the suspect during the shooting, police said, after a massive search to find it in a large area with lakes and ponds, grass, playgrounds and forests.

Police did not immediately reveal what, if anything, was inside the bag, but said it would be analyzed for clues.

The gunman made sure to hide his identity with a mask during almost his entire time in the city, including the moment of the attack and while he ate, but he left a trail of evidence in plain sight of the country’s largest city and his network of security cameras.

The gunman arrived in New York City on Nov. 24 and killed Thompson 10 days later outside the insurer’s annual investor conference at a hotel a few blocks from Radio City Music Hall and Rockefeller Center.

The suspect got off a bus that left Atlanta and made several stops along the way, Kenny said. Police have not yet determined where he boarded the bus. Investigators have a list of passengers, but none of them would have had to show identification when boarding, he added.

According to Kenny, police believe the suspect used a fake ID and paid cash when he checked into the hostel, which has a cafeteria and shared and private rooms and is just a few blocks from Columbia University.

Researchers have analyzed a discarded water bottle and the wrapper of a protein bar to look for their DNA. They were also trying to obtain additional information from a cell phone found along their escape route.

Photos of the alleged shooter that were taken in the lobby of a hostel on Manhattan’s Upper West Side appear to be from the only time he removed his mask, Kenny said. Footage shows a man smiling in the lobby of HI New York City. They are part of the collection of photos and videos circulating since the shooting, including images of the attack itself, as well as the alleged attacker at a Starbucks beforehand.

“According to all the evidence we have from the witnesses, from the Starbucks, from the hostel, he was with the mask on at all times except for the only moment where we have him photographed without it,” Kenny said.

His roommates at the hostel also claimed that he did not speak to them. Nothing of investigative value was found in the search of the room.

Security camera video from the moment of the attack shows the killer approaching Thompson from behind and firing several shots with a silenced gun, with a short pause to clear a jam in the gun, while the executive fell to the sidewalk.

Police are studying the possibility that the weapon was a veterinary gun, which is commonly used on farms and ranches when an animal has to be euthanized, Kenny said, stressing that this detail was not confirmed.

The words “delay,” “deny” and “depose” were scrawled on the ammunition, one per bullet, Kenny said. An official had earlier told The Associated Press that the words were “deny,” “defend” and “depose.” The message is reminiscent of the phrase “delay, deny, defend” often used by lawyers and critics about insurers who delay payments, deny claims and defend their actions.

Thompson, a father of two who lived in a Minneapolis suburb, had worked at Minnesota-based UnitedHealthcare since 2004 and had been the firm’s CEO for more than three years.

UnitedHealthcare provides health coverage to more than 49 million Americans. Manages health insurance coverage for businesses and Medicaid programs funded by state and federal governments.

In October, UnitedHealthcare was named alongside Humana and CVS in a Senate report detailing how its rate of denying prior authorizations for some Medicare Advantage patients has increased in recent years.

The shooting especially shocked the health insurance industry and caused firms to reevaluate their security plans and remove executive photos from their websites. Another Minnesota-based health insurer announced Friday it was temporarily closing its offices out of an abundance of caution and asking its employees to work from home.

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