It's been more than 72 hours since UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson was gunned down in Manhattan, with still no sign of the suspect who fatally shot him. Sources tell the New York Post, however, that police investigators searching Central Park on Friday retrieved a gray backpack hidden in the brush there, which could be the one the gunman was seen wearing in surveillance footage of the shooting. The bag, said to have been found in "good condition" south of the carousel near the park's Heckscher Playground, was sent right to the lab for forensic testing without being opened, per the paper's sources. More on the case:
- Backpack II: Peter Dering, CEO of Peak Design, tells the New York Times that he believes the backpack seen with the gunman is an older incarnation of one of his company's Everyday Backpacks, often used by photographers. Dering, who says he called the police tip line with his suspicions, notes that the backpack seen in video of the shooting resembles a version sold by Peak Design between 2016 and 2019.
- A bus escape? The Times also features a tentative timeline of what appears to have transpired after the early morning shooting at around 6:45 on Wednesday. According to Joseph Kenny, the NYPD's chief of detectives, the suspect fled initially on foot, then grabbed a bike to ride into Central Park. From there, surveillance footage shows him emerging on the bike near 86th Street and Columbus Avenue, then grabbing a cab to a Port Authority bus depot with interstate buses in Upper Manhattan, which he entered around 7:30am but never came out of. Kenny says it seems likely the suspect fled the city.