Investigators believe the person of interest in the killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson has left New York City, according to Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch.
In an interview with CNN, Tisch explained that police released images of the suspect without a mask on Thursday to reach a broader audience beyond New York City.
As CrimeOnline previously reported, Thompson was gunned down early Tuesday morning on a NYC street as he walked from his hotel to another hotel where his company, the largest health insurance company in the world, was holding an investors’ day, WABC reported.
The masked gunman appeared to have been lying in wait for Thompson and walked up behind him, shooting him multiple times.
NYPD Chief of Detectives Joseph Kenny reported that officers are conducting a thorough video canvass, analyzing footage from the Hilton hotel, where the shooting took place.
Kenny said the suspected gunman rode a bike from the scene of the shooting to Central Park. After exiting the park around 77th Street, still on the bike, the suspect was later seen walking at 86th Street and Columbus Avenue.
He then hailed a cab that took him to a Port Authority bus center near 178th Street and Broadway.
“Those buses are interstate buses. That’s why we believe he may have left New York City,” he said,
“We have video of him entering the Port Authority Bus Terminal. We don’t have any video of him exiting so we believe he may have gotten on a bus,” he added.
Police believe the shooting was targeted. UnitedHealthcare and Paulette Thompson said that the CEO had received threats, yet he was completely alone Tuesday morning with no security whatseoever as he walked from his hotel to the investors’ conference, which was cancelled after the shooting.
Meanwhile, CNN reported that DNA evidence recovered from where Thompson was shot in Manhattan was given to the medical examiner for analysis. An unnamed law enforcement official said the following pieces of evidence were turned over: a water bottle with a smudged fingerprint on it and a cell phone which possibly has trace skin cell or touch DNA.
The official also told CNN that they’re looking for more pictures of the gunman’s face to load them into their facial recognition technology.
The story is developing. Check back for updates.
Feature Photo: NYPD
