NEW YORK — New York’s mayor said Saturday “the net is tightening” on the man suspected of gunning down a top health insurance executive before fleeing the city.
Mayor Eric Adams said detectives knew the name of the fresh-faced suspect, an image of whom was released by investigators Thursday and who has now been on the run for almost four days.
Adams praised “the manner in which (investigators) were able to follow his footsteps to recover evidence — some of it is known, some of it is unknown — but the net is tightening and we’re going to bring this person to justice,” he said, the New York Post reported.
Adams was quoted by the Post as saying the police were withholding the suspect’s name for now.
“We don’t want to release that,” the mayor said. “If you do, you are basically giving a tip to the person we are seeking, and we do not want to give him an upper hand at all. Let him continue to believe he can hide behind the mask.”
“We revealed his face,” the mayor continued, referring to numerous security camera photos and video released after Brian Thompson, CEO of UnitedHealthcare was gunned down. And eventually, “we’re going to reveal who he is and we’re going to bring him to justice,” Adams said.
The masked assailant was caught on camera entering a bus station in a northern neighborhood of Manhattan in the wake of Wednesday’s slaying, but he could not be identified exiting the facility on foot, a police spokesperson confirmed to Agence France-Presse.
“They believe he’s not in New York City,” the spokesperson added.
The image of the smiling suspect was obtained from a youth hostel where the gunman apparently stayed before the hit, detectives said, with media reporting he lowered his mask to flirt with a receptionist.
The FBI, which said it was assisting the New York police, offered a reward of up to $50,000 for information leading to his capture.
‘Delay’ and ‘deny’
The gunman on Wednesday sprayed Thompson of United Healthcare — one of the country’s largest medical insurers — with bullets in front of bystanders, in an audacious attack captured by a surveillance camera and now seen by millions.
Thompson was attending an investor conference in the Midtown business district.
Police have yet to suggest a motive and would not confirm media reports that the words “delay” and “deny” — often used by insurance companies to reject claims — were written on shell casings found at the scene.
Video footage shows Thompson on the sidewalk outside the New York Hilton Midtown when a man in a hooded top, his lower face covered, approaches from behind, then fires several shots at his 50-year-old victim, who crumples to the ground.
Camera footage showed the suspect fleeing on foot, before getting on a bicycle, with police revealing he headed to Central Park.
Officers have confirmed that a cell phone as well as DNA from a coffee cup were recovered from near the murder scene.
In the absence of an arrest, speculation has been rife that the gunman may have sought revenge for adverse medical coverage decisions made by the insurer.
UnitedHealthcare is a major player in the lucrative American health care market; the parent group had revenues of $100.8 billion in the third quarter of the year.
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