Backpack believed to belong to suspected killer of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson found, police say

Investigators attempting to track down the suspected gunman in the fatal shooting of UnitedHealthcare executive Brian Thompson in midtown Manhattan located a backpack in Central Park on Friday that is believed to belong to the shooter, a development that could offer a major breakthrough in the manhunt for the gunman.

In addition, the FBI announced it was offering a reward of "up to $50,000" for information leading to an arrest and conviction. "The FBI's New York Field Office is assisting the New York City Police Department in seeking the public's assistance in identifying the unknown suspect," the bureau said as it released a poster with surveillance photos of the alleged gunman.

A top NYPD official said the backpack, which could offer investigators a plethora of new clues and potential evidence, was found about 6 p.m. Friday in Central Park. It was not immediately clear what the backpack contained and how it might advance the investigation.

The case has perplexed investigators, who have not been able to identify the suspect as the multistate manhunt entered a third day. Top NYPD officials said Friday they have "reason to believe" the shooter left New York City by bus on Wednesday. 

Despite disseminating publicly multiple photos of the suspected gunman and testing for DNA and fingerprints on a water bottle and Starbucks cup that investigators believe the suspect left behind near the shooting scene, police have not been able to develop a likely identity of the suspect or a DNA profile, NYPD Chief of Detectives Joseph Kenny told reporters late Friday.

The FBI asked anyone with information to contact its tip line at 1-800-225-5324 or the New York City Police Department's tip line at 1-800-577-8477. Tipsters can also submit information online at tips.fbi.gov.

Kenny said the last video sighting of the suspect was at a bus station near the George Washington Bridge at 175th Street, but they still are trying to develop with Port Authority Police what bus route the suspected gunman may have taken out of New York City.

Kenny said investigators have been able to determine that the suspect entered the Port Authority Bus Station in midtown on Nov. 24 and traveled by cab to the Hilton hotel on Sixth Avenue, where Thompson was shot 10 days later. He then went to an Upper West Side hostel, which police have searched.

After Wednesday’s fatal shooting, investigators believe the suspect took a bus from Port Authority and left New York City.

Police have not publicly identified a motive in the crime. Kenny said police believe the gunman acted alone.

"We are not going to solve this in 60 minutes," Kenny told reporters. "We are painstakingly going through the evidence"

Kenny said investigators are looking into the possibility the gunman used a veterinary gun, used to euthanize animals, especially on farms and ranches. Such guns are advertised as being quieter when shot than other weapons.

Kenny said investigators had the suspect leaving the hostel at 5:31 the morning of the shooting and showing up in the vicinity of the Hilton 10 minutes later. Kenny thought it is likely the suspect used a bike to get downtown. There's no indication he took the subway, Kenny said.

Investigators have also found apparent messages — the words "delay," "deny" and "depose" — from the shooter on shell casings found at the scene, a law enforcement source has told Newsday. A police source had originally said the words were "defend," "deny" and "depose." The  words could have a nexus to the health care industry practice of denying claims, echoing a 2010 book entitled "Delay, Deny, Defend" with the subtitle "Why insurance companies don't pay claims and what you can do about it," which was written by Jay M. Feinman.

A series of surveillance videos that police believe captured the alleged shooter have helped guide investigators on the alleged gunman’s movements before, during and after the shooting.

In most of the footage released by police, the alleged shooter is masked and wearing a hood. But two images released Thursday depicted him without a face mask. He smiled broadly in one image.

Investigators have also searched an Upper West Side hostel on Amsterdam Avenue where the alleged gunman is believed to have stayed before the shooting, the source said.

Thompson, 50, of Maple Grove, Minnesota, was in New York for an annual investors meeting of UnitedHealth Group, the parent company of UnitedHealthcare, which is the nation's largest health insurance provider.

The suspect was caught on camera entering Central Park after he fled the scene, the source said, and then exiting the park without the backpack he had been wearing. 

The suspect was also seen on video visiting a Starbucks before the shooting, the source said. Police recovered a Starbucks coffee cup and a candy wrapper, both of which are being examined for possible fingerprints and DNA, the source said.

A water bottle was also tested, Kenny said, but the fingerprint evidence is of no evidentiary value.

The shooting occurred just before 7 a.m. Wednesday morning when the masked gunman approached Thompson from behind and opened fire as he walked on a sidewalk outside the Hilton.

Thompson was shot at least once in the back and in the right calf and was pronounced dead at Mount Sinai West, previously known as Roosevelt Hospital, at 7:12 a.m., police said.

Thompson's widow Paulette Thompson told NBC News that her husband had been the subject of threats recently, though she said she didn't have details.

The gunman fled the scene northbound, going into an alley between West 54th and 55th streets, then continued on foot on Sixth Avenue before getting on an electric bike and riding into Central Park, police said.

A cellphone found in the alley is being examined by investigators, though it wasn't clear if it was connected to the shooter.

Thompson became chief executive of UnitedHealthcare in April 2021, according to the company. Previously, he was CEO of its government programs. He joined the company in 2004.