The man suspected of an ambush shooting of the CEO of UnitedHealthcare may have arrived in New York City by a bus from Atlanta more than a week before the shooting, multiple law enforcement officials tell News 4.
The manhunt for a gunman who executed the CEO of UnitedHealthcare on a midtown Manhattan street this week stretched into a third day Friday, with investigators zeroing in on the suspect's movements before and after the shooting that rocked the country.
According to two senior law enforcement officials, a gray bag was found in Central Park that investigators are examining to see if it is the same bag the suspected shooter carried.
CRC officers discovered the bag while searching the area of the park where the suspect was seen fleeing on a bicycle, per senior law enforcement officials.
The bag will likely be taken unopened to a lab to see if it is linked and whether anything inside can help lead to a suspect.
Get top local stories in San Diego delivered to you every morning. >Sign up for NBC San Diego's News Headlines newsletter.
The New York City Police Department implemented the use of drones to help their search, officials said.
On Thursday, senior law enforcement officials told News 4 that investigators were working on the belief that the suspect in the shooting that killed Brian Thompson arrived in New York City on a Greyhound bus from Atlanta on Sunday, November 24, around 9 p.m.
They are also working to find a name among those who purchased tickets for this trip that might help identify the suspect.
U.S. & World
Earlier in the day, police released photos of a "person of interest" they want to speak with in connection with the case.
This is the first time the public has seen photos of anyone police wanted to talk with without a face mask since the shooting killed Thompson, 50, outside the Hilton on Sixth Avenue. The photos were believed to be taken outside a New York City hostel, sources familiar with the investigation tell News 4.
Authorities have said there is no danger to the public, that the shooting appears to have been a "premeditated, targeted attack."
A reward of up to $10,000 is being offered for information that leads to an arrest in the case.
"This is the safest big city in America, and I know that an incident like this will strike at the core of that title that we have. But this city is a safe city," Mayor Eric Adams told CNBC Friday. "We have an amazing police force, and they continue to draw down crime the entire time that I've been in office, and so we're going to continue to ensure that safety with the omnipresence of our uniformed police officers and some of the tools that you don't see, but at the same time as I want to ensure their safety, I do not want to do anything at all that's going to hamper the investigation and the apprehension of the person responsible for this crime."
🚨UPDATE: Below are photos of a person of interest wanted for questioning regarding the Midtown Manhattan homicide on Dec. 4. This does not appear to be a random act of violence; all indications are that it was a premediated, targeted attack.
— NYPD NEWS (@NYPDnews) December 5, 2024
The full investigative efforts of… pic.twitter.com/K3kzC4IbtS
The NYPD also believes the alleged gunman left behind writings on the shell casings that police found at the crime scene, a senior New York City law enforcement official briefed on the investigation tells NBC News.
Dramatic surveillance video obtained by NBC New York and described by police appears to show Thompson walking down the sidewalk on 54th Street towards the hotel entrance when a gunman comes up behind him and shoots him in the back. Police said the shooter's gun jammed but he was able to clear it several times and shoot Thompson in the front before leaving the scene, first on foot and then on an e-bike.
Thompson, 50, had been CEO of UnitedHealthcare since April 2021. A father of two sons, he had been with the company since 2004.
“Brian was a highly respected colleague and friend to all who worked with him,” the insurer’s Minnetonka, Minnesota-based parent company, UnitedHealth Group Inc., said in a statement. "We are working closely with the New York Police Department and ask for your patience and understanding during this difficult time.”
Thompson's family taped a statement to the door of one of their homes, obtained by KARE 11, in Maple Grove, Minnesota.
"We are shattered to hear about the senseless killing of our beloved Brian. Brian was an incredibly loving, generous, talented man who truly lived life to the fullest and touched so many lives," it read. "Most importantly, Brian was an incredibly loving father to our two sons and will be greatly missed. We appreciate your condolences and request complete privacy as our family moves through this difficult time."
Eric Werner, the police chief in the Minneapolis suburb where Thompson lived, said his department had not received any reports of threats against the executive.
