His identity, whereabouts, and motivation are unknown to the police.
Investigators faced a tempting contradiction as the vexing hunt for UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson skiller began for a fifth day on Sunday: Despite having a wealth of evidence, the shooter is still a mystery.
They are certain of one conclusion, though: The attack was targeted rather than random.
They are aware that he used a 9 millimeter handgun, similar to those used by farmers to quietly kill animals, to ambush Thompson on Wednesday at 6:44 a.m. as the executive arrived at the Hilton for his company’s annual investor meeting. They are aware that the words “delay, deny, and depose,” which are employed by critics of the insurance industry, were found in the ammunition found close to Thompson’s body.
According to NYPD Chief of Detectives Joseph Kenny, the shooter may have been a dissatisfied employee or client because he knew the UnitedHealthcare group was having a conference at the hotel and the possible path Thompson may take to get there.
Following the shooting, the murderer ran to a pond in Central Park, where police divers were observed searching. His rucksack was discovered in the park on Friday after officers searched it for days in search of any potential clues. They stated that it will be examined and tested but did not immediately disclose what, if anything, it contained.
Police said no updates were scheduled for Sunday morning, declining to comment on the contents of the backpack or the findings of the search in the pond. The procedure of gathering evidence that can be used in court is more time-consuming than it appears on television, according to investigators, who have advised patience.
Hundreds of investigators are searching social media and video records, screening public tips, and speaking with everyone who may have anything, such as Thompson’s relatives, coworkers, and the shooter’s randomly chosen roommates at the Manhattan hostel where he stayed.
The discovery of security camera footage of an unguarded moment at the hostel where he momentarily revealed his face gave investigators a break.
Police say they have used surveillance footage to trace the gunman’s movements and found that he apparently took a bus out of the city shortly after the shooting outside the New York Hilton Midtown. About forty-five minutes later, Kenny said, he was captured on camera at an uptown bus station.
In addition to the NYPD’s reward of up to $10,000, the FBI said late Friday that it was offering a $50,000 reward for information that leads to an arrest and conviction as the well-publicized search continues to transcend state lines. The culprit, according to the police, acted alone.
According to Kenny, police have shared the photos with news organizations and on social media, but they haven’t been able to identify him with facial recognition technology yet. This could be due to the photos’ angle or restrictions on the NYPD’s use of the technology.
Two further images of the alleged gunman, which seemed to be taken from a camera installed inside a taxi, were made public by police late Saturday. In the first, he is seen outside the car, and in the second, he is seen peering through the partition that separates the front of the cab from the back seat. In both, a blue, medical-style mask partially hides his face.
— The Associated Press, by Michael Sisak and Cedar Attanasio
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