Healthcare CEO’s Slayer Likely Fled NYC, Police Find Backpack

MIDTOWN, NY — The gunman accused of killing UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson in a targeted attack outside a Midtown hotel has likely fled New York City, police said Friday. Authorities also discovered a backpack he may have left behind in Central Park.

Nearly four days after Thompson's death, police still don't know the gunman’s name, his location or a motive for the killing. Investigators are working to determine whether the shooter may have been a disgruntled employee or a UnitedHealthcare client, Chief of Detectives Joseph Kenny told reporters.

The FBI announced Friday night it was offering a $50,000 reward for information leading to an arrest and conviction.

The masked gunman shot and killed Thompson outside Hilton Club The Residences – a large Midtown hotel where the company had planned to hold its annual investor day – between 6:44 and 6:45 a.m. on Wednesday.

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Minutes later, he disappeared into Central Park.

Video of the gunman fleeing the shooting showed him riding a bicycle into Central Park and later taking a taxi to a bus terminal that offers commuter service to New Jersey and Greyhound routes to Philadelphia, Boston and Washington, D.C, according to Kenny.

Police have video of the man entering the bus station but no video of him exiting, leading them to believe he left the city, Kenny said.

Investigators on Friday also found a backpack in Central Park that the gunman may have worn during the shooting, police said. The bag was located south of the carousel near Heckscher playground, the New York Post reported.

Police didn’t immediately reveal what, if anything, it contained but said it would be analyzed for clues.

The NYPD released photos of the suspect’s face on Thursday. According to the Post, the killer arrived in Manhattan via Greyhound bus on Nov. 24. Although the bus departed from Atlanta, Georgia, it’s not clear where the suspect boarded.

He was reportedly in and out of the HI New York City Hostel on the Upper West Side – Amsterdam Avenue between West 103rd and 104th streets – before “stak[ing] out” the Hilton Hotel in Midtown, where he would shoot Thompson about ten days later. He is believed to have used a fake New Jersey ID to check into the hostel.

It isn’t clear what the gunman did in New York City between arriving on Nov. 24 and shooting Thompson on Dec. 4.

Although police have collected video of the suspect all over the city, he paid with cash and kept his mask on, “which indicates…he knew he was coming to New York City to commit the murder,” according to ABC News.

Photos of the suspected shooter that were taken in the lobby of the hostel where he stayed appear to be the only time he removed his mask, Kenny said.

His roommates at the hostel also said he didn’t speak to them. Nothing of investigative value was found in a search of the suspected shooter’s hotel room.

Asked how close he felt police were to making an arrest, Kenny said, “This isn’t ‘Blue Bloods.’ We’re not going to solve this in 60 minutes. We’re painstakingly going through every bit of evidence that we can come across. Eventually, when an apprehension is made, we will have to present all of these facts to a judge and jury, so we’re taking our time, doing it right and making sure we’re going to get justice for this victim and closure for his family.”

The Associated Press contributed to this report.