UnitedHealthcare CEO assassination: Former police chief confident killer will be caught

A former high-ranking police chief says he is confident that the various law enforcement agencies on the hunt for UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson’s killer will eventually find him, given the vast number of officials involved in the search and the effectual coordination between the agencies. 

John Ryan, who served as chief of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey Police Department, told Fox News Digital that the FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Force (JTTF) in New York is heading the investigation along with the NYPD, and they are coordinating with police on the ground in Georgia — where the killer may be now — as well as the Atlanta FBI field office.

“There’s no better group of law enforcement professionals there than the New York FBI Joint terrorism Task Force, and it’s made up of 52 agencies with the FBI being the lead. So having them weigh in on this, there is going to be a big asset,” Ryan said. 

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He said the agencies are also coordinating with the U.S. Marshalls New York/New Jersey Regional Fugitive Task Force, which has a long history of providing assistance and expertise to other law enforcement agencies in support of fugitive investigations.

“The U.S. Marshals Regional Fugitive Task Force are very, very good at tracking people, and I’m confident that they will be able to find him and bring them into custody,” Ryan told Fox News Digital. “And they do it every day. There’s nobody better at it than they do.”

Ryan, a 45-year veteran who previously served as lieutenant task force commander with the JTTF in New York, said that the NYPD and the Port Authority Police Department, as well as other local agencies, provide personnel to the Marshals Service for these types of cases.

“So they’re bringing all of their assets, their knowledge and their capabilities to track the movements of this person,” Ryan said. “And they’re very good at what they do. They do it every day and their capabilities are among the very best.”

He said investigators have already made impressive gains in accumulating evidence, and that that will continue as they close in on the cold-blooded killer. 

A Peak Designs backpack found by the NYPD last in a leaf pile in Central Park on Friday, Dec. 6, 20204. The bag appears to match the description of the one worn by the gunman who killed United Healthcare CEO Brian Thompson on Wednesday morning. (Obtained by New York Post)

For instance, NYPD investigators found a backpack in Central Park West on Friday that they believe belonged to the suspect, a law enforcement source told Fox News Digital. It will be taken to a lab in Queens for forensic testing. 

Investigators are also now testing for DNA evidence on a water bottle that they believe the assassin dropped after he took off down an alleyway after ambushing Thompson outside the Hilton Midtown at 57th Street and 6th Avenue. 

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A cellphone, also believed to belong to the gunman, was found in the alleyway he used to escape, while the assassin also left behind three shell casings with the words “deny,” “depose” and “delay,” enscribed on them. The words are similar to a popular phrase within the health care industry — “delay, deny, defend.”

“The fact that they were able to locate all of those items should give people some degree of comfort, knowing how thorough the NYPD is in investigating these crimes and other crimes,” Ryan said. 

The NYPD were observed in Central Park on Saturday, searching for clues on day 4 of the manhunt.

Police said on Friday that the suspect had likely left New York for Atlanta, having arrived in New York from Atlanta before the attack.

Ryan said investigators will be scouring over surveillance footage on the buses too. 

A map shows where a backpack was found in Central Park. The backpack is believed to belong to the suspect in the killing of Brian Thompson, CEO of UnitedHealth. (Fox News Digital)

“The big question out there is what this individual’s motive was for targeting the United Health care executive, so they’ll be looking at that,” Ryan continued.

“The next thing is, were there other potential targets out there that that need to be protected? And then the other question that comes up were any other weapons that this person may have had access to.”

“And again, that comes with identifying who he is and then building out a profile as to whether or not he had weapons known to him. Family members anybody else that would have provided him access to the firearms.”

Ryan added that the fact that writings were left on the shell cases indicates that the killer was motivated by personal reasons, as opposed to being a third party hit man. 

UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson was shot and killed in Midtown Manhattan on Wednesday morning. (Businesswire | NYPD Crimestoppers)

“It was the result of a grievance that he had, so he was basically highlighting why he did what he did, and he left the cartridges there to be found,” Ryan said. “So it was his way of messaging why he did what he did.”

He added the assassination has other companies on high alert for potential threats to their executives.  

“A ripple effect of this will play out in every company’s executive office given the fact it occurred in Midtown Manhattan in broad daylight there. It will definitely have an impact on all the people that work in the city or live in the city.”

Fox News’ Christina Coulter contributed to this report.