Days after gunman killed UnitedHealthcare's CEO, police push to ID him and FBI offers reward

NEW YORK (AP) — The gunman who killed the CEO of the largest U.S. health insurer likely left New York City on a bus soon after the brazen ambush that has shaken corporate America, police officials said. But he left something behind: a backpack that was discovered in Central Park.

Nearly four days after the shooting of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, police still did not know the gunman’s name or whereabouts or have a motive for the killing. Investigators were looking at whether the shooter may have been a disgruntled employee or client of the insurer, Chief of Detectives Joseph Kenny told reporters.

The FBI announced Friday night it was offering a $50,000 reward for information leading to an arrest and conviction.

Video of the gunman fleeing Wednesday’s shooting showed him riding a bicycle into Central Park and later taking a taxi to a bus terminal that offers commuter service to New Jersey and Greyhound routes to Philadelphia, Boston and Washington, D.C, according to Kenny.

Police have video of the man entering the bus station but no video of him exiting, leading them to believe he left the city, Kenny said.

Investigators on Friday found a backpack in the park that had been worn by the gunman during the shooting, police said, following a massive sweep to find it in a vast area with lakes and ponds, meadows, playgrounds and woods.

Police didn’t immediately reveal what, if anything, it contained but said it would be analyzed for clues.

The gunman made sure to conceal his identity with a mask during almost all of his time in the city, including during the attack and while he ate, yet left a trail of evidence in view of the nation’s biggest city and its network of security cameras.

The gunman arrived in New York City on Nov. 24 and shot Thompson 10 days later outside his company’s annual investor conference at a hotel just blocks from Radio City Music Hall and Rockefeller Center.

The gunman got off a bus that originated in Atlanta and made several stops along the way, Kenny said. Police have not determined where he got on the bus. Investigators have a list of passengers, but none of them would have had to provide an ID when they climbed aboard, Kenny said.

Investigators believe the suspect used a fake identification card and paid cash, Kenny said, when he checked in at the hostel, which has a café along with shared and private rooms and is blocks from Columbia University.

Investigators have tested a discarded water bottle and protein bar wrapper in a hunt for his DNA. They also were trying to obtain additional information from a cellphone found along the gunman’s escape route.

Photos of the suspected shooter that were taken in the lobby of a hostel on Manhattan’s Upper West Side appear to from the only time he removed his mask, Kenny said. The images, showing a man smiling in the lobby of the HI New York City hostel. They are among a collection of photos and video circulated since the shooting — including footage of the attack, as well as images of the suspected gunman at a Starbucks beforehand.

“From every indication we have from witnesses, from the Starbucks, from the hostel, he kept his mask on at all times except for the one instance where we have him photographed with the mask off,” Kenny said.

His roommates at the hostel also said he didn’t speak to them. Nothing of investigative value was found in a search of the suspected shooter’s hotel room.

Asked how close he felt police were to making an arrest, Kenny said, “This isn’t ‘Blue Bloods.’ We’re not going to solve this in 60 minutes. We’re painstakingly going through every bit of evidence that we can come across. Eventually, when an apprehension is made, we will have to present all of these facts to a judge and jury, so we’re taking our time, doing it right and making sure we’re going to get justice for this victim and closure for his family.”

Security video of the shooting shows the killer approaching Thompson from behind, firing several shots with a gun equipped with a silencer, barely pausing to clear a jam while the executive fell to the sidewalk.

Police were looking into the possibility that the weapon was a veterinary pistol, which is a weapon commonly used on farms and ranches if an animal has to be euthanized quietly, Kenny said — though he stressed that hadn’t been confirmed.

The words “delay,” “deny” and “depose” were scrawled on the ammunition, one word on each of three bullets, Kenny said. A law enforcement official previously told The Associated Press the words were “deny,” “defend” and “depose.” The messages mirror the phrase “delay, deny, defend,” which is commonly used by lawyers and critics about insurers that delay payments, deny claims and defend their actions.

Thompson, a father of two sons who lived in a Minneapolis suburb, had been with Minnesota-based UnitedHealthcare since 2004 and served as CEO for more than three years.

The insurer’s parent company, UnitedHealth Group Inc., was holding its annual meeting in New York for investors. The company abruptly ended the conference after Thompson’s death.

UnitedHealth Group said it was focused on supporting Thompson’s family, ensuring the safety of employees and assisting investigators. “While our hearts are broken, we have been touched by the huge outpouring,” the company said.

UnitedHealthcare provides coverage for more than 49 million Americans. It manages health insurance coverage for employers and state and federally funded Medicaid programs.

In October, UnitedHealthcare was named along with Humana and CVS in a Senate report detailing how its denial rate for prior authorizations for some Medicare Advantage patients has surged in recent years.

The shooting has rocked the health insurance industry in particular, causing companies to reevaluate security plans and delete photos of executives from their websites. A different Minnesota-based health care company said Friday it was temporarily closing its offices out of an abundance of caution, telling employees to work from home.

Balsamo reported from Washington. Jake Offenhartz, Cedar Attanasio and Karen Matthews in New York, John Seewer in Toledo, Ohio, and Jeff Martin in Atlanta contributed to this story.

Members of the media line a sidewalk outside the HI New York City hostel, Thursday, Dec. 5, 2024, in New York, where police say the suspect in the killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson may have stayed. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)

This image provided by the New York City Police Department shows a man wanted for questioning in connection to the investigation of the killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson outside a Manhattan hotel, Wednesday, Dec. 4, 2024. (New York City Police Department via AP)

Traffic rolls past the George Washington Bridge Bus Station in New York, Friday, Dec. 6, 2024, near where the gunman fleeing Wednesday's shooting of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson took a taxi to, according to surveillance video. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)

Pedestrian walk outside George Washington Bridge Bus Station in New York, Friday, Dec. 6, 2024, where the gunman fleeing Wednesday's shooting of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson took a taxi to, according to surveillance video. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)

Traffic rolls past the George Washington Bridge Bus Station in New York, Friday, Dec. 6, 2024, where the gunman fleeing Wednesday's shooting of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson took a taxi to, according to surveillance video. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)

Pedestrians cross the road outside George Washington Bridge Bus Station in New York, Friday, Dec. 6, 2024, where the gunman fleeing Wednesday's shooting of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson took a taxi to, according to surveillance video. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)

Commuters wait for buses at the George Washington Bridge Bus Station in New York, Friday, Dec. 6, 2024, where the gunman fleeing Wednesday's shooting of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson took a taxi to, according to surveillance video. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)

Commuters wait inside the George Washington Bridge Bus Station in New York, Friday, Dec. 6, 2024, where the gunman fleeing Wednesday's shooting of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson took a taxi to, according to surveillance video. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)

A New York City Police officer walks through brush and foliage in Central Park near 64th Street and Central Park West, Friday, Dec. 6, 2024, in New York, while searching for a backpack police believe was dropped in the park by the person suspected of killing UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson on Wednesday, Dec. 4, 2024. (AP Photo/Ted Shaffrey)

This still image from surveillance video obtained by the Associated Press shows the suspect, left, sought in the the killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, center, outside a Manhattan hotel where the health insurer was holding an investor conference, Wednesday, Dec. 4, 2024. (AP Photo)

This image provided by the New York City Police Department shows a man wanted for questioning in connection to the investigation of the killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson outside a Manhattan hotel, Wednesday, Dec. 4, 2024. (New York City Police Department via AP)

A New York City Police officer walks through brush and foliage in Central Park near 64th Street and Central Park West, Friday, Dec. 6, 2024, in New York, while searching for a backpack police believe was dropped in the park by the person suspected of killing UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson on Wednesday, Dec. 4, 2024. (AP Photo/Ted Shaffrey)

BANDA ACEH, Indonesia (AP) — People gathered in prayer and visited mass graves in Indonesia’s Aceh province on Thursday to mark 20 years since the massive Indian Ocean tsunami hit the region in one of modern history’s worst natural disasters.

Many wept as they placed flowers at a mass grave in Ulee Lheue village, where more than 14,000 unidentified tsunami victims are buried. It is one of several mass graves in Banda Aceh, the capital of Indonesia’s northernmost province, which was one of the areas worst hit by a magnitude 9.1 earthquake and the massive tsunami it triggered.

“We miss them and we still don’t know where they are. All we know is that every year we visit the mass grave in Ulee Lhue and Siron,” said Muhamad Amirudin, who lost two of his children 20 years ago and has never found their bodies.

"This life is only temporary, so we do our best to be useful to others,” Amirudin, visiting the grave with his wife, said.

The powerful earthquake off the coast of the Indonesian island of Sumatra on Dec. 26, 2004, triggered a tsunami that killed around 230,000 people across a dozen countries, reaching as far as East Africa. Some 1.7 million people were displaced, mostly in the four worst-affected countries: Indonesia, Sri Lanka, India and Thailand.

More than 170,000 people died in Indonesia alone.

Even though 20 years have passed, survivors in Indonesia are still grieving the loved ones they lost to the giant wave that flattened buildings all the way to the provincial capital of Banda Aceh.

Hundreds of people gathered to pray at the Baiturrahman Mosque in downtown Banda Aceh. Sirens sounded across the city for three minutes to mark the time of the earthquake.

Infrastructure in Aceh has been rebuilt and is now more resilient than before the tsunami struck. Early warning systems have been installed in coastal areas to alert residents of incoming tsunamis, providing crucial time to seek safety.

The rebuilding efforts were made possible by the support of international donors and organizations, which contributed significant funds to help the region recover. Schools, hospitals, and essential infrastructure destroyed by the disaster have been reconstructed.

In Thailand, people gathered at a memorial ceremony in Ban Nam Khem, a small fishing village in Phang Nga province that bore the brunt of the devastating wave in the country.

The tsunami claimed the lives of over 8,000 people in Thailand, including many who remain missing, leaving a deep scar in the nation’s history. Nearly 400 bodies remain unclaimed.

Mourners shed tears and comforted each other as they laid flowers at the village’s tsunami memorial. Around 300 people joined a modest ceremony with Muslim, Christian and Buddhist prayers.

Urai Sirisuk said she avoids the seaside memorial park the rest of the year because the loss of her 4-year-old daughter still cuts deep every time she's reminded of it.

“I have this feeling that the sea has taken my child. I’m very angry with it. I can’t even put my foot in the water,” she said.

But, she said, “I still hear her voice in my ears, that she’s calling for me. I can’t abandon her. So I have to be here, for my child.”

In India, hundreds gathered at Marina beach in the southern city of Chennai in Tamil Nadu state. They poured milk into the sea to propitiate gods and offered flowers and prayers for the dead as drums beat in the background.

According to official data, 10,749 people were killed in India, including nearly 7,000 people in Tamil Nadu alone.

“It has been 20 years since the tsunami,” said 69-year-old Sadayammal, who uses one name. “We are here to pay respects to the people who lost their lives.”

In Sri Lanka, survivors and relatives of tsunami victims gathered at the coastal village of Pereliya and laid flowers at a memorial that commemorates nearly 2,000 passengers who died when their train, the Queen of the Sea, was hit by the wave. Only a few dozen people are believed to have survived.

Anura Ranjith joined the mourners to pay respects to his younger sister, Anula Ranjani, and her 9-year-old daughter who were passengers on the train. Ranjith never heard from them after that day.

“I looked for them everywhere for years and still, no information about them. Their loss is a great sorrow and pain for me. I am still grieving,” he said.

Overall, more than 35,000 people died in Sri Lanka in the tsunami. People across the country observed two minutes of silence on Thursday in memory of those who lost their lives.

Tarigan reported from Jakarta, Indonesia. Associated Press journalists Tian Macleod Ji in Phang Nga, Thailand, Jintamas Saksornchai in Bangkok, Aijaz Hussain in New Delhi, Bharatha Mallawarachi in Colombo, Sri Lanka, and Eranga Jayawardena in Pereliya, Sri Lanka, contributed to this report.

Indians offer tributes in remembrance of victims of the 2004 tsunami on the 20th anniversary of the tragedy, at Marina Beach in Chennai, India, Thursday, Dec. 26, 2024. (AP Photo/Mahesh Kumar A.)

Indians offer tributes in remembrance of victims of the 2004 tsunami on the 20th anniversary of the tragedy, at Marina Beach in Chennai, India, Thursday, Dec. 26, 2024. (AP Photo/Mahesh Kumar A.)

A woman weeps during a prayer marking 20 years of the massive Indian Ocean tsunami, in Banda Aceh, Indonesia, Thursday, Dec. 26, 2024. (AP Photo/Reza Saifullah)

Relatives of tsunami victims offer floral tributes at a memorial built in memory of those who died during 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami as they mark the 20th anniversary in Peraliya, Sri Lanka, Thursday, Dec. 26, 2024. (AP Photo/Eranga Jayawardena)

A relative of a victim of a 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami offers flowers during its 20th anniversary at Tsunami Memorial Park at Ban Nam Khem, Takuapa district of Phang Nga province, southern Thailand, Thursday, Dec. 26, 2024. (AP Photo/Wason Wanichakorn)

Relatives pray for their dead relatives in 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami, standing by a mass grave during a memorial of the 20th anniversary of the calamity in Peraliya, Sri Lanka, Thursday, Dec. 26, 2024. (AP Photo/Eranga Jayawardena)

Relatives of a victim of a 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami hug each other during its 20th anniversary at Tsunami Memorial Park at Ban Nam Khem, Takuapa district of Phang Nga province, southern Thailand, Thursday, Dec. 26, 2024. (AP Photo/Wason Wanichakorn)

A man carries flowers to offer at a memorial built in memory of those who died during 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami, on the 20th anniversary of the calamity in Peraliya, Sri Lanka, Thursday, Dec. 26, 2024. (AP Photo/Eranga Jayawardena)

Dayaratne Halambage shows a portrait of his daughter who died during the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami at a memorial of the 20th anniversary of the calamity in Peraliya, Sri Lanka, Thursday, Dec. 26, 2024. (AP Photo/Eranga Jayawardena)

Railway workers and locomotive drivers carry flowers to offer at a memorial built in memory of those who died during 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami as they mark the 20th anniversary in Peraliya, Sri Lanka, Thursday, Dec. 26, 2024. (AP Photo/Eranga Jayawardena)

A woman weeps during a prayer marking 20 years of the massive Indian Ocean tsunami, in Banda Aceh, Indonesia, Thursday, Dec. 26, 2024. (AP Photo/Reza Saifullah)

Tsunami survivor Kumudu Priyantha holds photographs of his three daughters and wife who died during 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami during its 20th anniversary in Peraliya, Sri Lanka, Thursday, Dec. 26, 2024. (AP Photo/Eranga Jayawardena)

A relative of a victim of a 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami participates in its 20th anniversary at Tsunami Memorial Park at Ban Nam Khem, Takuapa district of Phang Nga province, southern Thailand, Thursday, Dec. 26, 2024. (AP Photo/Wason Wanichakorn)

People pray at a mass grave of victims of the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami during the commemoration of the 20th year since the disaster in Banda Aceh, Indonesia, Thursday, Dec. 26, 2024. (AP Photo/Reza Saifullah)

Relatives of a victim of a 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami pray during its 20th anniversary at Tsunami Memorial Park at Ban Nam Khem, Takuapa district of Phang Nga province, southern Thailand, Thursday, Dec. 26, 2024. (AP Photo/Wason Wanichakorn)

Relatives of a victim of a 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami hug each other during its 20th anniversary at Tsunami Memorial Park at Ban Nam Khem, Takuapa district of Phang Nga province, southern Thailand, Thursday, Dec. 26, 2024. (AP Photo/Wason Wanichakorn)

Relatives of a victim of a 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami participate in its 20th anniversary at Tsunami Memorial Park at Ban Nam Khem, Takuapa district of Phang Nga province, southern Thailand, Thursday, Dec. 26, 2024. (AP Photo/Wason Wannichakorn)

A relative of a victim of a 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami shows an expression during its 20th anniversary at Tsunami Memorial Park at Ban Nam Khem, Takuapa district of Phang Nga province, southern Thailand, Thursday, Dec. 26, 2024. (AP Photo/Wason Wanichakorn)

Relatives of a victim of a 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami hug each other during its 20th anniversary at Tsunami Memorial Park at Ban Nam Khem, Takuapa district of Phang Nga province, southern Thailand, Thursday, Dec. 26, 2024. (AP Photo/Wason Wanichakorn)

A relative of a victim of a 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami cries during its 20th anniversary at Tsunami Memorial Park at Ban Nam Khem, Takuapa district of Phang Nga province, southern Thailand, Thursday, Dec. 26, 2024. (AP Photo/Wason Wanichakorn)

A relative of victim of a 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami stands at Ban Nam Khem beach, Takuapa district of Phang Nga province, southern Thailand, Thursday, Dec. 26, 2024. (AP Photo/Wason Wanichakorn)

A relative of a victim of a 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami participates in its 20th anniversary at Tsunami Memorial Park at Ban Nam Khem, Takuapa district of Phang Nga province, southern Thailand, Thursday, Dec. 26, 2024. (AP Photo/Wason Wanichakorn)

A relative of victim of a 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami participates in its 20th anniversary at Tsunami Memorial Park at Ban Nam Khem, Takuapa district of Phang Nga province, southern Thailand, Thursday, Dec. 26, 2024. (AP Photo/Wason Wanichakorn)

People pray at a mass grave of victims of the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami in Banda Aceh, Indonesia, Thursday, Dec. 26, 2024. (AP Photo/Reza Saifullah)

Women comfort each other as they visit a mass grave of victims of the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami during the commemoration of the 20th year since the disaster, in Banda Aceh, Indonesia, Thursday, Dec. 26, 2024. (AP Photo/Reza Saifullah)

A woman sprinkles water on a stone marking a mass grave of victims of the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami in Banda Aceh, Indonesia, Thursday, Dec. 26, 2024. (AP Photo/Reza Saifullah)

People pray at a mass grave of victims of the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami in Banda Aceh, Indonesia, Thursday, Dec. 26, 2024. (AP Photo/Reza Saifullah)

A man prays at a mass grave of victims of the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami in Banda Aceh, Indonesia, Thursday, Dec. 26, 2024. (AP Photo/Reza Saifullah)

A woman weeps as she prays at a mass grave at victims of the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami, in Banda Aceh, Indonesia, Thursday, Dec. 26, 2024. (AP Photo/Reza Saifullah)

An elephant which belongs to forest ministry removes debris Monday Jan. 10, 2005 in Banda Aceh, Indonesia. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko, File)

A survivor rummages through the debris at the commercial area of Banda Aceh, the capital of Aceh province in northwest Indonesia, Dec. 31, 2004.(AP Photo/Bullit Marquez, File)

Destroyed houses are seen in this aerial view of the town of Meulaboh in Aceh province, Indonesia, which was flattened by tidal waves, on Saturday, Jan. 1, 2005. (AP Photo/Dudi Anung, File)

Islets are formed of what used to be part of Banda Aceh, the capital of Aceh province in northwest of Indonesia, as seen from a commercial plane on Thursday Dec. 30, 2004 following Sunday's earthquake-triggered tsunami. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko, File)