NYC suspected shooter's backpack contains jacket, but no gun

Myles Miller and Antonia Mufarech, Bloomberg News on Dec 7, 2024

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NEW YORK — A gray backpack retrieved in New York’s Central Park and matching the description of one carried by the suspected killer of health insurance executive Brian Thompson contained a jacket but not a gun, according to people with knowledge of the matter.

Only a jacket was found in the backpack, said the people, who asked not to be identified without authorization to speak publicly about the case. They offered no further details Saturday on the garment, such as whether it was similar to one captured by surveillance cameras around Manhattan.

The backpack had been rushed late Friday to a forensic laboratory for examination. Investigators had been searching Central Park, where the suspect fled shortly after Wednesday’s shooting, for the bag and other evidence. Officers are continuing to scour the park for the weapon.

The backpack has held the promise of offering further clues about the identity of the suspect who shot Thompson, 50, just before dawn on Wednesday outside the New York Hilton hotel in Midtown, Manhattan, where UnitedHealth Group Inc. was to host its investor day. Police say it appears to have been a targeted killing.

Authorities also say they believe the suspect left New York City shortly after the shooting.

The New York Police Department sent detectives to Atlanta, where authorities believe the suspect boarded a bus for Manhattan last month, and are reviewing surveillance video at a Greyhound station and reviewing passenger manifests, according to another person with knowledge of the matter.

Mayor Eric Adams said Saturday that the net is tightening on the shooting suspect, and seemed to hint that the police may have zeroed in on a specific person.

“We don’t want to release that now, if you do, you’re basically giving a tip to the person we are seeking, and we do not want to give him an upper hand at all,” Adams said, speaking in Harlem.

“Let him continue to believe he can hide behind a mask. We’re going to just simply reveal his face. We’re going to reveal who he is, and we’re going to bring him to justice.”