The FBI is offering $50,000 for information about the masked gunman who killed UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson near the Midtown Hilton as the search for the hooded killer went nationwide Saturday.
The FBI began distributing a wanted poster featuring the smiling gunman late Friday, hours after NYPD Chief of Detectives Joseph Kenny said the suspect may have jumped off an interstate bus at a bus terminal within 46 minutes of the killing from the Port Authority uptown.
Police also recovered a backpack in Central Park on Friday that they believe the gunman was wearing during the Wednesday morning shooting. Police did not immediately reveal what was in the bag as they analyzed it for clues.
While Thompson’s killer may have fled the city, the NYPD would still bring him to justice — no matter how long it took, Kenny promised.
“This isn’t ‘Blue Bloods.’ We are not going to solve this in 60 minutes,” the head of the investigation said when he informed the press on Friday. “We are carefully examining every piece of evidence we come across. Ultimately, if an arrest is made, we will have to present all these facts to a judge and jury. So we’re going to take our time, do it right and make sure we get justice for this victim and closure for his family.”
The FBI has been involved in the murder since Wednesday, but federal investigators announced the increased reward on Friday. The NYPD initially offered a $10,000 reward for information.
NYPD detectives, with the help of Port Authority police, were able to track the gunman’s movements from the time he first arrived in the city until immediately after the fatal shooting, when he was shot in various ways traveled to an uptown bus station before disappearing.
“Our detectives are creating a very, very extensive video canvas,” Kenny said. “We work from the Hilton hotel, from the incident itself to downtown Manhattan.”
The suspect shot Thompson, 50, as he walked to a Hilton hotel at W. 54th St. and Sixth Ave. was walking where he was about to address colleagues and corporate investors at a conference, police said. The shooting took place just steps from Radio City Music Hall and Rockefeller Center.
Harrowing surveillance footage shows the man shooting Thompson in the back and then shooting three more times, pausing at one point to coolly clear a jam in his gun before continuing to shoot.
Police found the words ‘Deny’, ‘Delay’ and ‘Depose’ written in Sharpie on the bullets – reminiscent of the insurance industry’s mantra of ‘Deny, Delay, Defend’ for delaying claims and maximizing profits – leading police to believe the killer did it. a problem with the health insurance industry.
The gunman fled on a bicycle and disappeared into Central Park, but police picked up his trail when he was later seen walking at 86th St. and Columbus Ave. on the Upper West Side, Kenny said.
According to Kenny, the gunman was eventually spotted in a taxi that dropped him off at the George Washington Bridge Bus Terminal at 178th St and Broadway — his last known location — around 7:30 a.m., just 45 minutes after the fatal shooting.
“Those buses are interstate buses,” Kenny said. “That’s why we believe he left New York City.”
Thompson, the father of two sons who lived in suburban Minneapolis, had worked at Minnesota-based UnitedHealthcare since 2004 and served as CEO for more than three years. He was scheduled to speak at the company’s Investors Day at the Hilton just hours after he was shot.
The suspect arrived in the city on a Greyhound bus from Atlanta on the evening of November 24, although it was not immediately clear where the shooter boarded the bus. NYPD detectives are working with Greyhound employees to help identify all passengers, police sources said.
Once in the city, the shooter made his way to the HI New York City Hostel on Amsterdam Ave. near W. 104th St., where police obtained images of the suspect without a mask and smiling at someone behind the front desk.
The police released the images on Thursday on the second day of the manhunt.
Other than that one mistake, the gunman never showed his face, even while browsing in a Starbucks or while staying in the room at the hostel he shared with two strangers, Kenny said.
“He did not know the two roommates and the entire time he was there he kept his mask on,” Kenny told reporters, adding that the suspect also did not speak to his roommates.
The suspect booked a room at the hostel using a fake New Jersey ID, police said. He also paid for everything in cash and left no credit card trail.
Investigators tested a discarded water bottle and a protein bar wrapper in a hunt for his DNA. They also attempted to obtain additional information from a cell phone found along the gunman’s escape route.
Police are also trying to identify the huge gun the shooter used. Although they have yet to recover the weapon, investigators believe it is a B&T VP9, a firearm with an attached suppressor that is manufactured in Switzerland. Police are investigating a recent purchase of this type of firearm in Connecticut to see if it could be linked to the murder.
Anyone with information on the suspect’s whereabouts is urged to call the NYPD Crime Stoppers at (800) 577-TIPS. All conversations are treated confidentially.
With News Wire services
