Newly released footage reveals the movements of the suspect accused of killing Brian Thompson shortly after the incident occurred.
The CEO of UnitedHealthcare was shot on Wednesday, December 4, at 6.46am outside the Hilton Hotel in Manhattan, New York City. He was en route to an insurance conference hosted by the company, which was subsequently canceled due to his murder.
The shocking event was captured on CCTV. Three bullets struck the 50-year-old, hitting his back and right calf. Notably, the bullets and casings were inscribed with the words ‘deny’, ‘depose’, and ‘defend’.
The New York Police Department (NYPD) reported that the shooter seemed to have been lying in wait for Thompson. The attack has been characterized as deliberate rather than a random act of violence.
Thompson was transported to Mount Sinai Hospital in critical condition, but he was pronounced dead upon arrival.
After the shooting, the suspect fled through a nearby alley. He then returned to 6th Avenue and, after traveling a short distance, escaped on an electric bike, heading into Central Park.
On Friday, December 6, detectives discovered a grey backpack among the bushes in Central Park, believed to be linked to the killer, who remains at large.
This backpack, which matches the one seen on the gunman in CCTV footage prior to the shooting, was found to contain Monopoly money and a jacket, as reported by sources from the New York Post.
Ted Williams, a former Washington DC homicide detective, suggested that the Monopoly money was deliberately placed in the backpack to ‘play games with the authorities’, describing it as a ‘cat and mouse game.’
Williams remarked, “This killer knew they would more likely than not find the backpack, and he is leaving breadcrumbs to let the authorities know that he is in control, not them.”
New photographs have now been released, showing the suspect’s actions after the murder.
Police have confirmed that the gunman took a taxi out of the Central Park vicinity. One of the images captures the suspect looking through a cab’s divider window to converse with the driver.
However, authorities have not verified if the footage was taken immediately after Thompson’s murder.
Another newly released photo shows the suspect walking down the street, donned in a black puffer jacket and a face mask.
Additional information has emerged about the alleged murder weapon, which is thought to be a veterinarian gun typically used to euthanize farm animals. This weapon requires reloading after each shot, as observed in the murder video.