Police Find Backpack in Central Park Suspected to Belong to UnitedHealthcare CEO Gunman
Posted on 12/07/2024
Police have found a backpack in Central Park they believe may belong to the gunman who killed UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson. The bag was sent, unopened, to the NYPD's forensic testing lab in Queens which is working to confirm its owner, the NYPD told CNN. The suspect had fled to the park on an e-bike after murdering Thompson, while wearing the large grey backpack. He was later seen in surveillance footage leaving the west of the park without the bag. Investigators have been scouring the area for the bag for days, searching the park's trash cans, storm drains and even storage lockers. It was finally found today, during a second sweep of the park, between boulders, just to the south of the park's carousel. Police still have not been able to identify the person of interest in Wednesday's high profile murder but they do believe he has left New York City. NYPD chief of detectives, Joseph Kenny, told CNN that the person of interest was caught on surveillance footage entering a bus terminal after the shooting. "We don't have any video of him exiting, so we believe he may have gotten on a bus."
Newsweek's live blog is closed.
06:51 PM EST
Backpack was found near Central Park carousel and has been sent straight to forensics lab
Police say they found the backpack, which they believe may belong to the gunman who killed UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, between boulders, to the south of Central Park's carousel, CNN reports.
The bag was sent, unopened, to the NYPD's forensic testing lab in Queens which is working to confirm its owner.
06:23 PM EST
Police find backpack they believe may belong to the shooter
Police have found a backpack in Central Park that they believe may be connected to the killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson.
Investigators are currently examining the bag, an NYPD spokesperson told CNN.
06:07 PM EST
Cops still don't have a name for person of interest
New York Police Department's chief of detectives, Joseph Kenny, said investigators still have not identified the person of interest in the murder of Brian Thompson.
"We do not have his name," he told reporters today, adding that police believe he acted alone.
05:56 PM EST
Political podcaster wrongly identified as person of interest in viral post says he's received 'death threats'
A political podcaster who was wrongly identified as the person of interest in the murder of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, claims he's receiving death threats.
The viral post on X, which has been viewed more than four million times, compared a picture of Joey Mannarino with a surveillance footage of the person of interest, suggesting he was a "possible match."
The post's author has defended it on X, calling it "pure satire"
But Mannarino, founder of conservative political podcast The Joey Mannarino Show, said that the post does not make clear it is satire, and it has led to him receiving death threats online.
"How is this allowed?" he wrote, sharing the original post. "This can get me killed."
"I'm receiving death threats... This is not normal nor is this something someone should deal with as it puts my family and myself at risk."
05:43 PM EST
NYPD outlines suspect's movements after UnitedHealthcare CEO shooting
Authorities now believe the gunman who fatally shot Brian Thompson, the CEO of UnitedHealthcare, earlier this week is no longer in New York City.
While appearing on CNN on Friday, New York City Police (NYPD) Commissioner Jessica Tisch and NYPD Chief of Detectives Joseph Kenny said they have "reason to believe" the person of interest who killed Thompson, 50, on Wednesday morning around 6:45 a.m. on the street near the Hilton Hotel in Midtown Manhattan has left the city.
"We have reason to believe he's no longer in New York City," Tisch said.
In the pre-dawn attack, Thompson was outside of the Hilton hotel where UnitedHealthcare was holding its investor conference. Thompson was walking toward the Hilton dressed when he was fired upon by a gunman who appeared to be lying in wait, police said. The suspect then fled on foot to a back alley and then hopped on a bicycle in the direction of Central Park.
Read in full from Monica Sager on Newsweek.
05:30 PM EST
What message was written on the killer's bullet casings - and what does it mean?
The unidentified masked shooter who followed and murdered UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson in Manhattan yesterday used ammunition with the words "deny," "defend," and "depose," according to a law enforcement official on Thursday.
NYPD Chief of Detectives Joseph Kenny said investigators found multiple 9 mm round casings outside the hotel as well as a smartphone in the passageway through which the gunman escaped.
Some reports indicate that the phrases refer to a book released in 2010 regarding health insurance claims. The book, Delay, Deny, Defend: Why Insurance Companies Don't Pay Claims and What You Can Do About It, discusses how insurance companies deny requests for medical treatment. Amazon describes it as an "expose of insurance injustice."
05:22 PM EST
Photo of smiling person of interest was the 'money shot,' says police commissioner
The surveillance footage image of the person of interest lowering his mask and smiling at the girl on the front desk of the Manhattan hostel, was the "money shot" police had been waiting for.
"He's been traveling and walking around the streets of New York City largely in a mask, with his face covered. We had to go through lots of video evidence to get that one money shot with the mask down," New York City Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch told CNN Friday.
Tisch said there are tens of thousands of cameras around New York which had been essential in their investigation.
05:06 PM EST
Experts explain unsympathetic social media response
The assassination of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, gunned down in broad daylight in Midtown Manhattan earlier this week, has left family, friends, and colleagues in mourning. While many have expressed shock and sadness over the tragedy, parts of social media have taken a different tone, with some users reacting with indifference, anger, or scorn.
Thompson's untimely death has not only shaken the business world but has also reignited frustration among those critical of the health care industry. Online conversations range from speculative theories about the motives behind the killing to dark humor and pointed commentary about the state of health care.
While some people have shared heartfelt tributes, much of the attention online has been dominated by backlash and frustration aimed at the health care industry. To understand why reactions to the 50-year-old father's death are so divided, Newsweek spoke with two experts.
Read in full from Lucy Notorantonio on Newsweek.
04:56 PM EST
Top security firm flooded with calls after UnitedHealthcare CEO's murder
A top security firm says it has been inundated with calls from potential new clients after the CEO of UnitedHealthcare was shot dead.
Allied Universal provides private security services to the vast majority of Fortune 500 companies, which can include guards outside officers, chauffeur services and surveilling services for their homes and family.
Glen Kucera, who runs Allied's enhanced protection services, told the New York Times that Allied's phone have been "ringing off the hook" since Wednesday's assassination-style CEO killing sent a chill down the spine of many top executives.
He added that protecting one CEO costs around $250,000 a year.
04:46 PM EST
UnitedHealthcare CEO 'may have hired his own killer'
A former Maryland State Police commander suggested that UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson may have orchestrated his own assassination.
While talking with CNN, Major Neill Franklin told Dana Bash that it is a possibility that Thompson may have hired a gunman to kill him Wednesday morning. Thompson, 50, was fatally shot Wednesday around 6:45 a.m. on the street near the Hilton hotel in Midtown Manhattan. Franklin believes the gunman knew too many details about Thompson's moves.
"There are times when people have orchestrated their own demise for certain reasons," Franklin said.
Bash asked Franklin if he was saying "it is a possibility that he hired someone to kill him."
Read in full from Monica Sager on Newsweek.
04:35 PM EST
Police officers are scouring Central Park for the gunman's backpack
At least a dozen NYPD officers are scouring Central Park for a backpack belonging to the gunman.
Surveillance footage had captured the shooter, who fled to the park on an e-bike after killing Brian Thompson, leaving without his backpack.
Police have been searching the park since yesterday but so far have not recovered it.
Today, officers searched storage lockers, trash cans, storm drains and more in the hunt for the bag which could provide crucial evidence.
04:21 PM EST
OPINION: What reaction to a killing says about our broken health system, writes legal analyst
Violence is never justified. This unassailable truth must guide our response to this week's tragic killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, an act of violence that shocks the conscience.
Yet what is perhaps less shocking is the public's reaction to this tragedy. Thompson's death has ignited a storm of commentary, much of it reflecting long-simmering frustration with the insurance industry. As the Boston Globe's STAT observed on Friday, "the attack has prompted fresh reflection on the broken U.S. health care system."
That such a reaction has emerged, regardless of the facts of the killing, speaks volumes about the depth of discontent with a system many perceive as prioritizing profit over people.
Read in full from Aaron Solomon on Newsweek.
04:11 PM EST
Person of interest caught in camera entering bus terminal after attack
The person of interest in the fatal shooting of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson appears to have gotten a bus out of New York City after the attack.
NYPD chief of detectives, Joseph Kenny, told CNN that the person of interest caught on surveillance footage entering a bus terminal after the shooting.
"We don't have any video of him exiting, so we believe he may have gotten on a bus," he told CNN.
04:00 PM EST
Investigators rule out Connecticut gun purchase as having ties to murder
Investigators have ruled out the purchase of a gun in Connecticut that police suspected had ties to the murder of Brian Thompson.
The gun had closely resembled the one used in Wednesday's shooting.
But police said Friday that they have identified the buyer and ruled him out as as suspect.
03:49 PM EST
Gunman's DNA found on water bottle at crime scene
Police say they have have recovered the gunman's DNA from a water bottle left at the scene of the crime.
Investigators told the New York Times that the shooter is believed to have purchased the water bottle from a Starbucks two blooks away from the scene of the UnitedHealthcare CEO's murder.
03:43 PM EST
Map reveals how Brian Thompson killing unfolded
UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, 50, was on his way to speak at UnitedHealth Group's investor conference at the Hilton Hotel, at 1335 Avenue of the Americas, in Midtown Manhattan on Wednesday morning when he was shot and killed.
The suspect was caught on camera at a Starbucks on Sixth Avenue, near the Hilton Hotel, at 6.17am, around 25 minutes before the shooting.
At 6.39am he walked over to the Hilton Hotel where he "lay in wait" for several minutes before Thompson.
After shooting Thomson multiple times, the gunman fled the scene, heading "northbound into an alleyway between 54th Street and 55th Street," and walked west on Avenue of the Americas, and eventually got onto an electric bike and rode toward Central Park.
Police are now working to use the bike's GPS system to trace the suspect's moves after he entered the park.
03:37 PM EST
Atlanta Police assisting NYPD as investigators say they believe person of interest has left NYC
The Atlanta Police Department is assisting the NYPD with the investigation into the murder of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson.
"As of this afternoon, on December 6, 2024, the Atlanta Police Department was contacted by NYPD and will now be providing assistance as needed," the department told CNN.
"The NYPD is the lead agency in this investigation so please direct all questions to their Public Affairs Office. The Atlanta Police Department will not be able to provide interviews or answer any questions regarding this investigation."
Investigators previously said they believe the suspect traveled into New York on a bus from Atlanta.
03:25 PM EST
New video released of suspect in murder of Brian Thompson
The chief suspect in the killing of Brian Thompson appears to have dumped something on a pile of trash bags before shooting the UnitedHealthcare chief executive in New York, footage obtained by Newsweek shows.
The dumped object may hold vital DNA evidence about the killer's identity.
Thompson was gunned down at about 6.45 a.m. on Wednesday near the Hilton Midtown in what the New York Police Department (NYPD) said was likely to have been "a premeditated, preplanned, targeted attack."
The newly emerged CCTV footage recorded on Manhattan's West 55th Street at 6:19 a.m. on Wednesday shows the man walking toward the Hilton Hotel.
There are two piles of garbage close to the Stage Star Deli at 105 West 55th Street, where the CCTV camera was recording.
Read in full from Sean O'Driscoll on Newsweek.
Newsweek's live blog is closed.
06:51 PM EST
Backpack was found near Central Park carousel and has been sent straight to forensics lab
Police say they found the backpack, which they believe may belong to the gunman who killed UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, between boulders, to the south of Central Park's carousel, CNN reports.
The bag was sent, unopened, to the NYPD's forensic testing lab in Queens which is working to confirm its owner.
06:23 PM EST
Police find backpack they believe may belong to the shooter
Police have found a backpack in Central Park that they believe may be connected to the killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson.
Investigators are currently examining the bag, an NYPD spokesperson told CNN.
06:07 PM EST
Cops still don't have a name for person of interest
New York Police Department's chief of detectives, Joseph Kenny, said investigators still have not identified the person of interest in the murder of Brian Thompson.
"We do not have his name," he told reporters today, adding that police believe he acted alone.
05:56 PM EST
Political podcaster wrongly identified as person of interest in viral post says he's received 'death threats'
A political podcaster who was wrongly identified as the person of interest in the murder of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, claims he's receiving death threats.
The viral post on X, which has been viewed more than four million times, compared a picture of Joey Mannarino with a surveillance footage of the person of interest, suggesting he was a "possible match."
The post's author has defended it on X, calling it "pure satire"
But Mannarino, founder of conservative political podcast The Joey Mannarino Show, said that the post does not make clear it is satire, and it has led to him receiving death threats online.
"How is this allowed?" he wrote, sharing the original post. "This can get me killed."
"I'm receiving death threats... This is not normal nor is this something someone should deal with as it puts my family and myself at risk."
05:43 PM EST
NYPD outlines suspect's movements after UnitedHealthcare CEO shooting
Authorities now believe the gunman who fatally shot Brian Thompson, the CEO of UnitedHealthcare, earlier this week is no longer in New York City.
While appearing on CNN on Friday, New York City Police (NYPD) Commissioner Jessica Tisch and NYPD Chief of Detectives Joseph Kenny said they have "reason to believe" the person of interest who killed Thompson, 50, on Wednesday morning around 6:45 a.m. on the street near the Hilton Hotel in Midtown Manhattan has left the city.
"We have reason to believe he's no longer in New York City," Tisch said.
In the pre-dawn attack, Thompson was outside of the Hilton hotel where UnitedHealthcare was holding its investor conference. Thompson was walking toward the Hilton dressed when he was fired upon by a gunman who appeared to be lying in wait, police said. The suspect then fled on foot to a back alley and then hopped on a bicycle in the direction of Central Park.
Read in full from Monica Sager on Newsweek.
05:30 PM EST
What message was written on the killer's bullet casings - and what does it mean?
The unidentified masked shooter who followed and murdered UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson in Manhattan yesterday used ammunition with the words "deny," "defend," and "depose," according to a law enforcement official on Thursday.
NYPD Chief of Detectives Joseph Kenny said investigators found multiple 9 mm round casings outside the hotel as well as a smartphone in the passageway through which the gunman escaped.
Some reports indicate that the phrases refer to a book released in 2010 regarding health insurance claims. The book, Delay, Deny, Defend: Why Insurance Companies Don't Pay Claims and What You Can Do About It, discusses how insurance companies deny requests for medical treatment. Amazon describes it as an "expose of insurance injustice."
05:22 PM EST
Photo of smiling person of interest was the 'money shot,' says police commissioner
The surveillance footage image of the person of interest lowering his mask and smiling at the girl on the front desk of the Manhattan hostel, was the "money shot" police had been waiting for.
"He's been traveling and walking around the streets of New York City largely in a mask, with his face covered. We had to go through lots of video evidence to get that one money shot with the mask down," New York City Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch told CNN Friday.
Tisch said there are tens of thousands of cameras around New York which had been essential in their investigation.
05:06 PM EST
Experts explain unsympathetic social media response
The assassination of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, gunned down in broad daylight in Midtown Manhattan earlier this week, has left family, friends, and colleagues in mourning. While many have expressed shock and sadness over the tragedy, parts of social media have taken a different tone, with some users reacting with indifference, anger, or scorn.
Thompson's untimely death has not only shaken the business world but has also reignited frustration among those critical of the health care industry. Online conversations range from speculative theories about the motives behind the killing to dark humor and pointed commentary about the state of health care.
While some people have shared heartfelt tributes, much of the attention online has been dominated by backlash and frustration aimed at the health care industry. To understand why reactions to the 50-year-old father's death are so divided, Newsweek spoke with two experts.
Read in full from Lucy Notorantonio on Newsweek.
04:56 PM EST
Top security firm flooded with calls after UnitedHealthcare CEO's murder
A top security firm says it has been inundated with calls from potential new clients after the CEO of UnitedHealthcare was shot dead.
Allied Universal provides private security services to the vast majority of Fortune 500 companies, which can include guards outside officers, chauffeur services and surveilling services for their homes and family.
Glen Kucera, who runs Allied's enhanced protection services, told the New York Times that Allied's phone have been "ringing off the hook" since Wednesday's assassination-style CEO killing sent a chill down the spine of many top executives.
He added that protecting one CEO costs around $250,000 a year.
04:46 PM EST
UnitedHealthcare CEO 'may have hired his own killer'
A former Maryland State Police commander suggested that UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson may have orchestrated his own assassination.
While talking with CNN, Major Neill Franklin told Dana Bash that it is a possibility that Thompson may have hired a gunman to kill him Wednesday morning. Thompson, 50, was fatally shot Wednesday around 6:45 a.m. on the street near the Hilton hotel in Midtown Manhattan. Franklin believes the gunman knew too many details about Thompson's moves.
"There are times when people have orchestrated their own demise for certain reasons," Franklin said.
Bash asked Franklin if he was saying "it is a possibility that he hired someone to kill him."
Read in full from Monica Sager on Newsweek.
04:35 PM EST
Police officers are scouring Central Park for the gunman's backpack
At least a dozen NYPD officers are scouring Central Park for a backpack belonging to the gunman.
Surveillance footage had captured the shooter, who fled to the park on an e-bike after killing Brian Thompson, leaving without his backpack.
Police have been searching the park since yesterday but so far have not recovered it.
Today, officers searched storage lockers, trash cans, storm drains and more in the hunt for the bag which could provide crucial evidence.
04:21 PM EST
OPINION: What reaction to a killing says about our broken health system, writes legal analyst
Violence is never justified. This unassailable truth must guide our response to this week's tragic killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, an act of violence that shocks the conscience.
Yet what is perhaps less shocking is the public's reaction to this tragedy. Thompson's death has ignited a storm of commentary, much of it reflecting long-simmering frustration with the insurance industry. As the Boston Globe's STAT observed on Friday, "the attack has prompted fresh reflection on the broken U.S. health care system."
That such a reaction has emerged, regardless of the facts of the killing, speaks volumes about the depth of discontent with a system many perceive as prioritizing profit over people.
Read in full from Aaron Solomon on Newsweek.
04:11 PM EST
Person of interest caught in camera entering bus terminal after attack
The person of interest in the fatal shooting of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson appears to have gotten a bus out of New York City after the attack.
NYPD chief of detectives, Joseph Kenny, told CNN that the person of interest caught on surveillance footage entering a bus terminal after the shooting.
"We don't have any video of him exiting, so we believe he may have gotten on a bus," he told CNN.
04:00 PM EST
Investigators rule out Connecticut gun purchase as having ties to murder
Investigators have ruled out the purchase of a gun in Connecticut that police suspected had ties to the murder of Brian Thompson.
The gun had closely resembled the one used in Wednesday's shooting.
But police said Friday that they have identified the buyer and ruled him out as as suspect.
03:49 PM EST
Gunman's DNA found on water bottle at crime scene
Police say they have have recovered the gunman's DNA from a water bottle left at the scene of the crime.
Investigators told the New York Times that the shooter is believed to have purchased the water bottle from a Starbucks two blooks away from the scene of the UnitedHealthcare CEO's murder.
03:43 PM EST
Map reveals how Brian Thompson killing unfolded
UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, 50, was on his way to speak at UnitedHealth Group's investor conference at the Hilton Hotel, at 1335 Avenue of the Americas, in Midtown Manhattan on Wednesday morning when he was shot and killed.
The suspect was caught on camera at a Starbucks on Sixth Avenue, near the Hilton Hotel, at 6.17am, around 25 minutes before the shooting.
At 6.39am he walked over to the Hilton Hotel where he "lay in wait" for several minutes before Thompson.
After shooting Thomson multiple times, the gunman fled the scene, heading "northbound into an alleyway between 54th Street and 55th Street," and walked west on Avenue of the Americas, and eventually got onto an electric bike and rode toward Central Park.
Police are now working to use the bike's GPS system to trace the suspect's moves after he entered the park.
03:37 PM EST
Atlanta Police assisting NYPD as investigators say they believe person of interest has left NYC
The Atlanta Police Department is assisting the NYPD with the investigation into the murder of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson.
"As of this afternoon, on December 6, 2024, the Atlanta Police Department was contacted by NYPD and will now be providing assistance as needed," the department told CNN.
"The NYPD is the lead agency in this investigation so please direct all questions to their Public Affairs Office. The Atlanta Police Department will not be able to provide interviews or answer any questions regarding this investigation."
Investigators previously said they believe the suspect traveled into New York on a bus from Atlanta.
03:25 PM EST
New video released of suspect in murder of Brian Thompson
The chief suspect in the killing of Brian Thompson appears to have dumped something on a pile of trash bags before shooting the UnitedHealthcare chief executive in New York, footage obtained by Newsweek shows.
The dumped object may hold vital DNA evidence about the killer's identity.
Thompson was gunned down at about 6.45 a.m. on Wednesday near the Hilton Midtown in what the New York Police Department (NYPD) said was likely to have been "a premeditated, preplanned, targeted attack."
The newly emerged CCTV footage recorded on Manhattan's West 55th Street at 6:19 a.m. on Wednesday shows the man walking toward the Hilton Hotel.
There are two piles of garbage close to the Stage Star Deli at 105 West 55th Street, where the CCTV camera was recording.
Read in full from Sean O'Driscoll on Newsweek.
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