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Man found with gun being questioned in connection with killing of US healthcare boss

A man is being questioned in connection with the fatal shooting of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, according to Sky News’ US partner NBC News.

A man in central Pennsylvania drew the attention of investigators because he was found with a similar gun to the one used in last week’s shooting in New York City, NBC sources say.

Mr Thompson was shot dead by a masked gunman outside a Manhattan hotel on Wednesday morning, while he was on the way to the company’s annual conference.

Image:
Police searching Central Park. Pic: AP

A map showing the suspected gunman's movements after the shooting of Brian Thompson
Image:
A map showing the suspected gunman’s movements after the shooting of Brian Thompson

Footage showed the attacker walking up slowly behind Mr Thompson and opening fire outside the Hilton hotel.

The suspect is being questioned in Altoona, central Pennsylvania, NBC says, quoting sources.

Shell casings found at the scene where the executive was killed had “deny,” “delay” and “depose” written on them.

The shooting sparked a citywide manhunt, with detectives locating a backpack they believe the attacker used in Central Park.

Bank notes from the Monopoly board game were discovered in the bag, as well as a jacket which may have been worn by the gunman, NBC said on Sunday, quoting sources.

The man was tracked riding a bicycle to Central Park and later taking a taxi to a bus station from where he could travel to New Jersey, Philadelphia, Boston and Washington DC, New York’s chief of detectives, Joseph Kenny, said on Sunday.

New CCTV has emerged showing a suspect coming out of a nearby subway station. It is said to have been filmed at 6.15am – about half an hour before the shooting on Wednesday.

A police officer stands near the scene where the CEO of United Healthcare Brian Thompson was reportedly shot and killed in Midtown Manhattan, in New York.
Pic Reuters
Image:
A police officer stands near the scene. Pic Reuters

Police search Central Park after shooting of Brian Thompson
Image:
Police divers search Central Park. Pic: AP

In the video clip, taken from cigar shop Davidoff of Geneva in Sixth Avenue, the man can be seen walking up some stairs to street level.

It’s about three minutes’ walk from where Mr Thompson was killed, outside his company’s annual investor meeting at a hotel near to Radio City Music Hall and the Rockefeller Centre in midtown Manhattan.

The gunman travelled to the city by bus from Atlanta, and investigators are searching for video from that bus station and others along the Greyhound Bus route, three sources close to the investigation told NBC.

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