UnitedHealthcare CEO latest shooting: Manhunt expands nationwide as police learn suspect left New York by bus

The manhunt for the suspect involved in Wednesday’s shooting of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson outside a Midtown Manhattan hotel has now entered its fourth day as authorities learn more about his movements before the ‘attack.

Police learned the suspect took a taxi to the Port Authority bus facility on 178th Street and boarded a bus from New York after the shooting, police said .

The bus the suspect allegedly boarded made six or seven stops, and investigators followed leads in several states, the sources said.

The killer entered New York City by bus on November 24, when a surveillance camera at the Port Authority bus terminal filmed his arrival at 9 p.m., law enforcement sources told ABC News.

The incoming bus was from Atlanta, but it was not immediately clear where the suspect boarded. Sources told ABC News he was spotted on board in Washington, DC.

The 10-day period he spent in New York before the shooting remains under investigation.

The FBI is now participating in a nationwide manhunt for the suspect, according to law enforcement sources, and the unidentified man remains at large following Wednesday’s attack, which was described as by police as “brazen, targeted” and “premeditated”.

Police still do not know the suspect’s name, the sources said.

Meanwhile, citing Thompson’s recent murder, Centene, a major health insurer, said it would move its planned in-person investor day in New York next week to a virtual version, according to a company statement Friday.

“All of us at Centene are deeply saddened by the passing of Brian Thompson and want to express our support to everyone affected. Health insurance is a big industry and a small community; many CenTeam members have crossed paths with Brian during their careers. said Sarah M. London, Chief Executive Officer of Centene. “He was a person with a deep sense of empathy and a real passion for improving access to care. Our thoughts are with his family and colleagues during this difficult time. »

Police were able to recover what is believed to be the backpack carried by the suspected shooter, a source familiar with the matter told ABC News on Friday.

The bag was discovered Friday evening in Central Park, where the New York Police Department deployed an army of officers and drones to search the grid, the source said.

The suspect is seen in footage carrying a backpack before the shooting, but does not appear to be wearing it in another video of him on a bicycle 15 minutes after the shooting.

The masked gunman shot Thompson at point-blank range at 6:44 a.m. Wednesday outside the Hilton Midtown in New York, where Thompson was on his way to his company’s investor conference.

“The shooter then walks toward the victim and continues shooting,” NYPD Chief of Detectives Joseph Kenny said. “It appears the gun is malfunctioning, as he clears the jam and starts shooting again.”

The words “deny”, “defend” and “depose” were written on the cartridge cases, according to police sources.

The words on the bullet points echo the title of the 2010 book “Delay, Deny, Defend: Why Insurance Companies Don’t Pay Claims and What You Can Do About It.” Police are aware of the similarity and are investigating whether one of the possible motives is anger at the insurance industry, sources said.

Investigators believe they were able to collect DNA samples from several pieces of evidence found at or near the crime scene, law enforcement sources told ABC News. The samples are currently at New York’s chief medical examiner’s office to be run against databases for a possible match – a process that could take several days, the sources said.

Police were also able to extract the fingerprint from a bottle of water the suspect purchased at a Starbucks, but the print is smudged and it’s unclear how useful it will be, sources said.