NEW YORK – Masked gunman wanted in connection with the ambush shooting death UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson fled the scene Wednesday morning using various modes of transportation before police believe he boarded a bus from the Big Apple, authorities told Fox News.
Police tracked his route from the crime scene near 54th Street and Sixth Avenue to Central Park, where he ended up at 77th Street and Central Park West, Chief of Detectives Joseph Kenny told Fox News on Friday.
Kenny’s boss, new NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch, added that investigators have picked up a plethora of video and digital evidence, in addition to physical evidence that they hope can lead them to the killer.
“We’ve actually collected a tremendous amount of forensic evidence in this case: DNA evidence, fingerprint evidence, all of which is being processed in the lab,” she told Fox News on Friday.
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This undated photo from UnitedHealth Group shows Brian Thompson, CEO of UnitedHealthcare. (AP Photo/UnitedHealth Group via A)
That could include a sample of a drink the killer threw away at the scene, and a dropped burner phone, which police recovered a few steps away.
He walked the bike to Columbus Avenue and then abandoned it in favor of a taxi, which he took to an uptown bus terminal, where investigators found video of him entering about an hour after the killing.
He entered the park wearing a backpack and came out without it, prompting the NYPD to spend most of Friday searching for evidence. They found the backpack this weekend, reportedly filled with Monopoly moneyand sent dive teams to ponds in the park.
Authorities are now conducting an interstate manhunt for the suspect, whose identity has not been made public.
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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)
Kenny said the suspect arrived in New York about 10 days before the murder and there is only one person involved in the case. It is believed he drove to New York City on a Greyhound bus that left Atlanta the day before Thanksgiving. He checked into an Upper West Side hostel with a fake ID and paid cash — but police were able to get an unmasked image of their person of interest from a surveillance camera in the lobby of the building.
“Our goal in all of this is to bring closure to the family and justice for the family, but people need to realize this is not a television show,” he said. “We’re not going to solve this in 60 minutes. This is going to be done painstakingly. We have to do it right. Ultimately, we’re going to have to present this case to a judge and a jury. So we’re going to take our time on this one, connect the dots.” and we will make this arrest.”
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A map shows the known locations of the suspected killer of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson. (Fox News)
He said it was too early assert a motive but acknowledged that the suspect left potential clues.
“We’re not going to commit to a motive right now, but if you look at the writing, you look at the victim’s job, you know, it could possibly be a disgruntled employee or a disgruntled customer, but we’re not ruling that out, but we’re certainly not committing to it at this point,” Kenny said.
The person of interest wanted for questioning in connection with Wednesday’s murder of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson peers through the window of a taxi that separates the driver’s seat from the passenger compartment. (NYPD)
The killer left shell casings with handwritten words on them, “depose,” “deny” and “defend,” drawing comparisons to the book “Delay, Deny, Defend: Why Insurance Companies Don’t Pay Claims and What You Can Do About It ‘” – there was speculation that the murder may have stemmed from resentment over a denied claim.
Criminal profiler John Kelly, who says he lost money through a business venture involving a smaller company dependent on UnitedHealthcare, tells Fox News Digital he believes the masked killer was motivated by “revenge or money.”
He believes a massive hack in February, which Reuters reported affected 100 million Americans, could have been a factor in the case for victims who suffered personal and financial setbacks as a result.
Besides the hack, customers have another reason to be angry with UnitedHealthcare, Kelly said.
A general view of a Greyhound bus at the terminal in Atlanta, Georgia on Friday, December 6, 2024. The man suspected of killing UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson traveled to New York from Atlanta on a Greyhound bus last month City. (Robin Rayne for Fox News Digital)
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A class action lawsuit alleges that the company routinely wrongfully denied elderly patients the care it owed them under its Medicate Advantage plans by overriding human doctors with an AI model that had a 90% error rate .
“Despite the high error rate, defendants continue to systematically deny claims using their flawed AI model because they know that only a small minority of policyholders (approximately 0.2%) will appeal denied claims, and the vast majority will either will pay out of his own pocket. costs or forgo the remainder of their prescribed post-acute care,” the lawsuit alleges.
The civil case is still ongoing, as is the hunt for the killer.
The NYPD is offering a $10,000 reward in the case and is asking the public to call the Crime Stoppers hotline at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477). You can also submit a tip via their website. All conversations are treated confidentially.
