ATLANTA — As the manhunt for the suspected gunman who killed UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson intensifies, Channel 2 Action News has learned that Atlanta police are working with the New York Police Department
Police say the suspected gunman arrived in New York City on a Greyhound bus from Atlanta on Nov. 24 -- 10 days before the shooting.
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.
Channel 2’s Michael Seiden spent the day Friday outside the bus terminal where it appeared to be business as usual.
“I think it’s insane. This is crazy,” bus rider Justin Holland said.
Seiden spotted an APD officer in the terminal’s parking lot Friday afternoon.
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.
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.
NYPD is trying to determine whether the suspected gunman left the city by bus after the shooting.
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Seiden contacted Greyhound on Friday and a spokesperson told him that they are cooperating with investigators, but they couldn’t say anything else because of the ongoing investigation.
Investigators have tested a discarded water bottle and protein bar wrapper in a hunt for his DNA. They also were trying to obtain additional information from a cellphone found along the gunman’s escape route.
Investigators believe the shooter had at least some firearms training and experience with guns, an official said.
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.
Thompson, a father of two sons who lived in a Minneapolis suburb, had been with Minnesota-based UnitedHealthcare since 2004 and served as CEO for more than three years.
The insurer’s parent company, UnitedHealth Group Inc., was holding its annual meeting in New York for investors. The company abruptly ended the conference after Thompson’s death.
UnitedHealth Group said it was focused on supporting Thompson’s family, ensuring the safety of employees and assisting investigators. “While our hearts are broken, we have been touched by the huge outpouring,” the company said.
UnitedHealthcare provides coverage for more than 49 million Americans. It manages health insurance coverage for employers and state and federally funded Medicaid programs.
The shooting has shaken corporate America and the health insurance industry in particular, causing companies to reevaluate security plans and delete photos of executives from their websites. A different Minnesota-based healthcare company said Friday it was temporarily closing its offices out of an abundance of caution, telling employees to work from home.
The Associated Press contributed to this article.
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