NEW YORK — NYPD searched Central Park’s lake again Sunday, hoping to recover related evidence last week’s killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson in Midtown Manhattan.
As the hunt for the gunman continues, officials said Sunday they were expanding their search.
NYPD Crime Stoppers
Law enforcement sources say NYPD and U.S. Marshals Service investigators have been dispatched to Atlanta and along the stops on the Greyhound bus route between Atlanta and New York City. They want to find out where the person of interest got on the bus that took them to the Port Authority bus terminal on November 24. They are also investigating Greyhound terminals and reviewing surveillance footage to determine when he boarded. bus
The latest released images of the person of interest Display it in the back seat of a taxi and another just outside the taxiboth with the mask on. The FBI posted a poster highlighting a $50,000 reward for information leading to an arrest.
“The net is tightening and we will bring this person to justice,” said Mayor Eric Adams.
NYPD
The only images believed to be of the unmasked person of interest were caught on surveillance cameras from inside an Upper West Side hostelwhere police sources say she had a flirtatious encounter with the front desk clerk.
“The event was obviously well planned, but everybody makes mistakes and I think his mistake was probably leaving the mask on so the whole world can see who he is,” said retired police officer Tom Walsh.
NYPD divers return to Central Park Lake on Sunday
NYPD divers searched the Central Park lake on Sunday after sources told CBS News New York that Saturday’s search was unsuccessful.
A woman told CBS News New York that she saw the dive teams in the lake on Saturday, but didn’t see them come up with anything.
“That corner was blocked off with probably five cops, a van and we saw dive teams and a couple of divers coming in, just splashing around, looking in that area,” the witness said.
The last of the backpack found in the park
Friday, researchers found what is believed to be the person of interest’s backpack. It contained a jacket he wasn’t wearing Wednesday, the day of what officials have called Thompson’s targeted shooting, and some fake Monopoly money, but no gun, sources familiar with the investigation told CBS News. This area of the park is still blocked off by police tape.
The gun used to kill Thompson is critical to the investigation because it allows police to find out where it was purchased and who owned it. Police said the lack of concrete evidence is why they continue to call the man a person of interest.
“They found the backpack here in Central Park, so it only makes sense that it would be a good dumping ground for a gun,” Walsh said.
Forensic test results on the backpack have yet to come in before determining if it is linked to the shooter.
Law enforcement knows the name of the person concerned
The mayor said Saturday that law enforcement knows who they’re looking for, but they don’t want to tip him off by announcing his name ahead of time.
“We don’t want to put it out there now. If you do, you’re basically tipping the person we’re finding… we’re looking, and we don’t want to give them an advantage. He continues to believe he can hide behind the mask.” Adams said.