Police officials described some of the clues they are working with as they try to put a name and a face to the person behind the mask who killed UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson in Manhattan on Wednesday morning.
Investigators, speaking on the condition of anonymity because of the ongoing nature of the investigation, told CNN that as the suspect crossed the street after the shooting, he may have dropped vital clues.
Detectives believe a phone found in the alley the gunman ran through may have belonged to the shooter. Police also found a bottle of water that detectives believe the gunman purchased just minutes before the shooting at a Starbucks around the corner.
One senior police official said video from the Starbucks shows the man, barely visible under a black hood and wearing a surgical mask, buying two power bars and a bottle of water.
The phone could yield fingerprints or DNA, and if police technicians can unlock the phone, it may offer the suspects identity. Even if it is a “burner phone” it could give investigators more information about communications and searches before the shooting.
The water bottle may also offer DNA, according to investigators. Two pieces of evidence police are still searching for are the gun and the bicycle the gunman used to flee.
Police have video of the suspect early in the morning, prior to the shooting, on Manhattan’s Upper West Side carrying what appears to be a battery for an electric bike, according to law enforcement officials briefed on the investigation.
Investigators believe that the suspect may have taken a subway from the Upper West Side to Midtown. They are also looking into whether he had an electric bike pre-positioned in that area.
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