Brian Thompson: Have Police Identified Health Insurance CEO’s Killer?

Police divers were searching in the waters of Central Park for evidence in the fatal shooting of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson on Wednesday, particularly hoping to locate the gun used in the murder.

The masked gunman fled into a alley and hopped on a bike after killing Thompson, then rode into Central Park. He was seen riding out of the park a few minutes later, but without the backpack he was wearing in video of the shooting.

That backpack was found near the park’s bandstand on Friday, WABC reported. Inside were a jacket and monopoly money — but no weapon.

With investigators believing the man who shot an insurance company CEO to death on a New York street left the city — and likely the state — by bus, the FBI has joined in the hunt for the still unidentified suspect, adding a $50,000 reward to $10,000 offered by New York police.

#FBINewYork is assisting @NYPDNews in seeking the public’s assistance in identifying the unknown suspect responsible for the shooting death of a 50-year-old male victim in Midtown Manhattan. https://t.co/VUQtPevCpC pic.twitter.com/gGp8Ss8Qne

— FBI New York (@NewYorkFBI) December 7, 2024

New York Mayor Eric Adams implied Saturday that investigators have learned the gunman’s name, telling reporters at a Police Athletic League party in Harlem that the “net is tightening,” the New York Post reported.

Asked if investigators had learned the shooter’s name, Adams coyly said that “we don’t want to release that now.”

“If we do, we are basically giving a tip to the person we are seeking and we do not want to give him an upper hand at all,” Adams said. “Let him continue to believe he can hide behind the mask. We revealed his face. We’re going to reveal who he is and we’re going to bring him to justice.”

The mayor’s office later told Post that he meant to say that officials would neither confirm nor deny they have identified the gunman.

The masked killer laid in wait early Wednesday morning for Thompson, 50, to arrive outside the Hilton Midtown Hotel, where the largest health insurer in the world was to hold its annual investors’ conference that morning. Surveillance video showed the suspect step behind Thompson, walking alone with no security, and begin firing.

After riding out of Central Park 15 minutes after the shooting, the gunman was later seen on foot at Columbus Avenue and West 86th Street, where he hailed a taxi that took him to the George Washington Bridge Bus Station, a Port Authority operated terminal at 178th Street. Surveillance video showed him entering the bus station, but he was not seen exiting, leaving investigators to believe he boarded a bus.

“Those buses are interstate buses. That’s why we believe he may have left New York City,” NYPD Chief of Detectives Joe Kenny said, according to WCBS.

All of that took place on Wednesday, and since then detectives have been collecting imagery of the suspect from his arrival in the city on November 24 until his departure as well as following up on reported sightings outside the city, WABC reported. On Friday, detectives who following up on leads in Texas and Atlanta — where the bus that brought the suspect to New York originated, although police have no idea where along the 870 mile route the gunman may have boarded. Sources said he was seen on the bus in Washington, D.C., however.

Authorities even stopped an Amtrak train in Connecticut and a Long Island Rail Road train on Thursday but found nothing.

Police have collected more than 200 images of the suspect, WNBC reported, including two from the Upper West Side hostel where he stayed — and briefly dropped his mask in a flirtatious moment with a woman working behind the desk who asked to see his smile.

Police also said investigators have spoken with the gunman’s roommates at the hostel, who said he didn’t speak with them. They found nothing of investigative value in a search of the room.

For the latest true crime and justice news, subscribe to the ‘Crime Stories with Nancy Grace’ podcast.

[Featured image: New York Police Department]