Officials are following a number of new leads as the manhunt for the person who fatally shot Brian Thompson enters its third day.
Topline
Police are reportedly investigating DNA, a water bottle and a burner phone that may be linked to the suspected gunman who fatally shot Brian Thompson, the chief executive of private health insurer UnitedHealthcare, in Manhattan on Wednesday in what officers say was a “brazen targeted attack.”Key Facts
Thompson was shot in the back and right calf outside of the New York Hilton Midtown just before 7 a.m. Wednesday morning and was rushed to Mount Sinai West in critical condition where he was pronounced dead, NYPD officials said at a press conference Wednesday.
A senior law enforcement official told The New York Times on Thursday the shooter used a fake New Jersey ID on Nov. 30 to book a room at an Upper West Side hostel he stayed at before killing Thompson.
Detectives obtained DNA evidence that is now being examined by the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner, The New York Times reported Friday, but it’s unclear where the DNA was taken from and whether it will match existing DNA in a law enforcement database.
Police also recovered a burner phone and water bottle in an alley near where the shooting took place, that could give fingerprints or information on who the shooter is if police can unlock the phone, CNN reported, citing anonymous officials.
Police believe the shooting suspect arrived in New York in late November on a bus that left from Atlanta—though they don’t know where he boarded it—and Greyhound bus officials told CNN they are fully cooperating with law enforcement.
