Gun not found in backpack of UnitedHealthcare CEO’s killer: sources

MANHATTAN, N.Y. (PIX11) – Police did not find a gun in the backpack belonging to the killer of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson that was discovered in Central Park in New York City Friday, sources said.

The manhunt continued on Saturday for the gunman who killed the 50-year-old UnitedHealthcare CEO outside the New York Hilton Midtown hotel in Manhattan Wednesday morning.

Thompson was walking to the hotel where he was to speak at an investor conference when the gunman approached him from behind and fatally shot him, police said.

“It appears the suspect was lying in wait for several minutes,” NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch said Wednesday. “At this time, every indication is that this was a premeditated, preplanned, targeted attack.”

The words “delay,” “deny” and “depose” were scrawled on the ammunition, one word on each of three bullets, according to NYPD Chief of Detectives Joseph Kenny. 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.

Video of the gunman fleeing Wednesday’s shooting showed him riding a bicycle into Central Park and later taking a taxi to a bus terminal that offers commuter service to New Jersey and Greyhound routes to Philadelphia, Boston and Washington, D.C, according to the police chief.

Police have video of the man entering the bus station but no video of him exiting, leading them to believe he left the city, Kenny said.

On Saturday, police searched the pond near Bethesda Fountain in Central Park looking for additional evidence in the case.

"The manner in which they were able to follow his footsteps to recover evidence -- some of it is known, some of it is unknown -- the net is tightening, and we're going to bring this person to justice," Mayor Eric Adams said about the investigation Saturday.