On Friday evening, police in New York City found a backpack in Central Park that they believe was worn by the gunman who fatally shot UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson earlier this week.
The masked gunman, whose identity is still unknown, could be seen wearing a backpack in security footage that captured the methodical shooting outside of a hotel in Midtown, Manhattan on Wednesday morning. Moments after the gunman shot Thompson he took off on a bike and headed into Central Park. Video footage later captured him leaving the park and taking a taxi to a bus terminal, without the backpack.
While searching a wooded area at the southern end of the park, police discovered a dark backpack nestled between two boulders, law enforcement officials told CNN. This was the second time police searched the park looking for it.
While it is not confirmed the backpack is the one that belonged to the gunman, it matches the description and police are treating it as such. Police did not open the backpack and immediately sent it off to be forensically tested, the New York Times reported.
“Now, what’s in the backpack? What evidence will it offer? Can they exploit DNA from it? Will it have a hair that can be matched later? What are the contents of that backpack? Does it contain the semi-automatic 9mm silenced pistol that is the murder weapon? We don’t know that and neither do police,” said legal correspondent John Miller on CNN.
Police say at this point they believe the suspected shooter has left New York City, and the manhunt continues.
The gunman arrived in New York City ahead of the shooting and wore a mask covering his face most of the time he was seen on security footage – though he lowered his mask while speaking with a hotel employee.
Police have circulated images of the shooter without his mask hoping that someone who may know him will come forward with information.
On the morning of the shooting, the gunman was hiding behind a car outside of the Hilton hotel waiting for Thompson to exit. The mass shooter then approached Thompson from behind and shot him just before 7 a.m. ET.
Other than the backpack, law enforcement officials found bullet casings at the scene of the shooting with the words, “delay,” “deny” and “depose” on them.
Some of those words are often used by critics of insurance companies to criticize them for delaying payments, denying claims and defending their actions.
