According to a police officer on Friday, authorities suspect that the person of interest in the shooting death of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson outside a hotel in midtown Manhattan may have fled New York City via a crowded bus terminal.
Video shows the man riding a bike in Central Park before he takes a taxi to the Port Authority bus stop near the George Washington Bridge, New York Police Department Chief of Detectives Joseph Kenny told reporters.
To determine whether he took a bus from there and, if so, which one, investigators are searching for further footage.
“It’s a very busy bus terminal,” Kenny told CNN the previous Friday. “We’re still working through it, but we want to make sure we have the correct bus. All of the information is new.
Investigators have also gathered shot casings with mysterious text on them and found a water bottle that might have been thrown away by the gunman. The New York Police Department published images of the suspect gunman on Thursday. However, the shooter’s identity, whereabouts, and motivation are still unknown.
In addition to the $10,000 that Crime Stoppers and the NYPD had already offered for information that led to the gunman’s arrest, the FBI announced a $50,000 reward for information during Friday night’s manhunt.
Three people connected with the inquiry told NBC News that no suspect had been identified as of Saturday.
What we know about the shooting on Wednesday morning is as follows.
Gunman was ‘lying in wait for several minutes’
Around 6:45 a.m. on Wednesday, Thompson, wearing a suit, was headed to speak at UnitedHealth Group’s investor conference when a shooter came up behind him and shot him at least once in the back and once in the right calf outside the New York Hilton Midtown hotel.
After the initial shooting, a person close fled to safety, and security footage showed Thompson falling forward. The footage showed the gunman clearing a jam in the rifle as he approached Thompson and then firing again. The shooter ran on foot when Thompson fell and then mounted an electric bike.
According to someone acquainted with the situation, he is thought to have used a gun with a silencer, CNBC reported.
At Mount Sinai West, Thompson, 50, was declared deceased.
The suspect seemed to wait for his chosen target despite the fact that several others passed him, according to New York Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch on Wednesday.
She described it as a premeditated, preplanned targeted attack and claimed that the shooter had been lying in wait for some minutes.
According to Kenny, the gunman got there roughly five minutes before to the shooting.
According to the police, the shooter was carrying a gray rucksack and was dressed in black leggings and a black sweatshirt. Two senior law enforcement officials told NBC News that investigators are investigating if the gray backpack they found in Central Park was the same one that the accused shooter may have been carrying.
No firearm was discovered in the backpack, according to four people with knowledge of the inquiry who spoke to NBC News on Saturday. Although three people claimed to have found a jacket in the bag, it is still unknown if this is the same jacket the suspect was wearing when the shooting occurred.
According to two sources who spoke to NBC News, the backpack also included some Monopoly money.
On Saturday, the NYPD returned to Central Park to look for additional evidence in the area around the bag, in the park’s forested parts, and near the fountains.
Thompson received threats before his death, wife says
On Wednesday, Paulette Thompson told NBC News that she was unsure of the type of threats her husband has been receiving.
Her words, “There had been some threats,” “Basically, a lack of coverage, I guess? Details are unknown to me. All I know is that he said that certain individuals had been threatening him.
Commander Jonathan Wetternach said Wednesday that police in Thompson’s hometown of Maple Grove, Minnesota, had not received any reports of threats against him.
Thompson did not travel in a secure manner in spite of the threats.
“Speaking to other employees that traveled with him to New York, it doesn t seem like he had a security detail,” Kenny told the press. “He left the hotel by himself, was walking, didn t seem like he had any issues at all.”
According to the insurance behemoth’s two most recent proxy statements, neither current nor previous executives of UnitedHealth Group get regular company-funded personal protection services. If a company’s annual security expenditures for corporate executives or directors surpass $10,000, they must be reported.
According to former FBI supervisor Rob D. Amico, he thinks Thompson’s death has all the elements of a personal grudge connected to his business.
“Shattered to hear about the senseless killing of our beloved Brian,” Thompson’s family wrote.
In a statement received by NBC station KARE of Minneapolis, the family stated, “Brian was an incredibly loving, generous, talented man who truly lived life to the fullest and touched so many lives.”
Deny, delay and depose written on ammunition
The words “deny,” “defend,” and “depose” were scribbled on shot casings discovered at the site, according to a senior New York City law enforcement official briefed on the inquiry on Thursday. However, police emphasized on Friday that the words were “delay” and not “defend.”
Whether the texts point to a motivation is unknown at this time.
Earlier this week, NYPD Chief of Detectives Kenny stated, “Based on the evidence we have so far, it does appear the victim was specifically targeted.” “But at this point, we do not know why.”
Near the site, police also found a cellphone.
According to two people with knowledge of the investigation, investigators are attempting to decipher the cellphone in order to gain more insight into the suspect’s contacts and potential movements.
Who is the shooter?
Investigators have gathered some information about the gunman, but he is still at large.
According to three senior law enforcement sources familiar with the case, police think he may have taken a Greyhound bus to New York City last month, they told NBC News. From Atlanta, the bus departed.
New York officials are investigating if they can identify a name for the travel scheduled for November 24. According to Greyhound, it is assisting the police with their inquiry. According to Atlanta police authorities, the NYPD called them on Friday, and they will help if necessary.
Police are in Atlanta and will be looking for video from that bus terminal as well as other stations along the Greyhound route to New York City for any clues, according to three individuals who spoke to NBC News.
The shooter stayed at a hostel on Manhattan’s Upper West Side when he was in New York. According to two law enforcement officials informed on the case, police are investigating if the shooter used a phony ID and paid with cash to rent a hotel.
An unmasked photo of the alleged shooter grinning while in the hostel was obtained by the police.
A video that was made public may show the shooter leaving a subway station approximately 30 minutes before to the shooting. According to a senior New York City law enforcement official, investigators also discovered that he went to a Starbucks prior to the shooting and bought two protein bars and a water bottle.
According to the official, authorities gathered the things as evidence in the hopes that they would help with the investigation when detectives found a video demonstrating where he threw them away.
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