“NYPD Shares Fresh Images of Suspect Fleeing in Taxi After Assassinating Healthcare Executive”

New photos of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson’s alleged killer have been released by the NYPD, as the hunt for the assassin enters its fifth day.

The alleged killer can be seen in the back of a can before exiting the back of the vehicle, as the NYPD’s extensive search remains ongoing. 

On Friday night the NYPD provided a clearer idea of the killer’s movements after he murdered the healthcare CEO.

He was reported to have entered Central Park shortly after the shooting occurred at 6:48 am and was then seen leaving on 77th Street in the Upper West Side of Manhattan at 6:56 am.

Surveillance footage also captured the suspect near 86th Street and Columbus Avenue two minutes after he left the park, while still on his bike.

At 7:04 am he then go into a taxi cab at 86th Street and Amsterdam Avenue and headed north.

More footage emerged on Friday evening showing the suspect in the minutes after the fatal shooting as he flew up 6th avenue on his electric bike.

The video footage, which was obtained by NewsNation, depicted a different angle of his escape route as he hastily crossed the street and disappeared into the early morning shadows of Central Park.

Earlier in the week, law enforcement officers discovered a backpack during the search for Thompson’s assailant. However, it was later disclosed that the bag did not contain the weapon used in the crime, as per sources.

Authorities looking for the individual responsible for gunning down Thompson in the early hours of Wednesday morning found the backpack inside Central Park on Friday. 

Sources have since told Bloomberg and NBC News that a jacket was found inside alongside Monopoly money. 

Police sources couldn’t elaborate on if the jacket found was the same one seen in surveillance images. 

The backpack was taken to a forensic laboratory on Friday evening for examination after it was discovered. 

The bag was found by cops on their second sweep of the park, and was placed between boulders just south of the park’s carousel. 

On Saturday footage obtained by DailyMail.com showed teams of police divers in the water near the Bethseda fountain as part of their search. 

Investigators confirmed the underwater search was related to Wednesday’s ‘brazen, targeted attack’, which claimed the life of the 50-year-old father-of-two.

New York’s mayor Eric Adams also said the ‘net is tightening’ on his killer, telling The New York Post that officers now have a name for the suspect. 

He spoke as the search for Thompson’s killer entered its fourth day but said that the authorities will not disclose the suspect’s identity at this stage. 

‘We don’t want to release that now,’ he said. ‘If you do, you are basically giving a tip to the person we are seeking and we do not want to give him an upper hand at all.

‘Let him continue to believe he can hide behind the mask. We revealed his face. We’re going to reveal who he is and we’re going to bring him to justice.’

On Thursday officials said the individual had arrived into the city in late November on a bus from Atlanta, Georgia, and had been staying inside a hostel on the Upper West Side.  

It was inside the hostel that a flirty exchange with a hostel worker gave police officers their first glimpse at the killer, when he was asked to lower his mask.

Prior to the killing he was caught on surveillance cameras inside a Starbucks near the Hilton Hotel where he shoot Thompson. 

He is said to have bough two nutrition bars inside the chain alongside a bottle of water that was found at the scene. 

The image of the backpack that was found shows what appears to be one of the bars in the side pocket. 

The Chief of Detectives with the NYPD Joseph Kenny has said that they believe the assassin is either a disgruntled ex-employee or an angry client. 

A motive is yet to be released, with police found bullet casings at the scene inscribed with the words ‘deny’, ‘depose’ and ‘delay’.

The messages bear similarity to Jay Feinman’s 2010 book ‘Delay, Deny, Defend’, which details ‘why insurance companies don’t pay claims and what you can do about it.’ 

On Friday night the FBI announced they had also joined in the investigation for the killer, offering a $50,000 for any information that leads to a conviction.