As the search for UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson’s killer enters its sixth day, police are using cutting-edge technology to zero-in on his identity and whereabouts.
Artificial Intelligence, drones and DNA analysis are all playing a critical role in the ongoing manhunt for the ‘brazen’ assassin who shot Thompson, 50, in broad daylight Wednesday.
AI-powered facial recognition software is being used to analyze CCTV and other images of the killer from the days around the shooting and cross-reference them with NYPD databases of known individuals.
This database includes ‘lawfully possessed arrest photos’ which the AI compares to photo and video evidence from the investigation.
The department also has use of more than 100 drones for surveilling the more than 450-square-mile city.
And items collected from the crime scene are currently undergoing DNA analysis, as police believe they may have belonged to the gunman.
These technologies are already piecing together the events that took place before, during and after Thompson’s murder, as officials revealed Monday they are questioning a man about the slaying.
New images released by the NYPD show the suspect wanted in connection with UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson’s shooting, captured by taxi dashcam footage
The NYPD is using AI-powered facial recognition software, drones and DNA analysis to catch the person of interest as the investigation enters its sixth day
Surveillance cameras recorded the shooter lying in wait outside the New York Hilton Midtown on West 54th Street around 6:45am on December 4.
The video then shows him locking in on his target, approaching Thompson, and firing a gun several times at his back at roughly 7:00am. The CEO was declared dead at the hospital.
While the NYPD cannot make an arrest based on facial recognition evidence alone, it is a valuable tool for narrowing down suspects. When used effectively, it can crack a case.
In 2019, the department’s Facial Identification Section received 9,850 requests for comparison and identified 2,510 possible matches, according to the NYPD website.
That included possible matches in 68 murders, 66 rapes, 277 felony assaults, 386 robberies and 525 grand larcenies.
But this technology has its limitations.
‘This man was wearing a mask, which could hinder facial recognition software because it recognizes points in the face and measures the distance between them,’ Herman Weisberg, retired NYPD detective and current managing director at private investigations agency Sage Intelligence, told the New York Post.
The photo of the assassin smiling as he flirted with a worker at the Upper West Side hostel is the only image that shows him with his mask down.
Security camera footage captured the suspect smiling as he spoke with a worker in the Upper West Side hostel he was staying at
Cameras also spotted him standing at the counter of a Starbucks near the crime scene just before Thompson was attacked
But the angle of his head and the fact that he was still wearing a hood may interfere with AI analysis, according to experts.
What’s more, ‘the technology is there and fine in a controlled environment like a Las Vegas casino, but it’s less effective on footage shot on a street in low light or bad weather,’ Weisberg added.
But New York City is so densely surveilled that the police can gather video and photo evidence from practically any location.
‘As far as trailing someone with a gray hoodie and a backpack on a bike, the cameras are so voluminous that if you miss him on one block, you can find him on the next and start canvassing there,’ Weisberg said.
‘It’s painstaking, tedious work and not as easy as it looks… but the NYPD has become very good at utilizing the public’s videos for a crime of this magnitude.’
Currently, officers are combing through more than 200 images of Thompson’s suspected shooter, as AI facial recognition must be used in combination with human analysis and additional investigation.
‘We had to go through lots of video evidence to get that one money shot with the mask down,’ said police Commissioner Jessica Tisch.
Surveillance imagery isn’t just used for facial recognition.
Videos that capture an assailant’s behavior before, during and after a crime can also help law enforcement understand their background, motive and intent.
Moments before the assassination, security cameras caught the suspect walking down West 55th street
NYPD officers recovered the suspect’s backpack in Central Park while searching for the murder weapon, but the pack only contained a jacket
For example, footage recorded during the shooting showed the gunman swiftly clearing a jam in his gun, then continuing to fire at Thompson.
This suggests the shooter must have had some training prior to the attack, Weisburg said.
‘To have that clarity under that pressure means he kept a cool head and had ample training to clear jams, which every police and military person has and keeps in the back of their head.
‘He’s definitely done some training at a shooting range at the very least.’
After attacking Thompson, surveillance video showed the suspect running into an alleyway, getting on an electric bike and fleeing northward up Sixth Avenue toward Central Park.
The park’s entrances and subway stations are fitted with security cameras, but there are many surveillance blind spots within the park, Jill Snider, a former NYPD officer who now serves as an adjunct lecturer at John Jay College of Criminal Justice, told Gothamist.
That’s partly why the NYPD recently launched a drone patrol program that regularly surveils Central Park.
‘The drones NYPD are using are highly sophisticated,’ Snider said.
The NYPD recently launched a drone patrol program that regularly surveils Central Park, but the department has not confirmed whether these drones have been deployed in the search for Thompson’s killer
Officers are still searching for the gun in the park, sending divers into the lake
The department has a team of 60 officers that operate more than 100 drones from the NYPD headquarters in Lower Manhattan.
The drones are equipped with high-resolution cameras and a 40-minute battery life.
These drones are used to respond to emergencies, ‘including searches for missing people, alerts from gunshot detection systems, robberies and grand larcenies, and other crimes in progress,’ New York City Mayor Eric Adams has said.
The NYPD has not explicitly confirmed whether they are being used to search for Thompson’s killer.
Objects recovered at the scene of the crime have also become crucial evidence, especially those that bear traces of DNA.
Officers collected a water bottle, a protein bar wrapper and a Starbucks coffee cup, finding DNA on all of them.
These discarded items are believed to have been purchased by the shooter, but only DNA analysis will confirm that suspicion.
Similar to facial recognition, forensic DNA analysis compares a suspect’s DNA to a database of DNA legally obtained from known individuals.
This is a highly effective strategy that officers use to identify an assailant, as DNA matching is estimated to be more than 99 percent accurate.
The latest timeline indicates the suspect’s last known location was near the George Washington Bridge and the bus terminal there, which offers commuter service to New jersey and Greyhound routes to Philadelphia, Boston and Washington
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The NYPD is still awaiting the results of the water bottle, wrapper and coffee cup’s analysis. But these aren’t the only items that caught officers’ attention.
Police also collected live rounds and shell casings inscribed with the words ‘deny,’ ‘defend’ and ‘depose’ from the scene.
Recovering this ballistic evidence will not only help the NYPD identify the murder weapon, but also understand the killer’s motive, as those three words could reference tactics insurance companies allegedly use to avoid paying claims.
Officers are searching Central Park for the weapon, but have not found it as of Monday. They did, however, recover what they believe to be the suspect’s backpack in the park on Friday.
The pack contained a jacket, but not the gun.
Though the investigation is still ongoing, it has already revealed important information about the primary suspect’s movements before and after the fatal attack.
Evidence suggests the person of interest traveled from Atlanta to New York City on a Greyhound bus on November 24. Greyhound and Atlanta police is cooperating with authorities on the investigation.
Shortly after arriving in New York, the suspect used a fake ID to check into the Upper West Side hostel, where he stayed for 10 days leading up to the shooting.
After gunning Thompson down and fleeing into Central Park, the suspect left the part at West 77th Street and Central Park West, still on the bicycle.
He passed another camera on 85th Street and Columbus Avenue, but by the time he reached 86th street, he no longer had the bike.
He entered a northbound taxi at 86th street and Amsterdam Avenue, and by 7:30am, he was near the George Washington Bridge and the bus terminal there.
This terminal offers commuter service to New jersey and Greyhound routes to Philadelphia, Boston and Washington.
On Saturday, Mayor Adams hinted that authorities may be getting closer to publicly identifying the suspect.
‘The net is tightening and we’re going to bring this person to justice,’ Adams said.
‘We don’t want to release that now. If you do, you are basically giving a tip to the person we are find … we’re 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,’ he added.
The FBI has offered a $50,000 reward for information leading to the gunman’s arrest and conviction – on top of a $10,000 reward offered by the NYPD.