The search for the suspect who killed UnitedHealthcare’s CEO Brian Thompson may prove a difficult one, as authorities now believe the person is long gone from the area.
Detectives have reason to think the suspect fled New York City and may have left on an interstate bus, Commissioner Jessica Tisch revealed. Surveillance footage places the suspect at the Port Authority Bus Terminal shortly after the crime, though investigators have yet to find footage of him exiting.
The manhunt, now in its third day, is expanding beyond city borders. NYPD Chief of Detectives Joseph Kenny described the shooter as highly prepared, stating, “He knew what time the victim was going to be walking by. He knew what hotel this conference was going to be in.”
Investigators are using DNA evidence from a water bottle and a burner phone left at the scene to identify him, though progress has been hampered by smudged fingerprints. Authorities released a smiling surveillance photo of the suspect without his mask, describing it as the “money shot.”
This key clue came from a flirtatious interaction with a hostel employee who asked him to lower his mask. Tisch noted, “We had to go through lots of video evidence to get that one money shot.” Physical evidence continues to play a crucial role. A shell casing recovered at the scene had the word “depose” written on it, while another live round bore the word “delay,” possibly pointing to a motive tied to the insurance industry’s infamous “delay, deny, defend” practices.
Thompson, a Minnesota resident in New York for a conference, was shot multiple times near the Hilton Midtown. Despite extensive searches and high-tech surveillance efforts, authorities have yet to recover the suspect’s gun, bike, or backpack. As of now, a name has not yet been revealed either.
