More than 48 hours after the murder of the head of the US health insurer UnitedHealthcare, the police are still searching for the shooter. She now assumes that the alleged perpetrator left New York by bus.
After the fatal shooting of the head of the US health insurer UnitedHealthcare in New York, the police assume that the suspected perpetrator fled the city on a bus.
The shooter was captured by cameras entering a bus station in a northern part of Manhattan after the crime, a police spokesman said on Friday. However, he was not seen leaving the station on foot. “These are intercity buses. That's why we believe he left New York City,” Joseph Kenny of the NYPD told CNN.
Numerous photos of the perpetrator
Video footage is said to show that after the fatal shooting, the perpetrator rode an electric bicycle to New York's Central Park and then took a taxi to the bus station. On Friday, investigators found a backpack in Central Park that allegedly belonged to the perpetrator, CNN reported, citing insiders.
Photos of the man were published on Thursday. According to police information, they were admitted to a hostel where the suspect had apparently stayed overnight before the crime.
According to police, the perpetrator ambushed UnitedHealthcare manager Brian Thompson outside a hotel on Wednesday morning. The man fired several shots and hit the 50-year-old in the back and leg. Upon arrival at a nearby hospital, Thompson succumbed to his injuries, police said.
A recording released by the New York Police Department of Brian Thompson's alleged murderer.
Identity and motive are still unclear
The identity of the shooter is still unknown. The FBI has now offered a reward of up to $50,000 for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the perpetrator. The motive for the crime is still unclear. According to Kenny, investigators are investigating whether the perpetrator could have been a disgruntled employee or customer of the insurance company UnitedHealthcare.
The New York Times reported that bullet casings were found at the scene with words scratched on them, which insurance companies use to deny claims from insureds. The information could provide clues to the motive for the crime. Police did not confirm the newspaper's report.
UnitedHealthcare is one of the largest health insurers in the United States. The company has 440,000 employees and annual sales of around 353 billion euros. Thompson has worked for the group for 20 years and has been at the helm of UnitedHealthcare since 2021.
