Investigators said Friday they believe the person involved in the fatal shooting of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson has left New York City.

NYPD Chief of Detectives Joseph Kenny told CNN that the person in question was captured on surveillance footage riding a bicycle from the scene of the shooting and then riding in a taxi to the Port Authority Bus Terminal, where video shows him entering.

“We don’t have any video of him getting off, so we believe he may have gotten on a bus,” Kenny said.

On Friday evening, police said they found the suspect’s distinctive backpack in Central Park, the Associated Press reported. According to The New York Times, the backpack was sent to a forensic lab for testing. Police also found other items in the park, including clothing.

Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch told the news outlet that the NYPD released new surveillance photos Thursday of a “person wanted for questioning” without a face mask because they wanted the photos to be shown to a “broader audience” outside of New York City.

The NYPD did not confirm to Yahoo News that the person pictured in the photos released Thursday was the suspected shooter, nor did they confirm where or when the photos were taken.

But a possible flirtation could provide an important clue that helps identify the suspect. The hooded man in the photo is seen smiling, face mask pushed around his neck, in a flirtatious moment with a female employee at a hostel on Manhattan’s Upper West Side, police sources told multiple news outlets. When she checked him in, she supposedly wanted to see his smile.

Investigators believe the suspect may have dropped a water bottle at the scene. On Friday, DNA samples from the bottle were turned over to the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner for testing, CNN reported. A fingerprint was found on the bottle, but it was blurred and therefore cannot be identified. Investigators also sent DNA samples taken from a cell phone left at the crime scene for testing. It is not clear whether the phone belonged to the shooter. The police have not yet been able to gain access to the device.

The suspect appears to have arrived in Manhattan on a Greyhound bus from Atlanta on November 24, 10 days before the shooting. However, it is unclear whether he boarded the bus in Atlanta, law enforcement officials told news media. The Atlanta Police Department confirmed in a statement Friday that it is assisting the NYPD with its investigation “and will now provide assistance as needed.”

According to authorities, the suspect checked out of the hostel on Nov. 29 and checked back in the next day using a fake New Jersey ID.

Security camera footage obtained by Yahoo News appears to show a person matching the description of the suspected shooter walking west on 55th Street — a block from the Hilton hotel where the attack occurred — around 6:20 a.m . The person in the video appears to pause and lean over a pile of trash bags on the sidewalk for a few seconds before continuing.

Thompson, 50, was shot just before 7 a.m. Wednesday in New York City.

The New York Police Department is offering a reward of up to $10,000 for information about the shooter, who NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch said was “a brazen, targeted attack” that “does not appear to be a random act of violence.”

The suspect was described by police as a light-skinned man wearing a black face mask, black and white sneakers and “carrying a very distinctive gray backpack.”

Investigators combed through surveillance footage and examined evidence, including bullet casings that had the words on them, according to the Associated Press delay, deny And put down written on it. Police are currently investigating whether the words could provide a clue to the suspect’s motive, which remains unclear.

The NYPD told Yahoo News it could not confirm there were messages on the bullet casings.

Surveillance footage obtained by The Washington Post shows the suspect leaving the 57th Street subway station in midtown Manhattan toward the F train at 6:15 a.m. ET. The suspect’s clothing matches images released by the NYPD on Wednesday.

After leaving the station, the suspect is seen at a Starbucks cafe on Sixth Avenue at 6:17 a.m.

Police said the gunman arrived at the scene on foot just minutes before Thompson showed up outside the Hilton hotel. Thompson visited New York City from Minnesota for an investor conference.

The suspect then approached Thompson from behind and shot him in the back and leg, police said. The gun appeared to be fitted with a silencer and appeared to jam, a police official told CNN, but the suspect was able to fix it and continued firing.

The shooter walked north, then got on a bicycle and rode toward Central Park, where he was last seen.

During an NYPD press conference on Wednesday, police initially reported the suspect was riding on an electric Citi bike, but the company, which is owned by Lyft, later said the suspect was not using one of those bikes.

Sources told ABC News that the shooter was also caught on a surveillance camera outside a public housing project on the Upper West Side at 5 a.m. Wednesday morning. The NYPD has now reportedly applied for a search warrant for the location.

“We will not rest until we identify and arrest the shooter in this case,” Tisch said. “I want to be clear: at this point everything indicates that this was a premeditated, planned and targeted attack.”

A former private security director for Thompson said he was surprised the CEO didn’t have private details. “What stands out to me most is the inability to provide him with security in New York City while he will be giving a speech to many of the health care company’s crazy shareholders and possibly crazy customers,” Klein Investigations CEO Philip Klein said Friday. Fox & Friends First.”

Thompson was named CEO of UnitedHealthcare in April 2021 after previously serving as CEO of UnitedHealthcare’s government programs, which include Medicare & Retirement and Community & State, according to his company profile. He joined the company in 2004.

In a statement, UnitedHealth Group said: “We are deeply saddened and shocked by the passing of our dear friend and colleague Brian Thompson. … We are working closely with the NYPD and ask for your patience and understanding during this difficult time.” Our thoughts are with Brian’s family and everyone who was close to him.

Thompson’s wife, Paulette Thompson, told NBC News that he had received “some threats” but did not know the details.

“All I know is that he said there were some people who threatened him,” she told the news outlet. “I can’t really give a thoughtful answer at the moment. I just found out and I’m trying to comfort my kids.”

Senator Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota said in a post on X: “This is a terrible and shocking act of violence. My thoughts are with Brian Thompson’s family and loved ones, as well as everyone who works at United Healthcare of Minnesota.”

Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz called the news of Thompson’s shooting “terrible.”

“A terrible loss for the economy and health care in Minnesota,” he wrote on X. “Minnesota sends our prayers to Brian’s family and the UnitedHealthcare team.”