The suspect who killed United Healthcare CEO Brian Thompson may have disappeared into Central Park after the shooting Wednesday morning in a premeditated attempt to evade cameras … TMZ has learned.
Law enforcement sources tell us … The suspect rode an e-bike on Center Drive into Central Park after the shooting seemingly with the knowledge the multi-block blackout area would provide cover as he disposed of evidence.
We’re told there are no surveillance cameras INSIDE the park, but there are some at the entrances and exits of the famous Manhattan oasis. This may surprise many people in a city known for its multitude of cameras on streets and businesses everywhere.
Our sources say detectives are combing the park in search of the discarded gun and the backpack the suspect wore during the shooting.
Once inside the park, sources say, the suspect could easily have changed clothes and otherwise altered his appearance out of sight of cameras.
The suspect later rode up to West 85th Street and turned out of the park, where he was seen on video pedaling WITHOUT the backpack.
As we know, the killer calmly approached Thompson early Wednesday morning in Midtown Manhattan and shot him multiple times before fleeing on foot into an alley, where police believe he had stashed a Citi Bike e-bicycle that he rode into Central Park.
TMZ reported Thursday … The suspect is believed to have traveled to New York City from Atlanta on a Greyhound bus.
Police raided at least one NYC hostel Thursday where the suspect is believed to have stayed prior to the murder — but no arrests have been made, and the suspect remains unidentified.
Shell casings found at the scene of the shooting had the cryptic words “deny,” “depose,” and “defend” — an apparent reference to a 2010 book titled “Delay, Deny, Defend,” which slams the health insurance sector — and, as we now know, Thompson was one of the industry’s bigwigs.
