NEW YORK (AP) — Police dogs and divers returned Monday to New York’s Central Park as the dragnet for UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson’s killer stretched into a sixth day.
Investigators have been combing the park since the Wednesday shooting and have been searching at least one of its ponds for three days, looking for evidence that may have been thrown into it.
On Friday, police found a backpack in the park that they say the killer discarded as he fled from the crime scene outside the New York Hilton Midtown in Manhattan to an uptown bus station, where they suspect he left the city on a bus.
But they have yet to find the gun or the shooter, nor have they identified him by name.
On Monday, K-9 units sniffed leaf-covered planters between walking paths in Central Park near where police found the shooter’s backpack. Farther along the path that police suspect he took through the park after the shooting, scuba divers geared up and started searching a pond for the third straight day.
Thompson, 50, was killed in what police said was a “brazen, targeted” attack as he walked alone to the Hilton from a nearby hotel, where UnitedHealthcare’s parent company, UnitedHealth Group, was holding its annual investor conference, police said.
The shooter appeared to be “lying in wait for several minutes” before approaching the executive from behind and opening fire, NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch said.
Ammunition found near Thompson’s body bore the words “delay,” “deny” and “depose,” mimicking a phrase used by insurance industry critics.
Retracing the gunman’s steps using surveillance video, investigators say the shooter fled into Central Park on a bicycle at 60th Street and Center Drive, emerged from park without his backpack at 77th Street and Central Park West and then ditched the bicycle about 7 a.m. near 85th Street.
He then walked a couple blocks and got into a taxi, arriving at 7:30 a.m. at the George Washington Bridge Bus Station, which is near the northern tip of Manhattan and offers commuter service to New Jersey and Greyhound routes to Philadelphia, Boston and Washington, NYPD Chief of Detectives Joseph Kenny said.
The FBI announced late Friday that it was offering a $50,000 reward for information leading to an arrest and conviction, adding to a reward of up to $10,000 that the NYPD has offered. Police say they believe the suspect acted alone.
Late Saturday, police released two additional photos of the suspect that appeared to be from a camera mounted inside a taxi. The first shows him outside the vehicle and the second shows him looking through the partition between the back seat and the front of the cab. In both, his face is partially obscured by a blue mask.
Through the park search, the NYPD has taken steps to minimize disruption to visitors, leading to an odd juxtaposition of joggers, tourists and an active crime scene.
On Monday, a 150-foot (50-meter) section of the park was cordoned off with blue and white police tape, giving the divers an area to change and get in the water.
At one point, a group of about 30 French-speaking tourists followed a guide down a path, but they couldn't go any further because of the police tape. Before turning back, many of them whipped out their phones to snap a photo of the divers.
Cedar Attanasio And Michael R. Sisak, The Associated Press
