New York Mayor Eric Adams has suggested that police may have identified the killer of the UnitedHealthcare CEO, but they are not yet releasing his name.
When asked Saturday if investigators knew the mystery shooter’s name, Adams said, “We don’t want to release that right now,” police said. New York Post.
“When we do that, we’re essentially tipping the person we’re looking for and not wanting to give them an upper hand at all,” the former NYPD captain added.
‘Let him continue to believe that he can hide behind the mask. We revealed his face. We’re going to reveal who he is and we’re going to bring him to justice… The net is tightening.”
The mayor’s cryptic comments came Saturday, three days after the gunman fatally shot 50-year-old Brian Thompson, the CEO of America’s largest health insurer.
When asked Sunday morning if police knew the suspect’s identity, the NYPD told DailyMail.com: “There have been no updates on the case.”
Authorities are investigating the incident in Midtown Manhattan as a homicide, as the hunt for the mysterious assailant continues beyond New York state lines.
The NYPD released new photos of the killer on Saturday evening. He is described as white and about 6 feet tall, but scant other details have been given.
A mysterious gunman (pictured on surveillance footage) fatally shot Brian Thompson, 50, the CEO of America’s largest health insurer, in Midtown Manhattan early Wednesday morning
Brian Thompson (pictured), who had served as CEO of UnitedHealthcare since April 2021, was rushed to Mount Sinai Hospital after the shooting and was later pronounced dead
New York Mayor Eric Adams (pictured) has suggested that police may have identified the killer of the UnitedHealthcare CEO, but they are not yet releasing his name
Police said the killer shot Thompson in the back and leg outside the New York Hilton Midtown on West 54th Street around 6:45 a.m. Wednesday.
The attacker is believed to have used a rare World War II-inspired 9mm cannon, which the New York Post reported was a Swiss-made Brugger & Thomet VP9.
Ammunition found near Thompson’s body bore the words “delay,” “deny” and “depose,” a phrase used by critics of the insurance industry.
The killer fled the scene by riding an electric bicycle up 6th Avenue towards Central Park, and was seen leaving the park at 6:56 am.
The last images of the killer appear to have been taken in the taxi that picked him up at 86th Street and Columbus Avenue, two minutes after he left Central Park.
Police tracked the shooter’s steps using surveillance video and appear to have left the city by bus about 45 minutes after the shooting.
He was seen on video at a bus station in the city, according to NYPD Detective Joseph Kenny.
The suspect was arrested at 86th Street and Columbus Avenue two minutes after leaving Central Park on Manhattan’s Upper West Side.
The suspect was arrested at 86th Street and Columbus Avenue two minutes after leaving Central Park on Manhattan’s Upper West Side.
With the search expanding across state lines, the FBI announced late Friday that it was offering a $50,000 reward for information leading to an arrest and conviction.
This is in addition to a reward of up to $10,000 dollars offered by the NYPD. The police assume that the suspect acted alone.
Hundreds of detectives are sifting through video recordings and social media, investigating tips from the public and interviewing people who may have information.
They include Thompson’s family and coworkers, and the gunman’s randomly assigned roommates at the Manhattan hostel where he was staying.
‘This isn’t Blue Bloods. We’re not going to solve this in 60 minutes,” Kenny told reporters on Friday.
“We are meticulously searching every piece of evidence we can come across.”
The gunman paid cash at the hostel, presented what police said was a fake ID and allegedly paid cash for taxi rides and other transactions.
He did not speak to others in the hostel and almost always kept his face covered with a mask, lowering it only when eating.
The bag was found by police during their second visit to the park and was placed between boulders just south of the park carousel.
But investigators caught pause when they came across security camera footage of an unguarded moment in which he briefly showed his face shortly after arriving in New York on Nov. 24.
Police have distributed the footage to news outlets and on social media, but have so far been unable to identify him using facial recognition – possibly because of the angle of the footage or restrictions on how the NYPD can use that technology. Kenny said.
On Friday evening, investigators found a backpack worn by the gunman in Central Park, police said.
They did not immediately reveal what was inside, but said it would be tested and analyzed.
Another possible lead, a fingerprint on an item he bought at Starbucks minutes before the shooting, has yielded no clues, Kenny said.
UnitedHealthcare’s troubling record of denying claims has come into the spotlight since the shooting.
The company was investigated by the Justice Department for alleged antitrust violations, while its parent company, UnitedHealthcare Group (UHG), has come under fire from angry protesters who claim the insurer refused to cover their care.
UHG is the largest health insurance conglomerate in the country. The company expected to generate $450 billion in revenue by 2025, with Thompson earning a salary of about $10 million a year.
Officers believe they are closing the net on Thompson’s killer as the manhunt for him continued Friday. A cop is seen here in Central Park on Friday evening
Thompson, who had served as CEO of UnitedHealthcare since April 2021, was taken to Mount Sinai Hospital in critical condition after the shooting and was later pronounced dead.
Flags flew at half-staff Wednesday at UnitedHealthcare’s headquarters in Minnetonka, Minnesota, following the killing of its chief executive.
He is survived by his wife, Paulette “Pauley” Thompson, 51, and their two children, who live in the family’s $1.5 million home in Maple Grove, Minnesota.