By Arpita Roy | Dec 05, 2024 Updated 07:46 a.m. ET
New York police officers on Friday found a backpack in Central Park that they believe was carried by the man who fatally shot the UnitedHealthcare chief executive Brian Thompson, according to two law enforcement officials familiar with the investigation.
Crime scene technicians photographed and collected evidence in the undergrowth late Friday afternoon as they searched for the distinctive bag the gunman had worn early Wednesday morning. They were also searching for the weapon he used: a pistol that appeared to be fitted with a silencer.
One official said that the contents of the backpack for now remain unknown, and it would be taken directly to a crime lab.
The technicians entered a wooded area in the southern end of the park to photograph and collect evidence, including what appeared to be clothing and a heavy object, placing them into bags as street lamps and Christmas lights flickered on throughout the park.
It was unclear if the items were connected to the gunman, but the location was along what might have been a potential escape route as he cycled through Central Park after the shooting early Wednesday morning.
The site was near the 65th Street transverse bridge, a pedestrian and biker walkway on Center Drive. As the sun set and temperatures dipped below freezing late Friday afternoon, nearly two dozen officers gathered around the Chess & Checkers House Visitor Center, sipping coffee while guarding an area of undergrowth off the walking path.
Tourists and park visitors passed by as officers searched trash cans, grates, storm drains and leaf piles near the beach volleyball courts and visitor center. The officers worked with park employees to inspect locked storage containers.
A correction was made on Dec. 6, 2024:
An earlier version of this story misstated the day that the gunman was seen wearing the backpack. It was Wednesday, not Tuesday.
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