NEW YORK, N.Y. — As the manhunt for the gunman who killed the CEO of United Healthcare in New York City continues, the Federal Bureau of Investigation has raised the reward to $50,000.
Brian Thompson, 50, was shot and killed in Manhattan on Wednesday morning.
Police say the suspected gunman arrived in New York City on a Greyhound bus from Atlanta on Nov. 24 -- 10 days before the shooting. They are still trying to determine if he left the city by bus after the shooting.
Atlanta police confirmed to Channel 2 Action News that they are assisting NYPD in its investigation, but did not comment on how.
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On Friday night, ABC News reported the NYPD had recovered what is suspected to be the backpack carried by the suspected shooter.
The bag was discovered in Central Park where the NYPD deployed an army of officers and drones to conduct a grid search.
The suspect is seen carrying the bag prior to the shooting but does not appear to have it in video of him on a bike 15 minutes after the shooting, ABC News reported.
NYPD have released photos of the suspected gunmen. It came from a hostel on Manhattan’s Upper West Side where ABC News said the suspect used a fake name and a New Jersey ID.
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They also say the woman at the check-in counter asked to see his smile, but this was more than a flirtatious exchange, according to police.
The desk clerk was required to match a guests face with ID which in turn allowed security cameras to snap a guest’s photo of his face without a mask.
Security video shows the killer approaching Thompson from behind, firing several shots with a gun equipped with a silencer, barely pausing to clear a jam while the executive fell to the sidewalk.
The words “deny,” “defend” and “depose” were scrawled on the ammunition, two law enforcement officials told the AP on Thursday. The messages mirror the phrase “delay, deny, defend,” which is commonly used by lawyers and critics about insurers that delay payments, deny claims and defend their actions.
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