This handout image released by the New York Police Department (NYPD) via X (formerly Twitter) on December 5, 2024 shows the individual sought in connection to the shooting of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson. – A masked gunman shot dead top US health insurance executive Brian Thomspson outside a New York hotel on December 4, 2024, in an apparently targeted hit. Thompson was gunned down as he prepared to address investors, with the gunman firing several times before using a rented bike to flee in the direction of Central Park, police said. (Photo by NYPD / Agence France-Presse)

NEW YORK, United States — Police said Friday they believe the man suspected of gunning down UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson may have fled New York City on a bus following the brazen daylight murder.

The development deepens the mystery surrounding the fresh-faced suspect, an image of whom was released by investigators Thursday and who has now been on the run for almost three days.

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The masked assailant was caught on camera entering a bus station in a northern neighborhood of Manhattan in the wake of Wednesday’s slaying. Still, he could not be identified exiting the facility on foot, a police spokesman confirmed to Agence France-Presse.

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“They believe he’s not in New York City,” the spokesman added.

According to the operator’s website, dozens of bus and coach routes run to other US states from the George Washington Bridge Bus Station.

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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.

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Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch said Friday that detectives had access to tens of thousands of cameras around the city, allowing them to secure the “money shot” image, a significant breakthrough in the case.

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“We had to go through lots of video evidence to get that one money shot with the mask down,” she told CNN.

The gunman sprayed UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson with bullets in front of bystanders, in an audacious attack captured by a surveillance camera and now seen by millions.

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Thompson was attending an investor conference in the Midtown business district.

Police have yet to suggest a motive and would not confirm a New York Times report that the words “delay” and “deny” – often used by insurance companies to reject claims – were written on shell casings found at the scene.

READ: Hunt for gunman who killed UnitedHealthcare’s CEO heads into third day with new clues

Video footage shows Thompson on the sidewalk outside the New York Hilton Midtown when a man in a hooded top, and with 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 – which police initially said may have been a rented e-bike. Police said he went in the direction of Central Park.

Law enforcement sources said the suspected shooter traveled to New York via bus last month from Atlanta, Georgia – a distance of 870 miles (1,400 kilometers), according to US media Thursday. An NYPD spokesman declined to comment on the claims.

NYPD chief of detectives Joseph Kenny would not confirm reports that a silencer was used on the murder weapon, saying that the question would be part of the investigation.

Officers have confirmed that a cell phone as well as DNA from a coffee cup had been recovered from the scene.

In the absence of an arrest, speculation has been rife that the gunman may have sought to take revenge for adverse medical coverage decisions made by UnitedHealthcare – one of the largest medical insurers in the United States.

READ: Police hunt for the gunman who killed UnitedHealthcare’s CEO

Thompson’s wife Paulette Thompson, who is based in Minnesota, told NBC News that he had received unspecified threats.

“There had been some threats basically I don’t know – (over) a lack of coverage? I don’t know details,” said Paulette Thompson, who had two children with her late husband.

In a statement, UnitedHealth Group, the parent company of UnitedHealthcare, said it was “deeply saddened and shocked.”

UnitedHealthcare is a major player in the lucrative American health care market, and the parent group had revenues of $100.8 billion in the third quarter of the year.

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Thompson’s own compensation package in 2023 was $10.2 million according to a regulatory filing.ppgaming

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