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Search for murder weapon in UnitedHealthcare CEO shooting continues. Here's what police have found so far.

Search continues for murder weapon in UnitedHealthcare CEO shooting
Search continues for murder weapon in UnitedHealthcare CEO shooting 02:48

NEW YORK -- The manhunt in UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson's murder continues to expand. 

Police have been searching Central Park for clues, both on land and in water, as U.S. Marshals work to figure out where the person of interest boarded a bus to New York City. 

Central Park dive teams looking for murder weapon

The lake in Central Park
NYPD divers searched the lake in Central Park on Dec. 7, 2024, looking for the weapon used in the deadly shooting of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, sources say. Citizen

NYPD dive teams were seen near Central Park's iconic Bethesda Fountain all weekend, searching for the murder weapon. They returned Monday and cordoned off the lake behind the fountain. 

Scuba teams are search the bottom of the lake in a grid-like pattern, as K-9 units comb wooded areas in the park. All the while, tourists have been stopping to watch. 

Police say the weapon is critical, because detectives can potentially find out where it was purchased and who owned it. 

For now, police say the lack of concrete evidence is why they are referring to the man seen in surveillance images as a "person of interest."

UnitedHealthcare CEO shooting manhunt widens beyond New York City as police find backpack believed to be suspect's
A backpack found in New York City's Central Park on Dec. 6, 2024, that investigators believe may have belonged to the suspected gunman who fatally shot UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson.  CBS News

On Friday, police discovered a backpack they believe belonged to that man. They said a jacket was found inside, but sources tell CBS News it was not the one worn during the shooting. Fake Monopoly money was also found inside, but no gun. 

Search expands to Greyhound bus stations

A man wearing a medical face mask sits in the back of a taxi and looks through the window into the front of the cab.
The NYPD released new photos of a person of interest they want to speak to in connection to the Dec. 4, 2024 shooting death of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson. NYPD Crime Stoppers

Police sources say the search has expanded to Greyhound bus stations between New York and Atlanta, as they work to figure out where the man boarded a bus that brought him to the city. 

The latest photos from the NYPD show the person of interest with his mask on in the back of a taxi. But the most telling photo yet is one where he briefly lowered his mask to talk to an employee at the Upper West Side hostel where he had been staying

fan-430am-pkg-unitedhea-wcbscc8r-hi-res-still.jpg
Surveillance photos show a person who police say they want to question in connection to Wednesday's fatal shooting of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson outside a hotel in Midtown Manhattan. NYPD

New York City Mayor Eric Adams sounds optimistic an arrest will be made soon, adding police have a name and are "tightening the net."

The FBI is putting out posters, referring to the man as a suspect, and promising a $50,000 reward. They say he was last seen at the Port Authority bus terminal in Washington Heights 45 minutes after Thompson was killed

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