New York City’s police commissioner and chief of detectives said Friday that authorities believe the suspect involved in the shooting death of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson has left the city.
Thompson, 50, was shot and killed by a masked assailant in what authorities believe to be a targeted attack Wednesday in Midtown Manhattan. So far, police have not named a suspect or motive in the murder and have provided few updates on the case.
After the suspected gunman rode on a bike from the crime scene to Central Park in Manhattan, he left the park near 77th Street. Video footage then shows the suspect walking to an area before he hails a taxi that takes him to the Port Authority bus center near 178th Street and Broadway, Chief of Detectives Joseph Kenny told the outlet.
“Those buses are interstate buses. That’s why we believe he may have left New York City,” he said, adding that police are working to figure out which bus the man may have boarded.
Later, Kenny said that NYPD obtained video footage “of him entering the Port Authority Bus Terminal,” adding that “we don’t have any video of him exiting, so we believe he may have gotten on a bus.”
Earlier video footage of the gunman leaving the scene showed him riding a bicycle to Central Park and later taking a taxi to a bus depot, Kenny told CNN. There is also footage of the suspect 30 minutes before the murder “wandering around the hotel area before he committed this act,” he said.
“He knew what time the victim was going to be walking by. He knew what hotel this conference was going to be in,” Kenny said.
The remarks from Tisch and Kenny represent the first interview the two have given since a press conference on Wednesday morning, which confirmed Thompson’s slaying. They described the shooting as a targeted incident.
However, authorities do not have the name of the suspect at this time, Kenny told CNN.
“We already have lots of forensic evidence, fingerprints, DNA evidence,” Tisch said, adding officials are “right now processing a tremendous amount of evidence in this case.”
She stressed that NYPD “detectives have done just the most extraordinary job in this case, doing a city-wide camera canvas for this person” and that more footage is being reviewed to get more possible leads.
“We’re seeing good old-fashioned police work here,” the mayor told NY1 on Friday about the investigation, adding that police are “on the right track” in locating the individual.
Adams said in a separate CNBC interview that detectives found “new information,” although he wouldn’t divulge details because the investigation is ongoing.
UnitedHealthcare, which Thompson oversaw, is considered by many margins to be the largest health insurer in the United States, and its parent company, UnitedHealth Group Inc., is one of the largest American corporations.
