A former high-ranking police chief says he is confident that the various law enforcement agencies hunting for the killer of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson will eventually find him, given the large number of officers involved in the search and the effective coordination between the authorities.
John Ryan, who served as head of the Port Authority of New York and the New Jersey Police Department, tells Fox News Digital that the The FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Force (JTTF) in New York is leading the investigation with the NYPD, and they are coordinating with police on the ground in Georgia — where the killer could now be — and with the FBI field office in Atlanta, Ryan says.
“There’s no better group of law enforcement professionals out there than the New York FBI Joint Terrorism Task Force and it’s made up of 52 agencies with the FBI leading the charge. So if they voice their opinion on this, that will be a great asset,” Ryan says.
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A screenshot of surveillance footage released by the NYPD shows an alleged person of interest wanted in connection with the shooting of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson in Midtown Manhattan on Wednesday, December 4, 2024. (NYPD Crime Stoppers)
He says the agencies are also working with the U.S. Marshalls New York/New Jersey Regional Fugitive Task Force, which has a long history of providing assistance and expertise to other law enforcement agencies in support of fugitive investigations.
“The US Marshals Regional Fugitive Task Force is very good at tracking people down, and I am confident they will be able to find him and take him into custody,” Ryan told Fox News Digital. “And they do it every day. There’s no one better at it than them.”
Ryan, a 45-year veteran who previously served as a lieutenant task force commander with the JTTF in New York, says the NYPD and the Port Authority Police Department, as well as other local agencies, provide personnel to the marshal’s office for these types of cases.
“So they bring all their resources, their knowledge and their capabilities to track this person’s movements,” Ryan says. “And they are very good at what they do. They do it every day and their abilities are among the very best.”
He says investigators have already made impressive gains in gathering evidence and will continue to do so as they close in on the cold-blooded killer.
A Peak Designs backpack last found by the NYPD in a pile of leaves in Central Park, Friday, December 6, 20204. The bag appears to match the description of the bag carried by the shooter Wednesday morning, Brian Thompson, CEO of United Healthcare, murdered. (Obtained by New York Post)
For example, NYPD investigators found a backpack on Central Park West on Friday that they believe belonged to the suspect law enforcement source told Fox News Digital. It will be taken to a laboratory in Queens for forensic examination.
Investigators are now also testing for DNA evidence a water bottle they believe the killer dropped after taking off down an alley after ambushing Thompson outside the Hilton Midtown at 57th Street and 6th Avenue.
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A mobile phone, believed to belong to the gunman, was also found in the alley from which he escaped, while the killer also left behind three shell casings with the words ‘deny’, ‘impeach’ and ‘delay’ on them. The words resemble a popular healthcare expression: “delay, deny, defend.”
“The fact that they were able to locate all of these items should give people some comfort knowing how thorough the NYPD is in investigating these crimes and others,” Ryan said.
The NYPD were observed in Central Park on Saturday, searching for clues on Day 4 of the manhunt.
Police said Friday that the suspect had likely left for New York Atlanta, Georgia, arrived in New York from Atlanta before the attack.
Ryan says investigators will also search surveillance footage from the buses.
A map shows where a backpack was found in Central Park. The backpack is believed to belong to the suspect in the murder of UnitedHealth CEO Brian Thompson. (Fox News digital)
“The big question is what was this person’s motive for targeting the CEO of United Health Care, so they’ll look at that,” Ryan said.
“The next thing is, were there other potential targets that need to be protected? And the other question that arises is any other weapons that this person may have had access to.”
“And that comes back to identifying who he is and then building a profile as to whether or not he had any weapons that he knew about. Family members, anyone who would have given him access to the firearms.”
Ryan says the fact that writings were left in the casings points to that the murderer was motivated by personal reasons, as opposed to being a third party assassin.
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Brian Thompson, CEO of UnitedHealthcare, was shot and killed in downtown Manhattan on Wednesday morning. (Businesswire | NYPD Crime Stoppers)
“It was the result of a complaint he had, so he basically highlighted why he did what he did and left the cartridges there to be found,” Ryan says. “So it was his way of communicating why he did what he did.”
He says the killing has put other companies on high alert about possible threats to their executives.
“A ripple effect of this will be in the executive offices of every company, given that it took place Midtown Manhattan there in broad daylight. It will certainly have an impact on all people who work or live in the city.”
Fox News’ Christina Coulter contributed to this report.
