NYPD divers search for UnitedHealthcare CEO’s shooting gun in Central Park lake, sources say

NYPD divers search for UnitedHealthcare CEO’s shooting gun in Central Park lake, sources say

NYPD divers search lake amid investigation into UnitedHealthcare CEO shooting, sources say


NYPD divers search lake amid investigation into UnitedHealthcare CEO shooting, sources say

02:54

NEW YORK — New York City Police Department divers were seen searching the Central Park lake Saturday afternoon. Sources told CBS News New York they are searching for the weapon used in the fatal shooting of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson earlier this week outside a Hilton hotel in Midtown Manhattan.

The search took place a day after police found backpack in Central Parkthat law enforcement officials believe belong to the alleged shooter. Sources told CBS News New York that the backpack contained a jacket, but not the gun police believe it was used in the crime. The backpack is currently being analyzed at an NYPD forensic lab for possible hair and DNA samples, according to sources.

Shooting manhunt for UnitedHealthcare CEO extends beyond New York City as police discover backpack believed to be suspect's
A backpack found in New York’s Central Park on December 6, 2024 that investigators believe may have belonged to the suspected gunman who fatally shot UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson.

CBS News


Sources said investigators, including divers, were searching the lake around 3:30 p.m. Saturday. Citizen app video shows police tape at the south end of the lake in Central Park, in the same area where the backpack was found.

“This corner doesn’t seem like a big area, but this corner was blocked off by probably five police officers, a van, and then we saw some diving equipment and a few divers coming in, just splashing around, just looking in this area.” ,” said a witness named Charlotte D..

Sources told CBS News New York that the search has so far been unsuccessful.

Police closing in on person of interest in shooting of UnitedHealthcare CEO, mayor says

Mayor Eric Adams, who spoke to reporters Saturday at a Police Athletic League event in Harlem, said “the net is tightening” as police move closer to discovery. the person of interest who had been stay in an Upper West Side hostel and was filmed without his mask during what sources say was a flirtatious moment with an employee.

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Newly released surveillance photos show a person police say they want to question after UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson was shot and killed Wednesday outside a Midtown Manhattan hotel.

NYPD


Adams also said police knew the name of the person of interest, but were not sharing it publicly.

“We don’t want to disclose that right now. If you do, you’re essentially tipping the person…that we’re looking for, and we don’t want to give them the upper hand at all. Let them continue to I believe that he can hide behind the mask,” Adams said.

Police said the person of interest left his Upper West Side hostel around 5:30 a.m. Wednesdayarriving at the Midtown Hilton just 11 minutes later. They say he ordered at Starbucks around 6:17 a.m. before laying eyes on Thompson and pulling the trigger at 6:46 a.m.

According to police, he then rode his bicycle to Central Park before getting in a taxi, getting out and then taking another taxi to Washington Heights, where he was staying. seen by camera entering the Port Authority bus terminal. The police believe he left town shortly after.

The investigation is ongoing. The FBI is now offering a $50,000 reward for information leading to an arrest and conviction.