Manhunt underway for UnitedHealthcare CEO shooter as police track down evidence

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The FBI is assisting in the investigation into the killing of UnitedHealthcare’s chief executive by offering a new reward of up to $50,000 for “information leading to the arrest and conviction of the person responsible.”

The increased reward comes days after the NYPD Crime Stoppers announced a reward of up to $10,000 for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the person responsible.

The FBI has also released a “seeking information” poster featuring images of the suspect.

Anyone with information about this case is asked to contact the FBI’s tipline or the New York City Police Department’s tipline. They may also contact their local FBI office or submit a tip online at tips.fbi.gov, the FBI said.

The NYPD released images taken at a hostel of an unmasked shooting suspect.

New York Police Department investigators appear to be homing in on the possible identity of the suspected killer of UnitedHealthcare CEO in Manhattan, two people briefed on the investigation said.

Investigators now are working to track the possible whereabouts of the suspect, using thousands of investigative leads including the use of facial recognition technology and examining traces of DNA that could help find the killer, the people briefed on the probe said.

Investigators are still working to verify the information and aren’t yet certain they know the identity of the suspect.

Investigators are looking into the possibility that the gunman who killed UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson may have used what is known as a veterinary gun, a larger firearm used on farms and ranches, Joseph Kenny, New York Police Department chief of detectives, told The New York Times.

“If an animal has to get put down, the animal can be shot without” the weapon causing a large noise, Kenny said.

CNN has reached out to the NYPD for additional context.

More context: The veterinary gun is based on the design of a welrod that, even dating back to the British during World War II, was an assassin’s weapon, CNN Chief Law Enforcement and Intelligence Analyst John Miller explained.

“It’s practically silent. It’s a significant round. It’s a 9 millimeter round. And it’s meant for close-up killing. It’s meant for vets to kill an animal by shooting it in the head or somewhere, you know, that’s going to be fatal. But it would work the exact same way on humans, very effectively and extraordinarily quietly,” Miller said said.

Police place bullet casing markers outside of a Hilton Hotel in New York, where United Healthcare CEO Brian Thompson was fatally shot, on December 4.

New details are emerging in the case of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson’s death, as a manhunt for the person of interest involved in the fatal shooting is on its third day.

Authorities do not yet have a name for the suspect at this time, according to NYPD Chief of Detectives Joseph Kenny.

But smiling photos showing a man police consider a suspect may have provided a significant clue as he lowered his mask during a flirtatious moment with a New York hostel clerk, CNN’s chief law enforcement analyst reported Thursday. Investigators have also found a backpack in Central Park that they believe belonged to the suspect.

Here’s what we know so far:

Ongoing manhunt:

The “money shot”

DNA evidence:

A message to UnitedHealth Group employees:

NYPD Chief of Detectives Joseph Kenny told reporters the words “delay,” “deny” and “depose” were scrawled on the ammunition discovered by detectives investigating the shooting of UnitedHealthcare’s CEO, one word on each of three bullets, according to the Associated Press.

CNN previously reported that two of the words, “delay” and “depose,” had been found on a shell casing and a live round at the scene of the killing of health care executive Brian Thompson early Wednesday morning.

Detectives are examining the ammunition along with other physical evidence, including a burner phone and a water bottle found nearby, sources said.

Some context: Police are exploring whether the words indicate a motive for the killing, since they are similar to a phrase commonly used to describe insurance company tactics: “Delay, deny, defend.” The phrase is also the title of a book critical of the industry.

Investigators have yet to determine the shooter’s identity and motive, but in an interview with NBC, Thompson’s widow, Paulette, told the network that “there had been some threats” against her husband, potentially related to “a lack of coverage … I don’t know the details.”

Thompson’s killing has prompted the venting of rage and frustration at the nation’s complex health insurance industry online, with social media users sharing their stories of denied medical claims.

CNN’s Tami Luhby and Clare Duffy contributed reporting to this post.

Investigators are treating a backpack found in New York City’s Central Park like a dead body, being very careful not to damage any potential evidence, a law enforcement official told CNN.

The backpack was removed by an excavator along with any physical material found surrounding it, the source said. No officers picked it up to preserve potential DNA evidence tied to the backpack or even the dirt on the ground surrounding it.

Forensic investigators at a police lab in Queens will go through the contents of the bag slowly and deliberately and should have everything out of it by tomorrow. They will examine not only the contents of the bag but the bag itself, which may have sweat or other evidence of the shooter, the source said.

While this is happening, investigators are still searching for the suspect’s name. They believe he traveled to the city by bus and are in the process of ruling out a tip that the shooter left by plane.

Police have different leads and are currently going through them all. In addition to video canvassing, they are requesting bus manifests to see if there could be any identifying clues.

They have also reached out to the security team of UnitedHealthcare to get their complied person of interest list, looking for people that have been publicly vocal with complaints against the company, according to the source. They are asking about anyone who has used any vitriolic language and made threats, either on social media or through attendance at public demonstrations.

Most people on the list have already been dismissed through social media searches, the law enforcement source said. The rest are being looked into for any possible ties.

All the work being done is indicative of the massive undertaking this process is, the source said. The mandate is to continue to build a video timeline of every day the suspect was in the city. There is still no common area where he has gone multiple times.

Identifying the suspect is critical and multiple law enforcement agencies are offering to help in the search once an ID is made, the source added.

Josh Skule, former FBI Executive Assistant Director for Intelligence, speaks to CNN's Wolf Blitzer on Friday.

A backpack found in Central Park on Friday night may be a turning point in the investigation into the suspected gunman, but the area around the bag may also provide important evidence, according to Josh Skule, former FBI Executive Assistant Director for Intelligence.

While the contents of the backpack will be critical, the bag may also carry DNA, hair and other fibers that could be used as evidence, he added.

An image obtained by ABC shows the backpack found in Central Park.

NYPD investigators found a backpack in Central Park that they believe belonged to the suspect in the killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, a law enforcement official told CNN.

Investigators have yet to officially confirm the origin of the bag and are taking it to be forensically tested in a lab in Queens, the source said.

The bag was found in a second sweep of the park Friday evening, between some boulders just south of the park’s carousel, the source said.

Police secured the area, bagged the piece of evidence and sent it — unopened — to the lab, the source said. It will not be opened until it reaches the lab.

An NYPD spokesperson confirmed to CNN that a backpack was found in the park but said it “still has to be processed.”

CNN’s Ashley R. Williams contributed to this report.

New York City Police had to sift through a substantial amount of video surveillance footage to obtain an image of the person of interest in the shooting of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson without a mask.

The image, released by police on Thursday, shows the person smiling at an employee at a hostel on New York’s Upper West Side, where he had been staying, a law enforcement official previously told CNN.

Tisch said the NYPD has access to “tens of thousands of cameras” around the city, something she said has been “huge” in the investigation. Some of those cameras are installed by NYPD on light poles and others were put up by surrounding buildings.

“Our detectives have done just the most extraordinary job in this case doing a city-wide camera canvas for this person,” Tisch said.

This post has been updated with additional remarks from Tisch and Kenny.

The person of interest involved in the killing of UnitedHealthcare’s CEO “definitely planned this out,” investigators say.

NYPD Chief of Detectives Joseph Kenny told CNN’s Shimon Prokupecz on Friday that the person of interest arrived in New York City ahead of the fatal incident, and there is video of him about 30 minutes before, “walking and wandering around the hotel area before he committed this act.”

“He knew what time the victim was going to be walking by. He knew what hotel this conference was going to be in,” Kenny said.

The Atlanta Police Department confirmed Friday that it is working with the NYPD as part of the investigation into the shooting death of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson.

Here’s what the department said in a statement:

CNN previously reported investigators believe a bus that the suspected gunman traveled on to New York originated in Atlanta.

The FBI is also assisting the NYPD in its investigation, a bureau spokesperson told CNN on Friday.

This post was updated to include the FBI’s involvement.

New York City Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch speaks during an interview in New York on December 6.

New York City Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch told CNN Friday that authorities have “a huge amount of evidence” in the killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson.

“We are right now processing a tremendous amount of evidence in this case,” Tisch said.

Authorities do not yet have a name for the suspect at this time, according to NYPD Chief of Detectives Joseph Kenny.

Investigators have a “reason to believe” the person of interest in the killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO has left New York City, according to police commissioner Jessica Tisch.

She told CNN’s Shimon Prokupecz that police released photos of the person not wearing a mask on Thursday because they want a “wider audience to see the picture outside of New York City.”

This is the first interview with top police officials since the shooting happened.

NYPD Chief of Detectives Joseph Kenny said officers are conducting a “very, very extensive video canvas.” They are reviewing footage from around the Hilton hotel, where the shooting occurred, to uptown Manhattan.

He said the suspected gunman rode on a bike from the shooting scene to Central Park. The person then exited the park around 77th Street, still with the bike, Kenny said. Footage later shows him walking at 86th Street and Columbus Avenue, according to Kenny, before he gets in a cab that takes him to a Port Authority bus station near 178th Street and Broadway.

“Those buses are interstate buses. That’s why we believe he may have left New York City,” he said, adding that police are working to figure out which bus the person may have gotten on.

Kenny said authorities have video of the suspect entering the station, but “we don’t have any video of him exiting, so we believe he may have gotten on a bus,” he later added.

This post has been updated with additional details from Kenny.

The various pieces of evidence being uncovered by police in the case of the killing of UnitedHealthcare’s CEO are crucial not only for finding the gunman — but also for his prosecution.

Once police apprehend the person of interest they are looking for, the key is to be able to link him to the evidence, he said.

Investigators have a trail of surveillance video sightings, a burner phone and water bottle believed to have been dropped by the suspect when he fled the shooting scene, as well as ammunition with the words “depose” and “delay” written on them left at the scene of the crime, sources told CNN. A medical examiner is testing for possible DNA evidence left on some of those items, a senior law enforcement official said earlier.

The NYPD also released new images of the person of interest without a mask at the hostel where they believe he was staying at before the shooting.

“Our DNA, our fingerprints are left everywhere — It could be on the countertop of that hostel, so as prepared as you think you might be, there’s mistakes that people make all the time and law enforcement relies on that,” Alcazar said.

Video at a nearby Starbucks shows the assailant buying a bottle of water and two energy bars roughly 30 minutes before the shooting, according to police.

Former FBI criminal profiler Candice Long believes the suspected gunman in the UnitedHealthcare CEO killing rode to New York on a Greyhound bus so he could avoid encountering tight airport security while carrying a gun.

But the thing he didn’t account for, Long said, was being asked to drop his mask by a clerk at his hostel — a moment that ultimately gave investigators crucial surveillance footage of his face.

“She caught him off guard, and that could be his undoing,” Long said, later noting: “The pressure is on because of that picture.”

When asked whether she believes the suspect is still in New York City, Long said, “It’s hard to say.”

“It’s possible. I mean, you can get lost in New York for years.”

The hostel where police believe the person of interest in the shooting of UnitedHealthcare’s CEO was staying has posted a notice to other guests, stating that it is cooperating with police in the investigation.

A photo of the notice, posted on one of the internal doors of the hostel, was provided to CNN by Niki Dilley, a 23-year-old tourist from New Zealand who checked in on Tuesday.

A flyer is seen at an Upper West Side hostel that the person of interest checked into.

Dilley, who is traveling with a friend, is staying in a four-person room on the fourth floor. He said he never saw the person of interest, adding that many people are going in and out of the building all the time. He saw one police officer on Wednesday night but was not interviewed.

“It’s made for an interesting week,” he said. Dilly said he’s not noticed any mass exodus. He saw a school group of about 25 people, small groups and several individuals.

“We are fully cooperating with the NYPD and, as this is an active investigation, can not comment at this time,” a spokesperson for HI USA previously told CNN.

The man suspected of killing UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson had carefully planned his movements around the city, but several key mistakes may eventually lead investigators to identify him, former FBI agent Daniel Brunner told CNN.

“I think what he was trying to do was trying to be a professional. He thought that he was being professional by paying the cash and (using the fake) ID,” Brunner said on “CNN News Central.”

But removing his mask during a flirtatious exchange with the hostel clerk was “one of his biggest mistakes,” Brunner said. It allowed investigators to get the clearest image of his face so far.

Wearing a backpack that could be traced back to him and staying at a high-traffic hostel could also work against him, he added.

“These different mistakes and staying at a hostel where he had roommates and other people seeing him come and go — those are mistakes that will eventually lead to his capture,” Brunner said.

Investigators mapping the suspect’s movements across New York City will be aided by the “immense amount of surveillance” provided by the city’s web of cameras, Brunner said.

“When he leaves New York City, that’s where it becomes a much bigger puzzle piece in trying to put together his movements,” he added.

Andrew Witty, the CEO of UnitedHealth Group, the parent company of UnitedHealthcare, addressed employees in an internal video message Thursday, describing the circumstances of Brian Thompson’s death as “profoundly shocking and disturbing.”

Witty acknowledged that employees are “nervous around security and safety” and detailed heightened security measures the company is implementing at its facilities nationwide, including security checks before people enter campuses.

Employees are encouraged to reach out to internal support programs if they are feeling anxious or upset or have recommendations on where security could be tightened, he said.

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CNN obtains internal video from UnitedHealth Group CEO

03:53 - Source: CNN

An image of the suspected gunman in the killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson was sent to every member of the NYPD as investigators’ top priority has become identifying the suspect, a law enforcement official told CNN.

The department’s video collection unit is canvassing, trying to find more still images of the assailant’s face to load into its facial recognition technology, the official said.

The precinct’s detectives and the homicide unit are working the case, according to the official. Police are operating under the idea that once the shooter is identified, he can be apprehended anywhere.