UnitedHealthcare CEO capturing newest: NYPD zero in on suspect’s ID as backpack present 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. Police did not open the backpack and immediately sent it to forensics.
Police also 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.
“We have reason to believe that the person in question has left New York City,” Commissioner Jessica Tisch said on Friday, adding that police released photos of the person not wearing a mask, described as the “money shot”.
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 from Atlanta, Georgia on a Greyhound bus last month, checking into his hostel on November 30.
ICYMI: Police uncover suspected backpack of gunman who killed UnitedHealth CEO Brian Thompson
While searching a wooded area at the southern end of the park, police discovered a dark backpack nestled between two boulders, law enforcement officials told CNN. This was the second time police searched the park looking for it.
Read more:
Meet the folk singer behind a viral song about the killing of Brian Thompson
Joe DeVito, creator behind a viral song about the killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, told The Independent’s Richard Hall why he wrote the song — and what he hopes listeners take away from it.
Read here:
When a medical insurance CEO was shot dead, people celebrated his death. What does this tell us about American healthcare?
When UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson was gunned down in Manhattan on Wednesday, his death quickly turned into a larger conversation about the much-reviled industry in which he worked.
Read more from The Independent’s Richard Hall:
Watch: NYPD searched Central Park for backpack of gunman who killed UnitedHealthcare’s CEO
The New York Police Department found the suspect’s backpack in Central Park on Friday.
Watch below as they searched for the key piece of evidence:
Suspect last seen in Port Authority bus terminal
The man police say fatally shot UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson was last seen on security footage entering New York City’s Port Authority Bus Terminal.
However, police said they don’t have footage of him exiting, leading them to believe he left New York City.
The shooter arrived last month on a Greyhound bus from Atlanta, Georgia and checked into an Upper West Side hostel on November 30 with a fake New Jersey ID, police said.
Timeline of the gunman’s movement
November 24
10:11 p.m.: Gunman arrives in New York City on a bus
December 4
5:30 a.m.: Gunman leaves the hostel he’s staying at and heads toward Midtown
5:41 a.m.: Gunman arrives at the Hilton in Midtown and begins wandering the area
6:44 a.m.: Gunman fatally shoots Brian Thompson and then flees on foot before getting on a bicycle
6:48 a.m.: The gunman arrives to Central Park
6:56 a.m.: The gunman leaves Central Park on a bicycle
7:04 a.m.: Cameras show gunman on 86th Street getting into a cab
7:30 a.m.: Gunman enters the bus station on 128th Street.
Several insurance companies pulled down executive biography webpages after Brian Thompson killing
Days after the CEO of UnitedHealthcare was killed in Manhattan, major health insurance companies are removing information about their top executives from their websites.
In the aftermath of the deadly shooting, UnitedHealthcare took down its “leadership” page, WebArchive shows, and the page once containing biographies about its executives now bounces to the insurance company’s homepage with no information about those running the company.
Read more from Kelly Rissman:
Gunman arrived in New York on November 24
Law enforcement officials said the suspected gunman who shot the UnitedHealthcare CEO arrived in New York City on November 24th by bus that is believed to have originated in Atlanta.
The gunman reportedly stopped by the Midtown Manhattan Hilton hotel at least 10 days before the shooting.
Homes owned by murdered UnitedHealthcare CEO and wife targeted by bomb threats
Fake bomb threats were made against a home owned by UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson and another owned by his wife after he was murdered Wednesday morning.
The two homes, which are less than a mile apart in Maple Grove, Minnesota, were targeted on Wednesday evening, The Minnesota Star Tribune reports. The threat was sent via e-mail to multiple people who then notified the police.
However, the threats were not credible and were considered an act of “swatting,” Maple Grove police said.
“No devices or suspicious items were located during the investigation,” a police spokesperson said in a statement. ”The case is considered an active investigation, while the incident appears to be a hoax.”
The Minneapolis Police Department bomb squad and the Hennepin County Sheriff’s Office also helped investigate the threats, the Star Tribune reports.
Source: independent.co.uk
