CAIRO (AP) — The Grand Egyptian Museum will open 12 halls with exhibits about ancient Egypt in its main galleries starting this week in a trial run ahead of the still-unannounced official opening, officials said Tuesday
The museum, a mega-project near the famed Giza Pyramids which has cost well over $1 billion so far, will open the halls for 4,000 visitors per day starting Wednesday, said Al-Tayeb Abbas, assistant to the minister of antiquities.
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FILE - Visitors walk past the cups used in the mosaic of ancient Egyptian King Tutankhamun's mask at the yard of the Grand Egyptian Museum near the Great Pyramids of Giza, Egypt, Saturday, Dec. 28, 2019. (AP Photo/Hamada Elrasam, File)
Visitors walk past ancient Egyptian statues along the Grand Staircase at the Grand Egyptian Museum in Giza, Egypt, Tuesday, Oct.15, 2024. (AP Photo/Khaled Elfiqi)
Visitors walk past ancient Egyptian colossal statues along the Grand Staircase at the Grand Egyptian Museum in Giza, Egypt, Tuesday, Oct.15, 2024. (AP Photo/Khaled Elfiqi)
Visitors walk past ancient Egyptian colossal statues along the Grand Staircase at the Grand Egyptian Museum in Giza, Egypt, Tuesday, Oct.15, 2024. (AP Photo/Khaled Elfiqi)
King Ramses II statue is displayed at the Grand Egyptian Museum in Giza, Egypt, Tuesday, Oct.15, 2024. (AP Photo/Khaled Elfiqi)
The museum has been under construction for more than a decade, and an overall opening date has not yet been set, having been repeatedly delayed for various reasons, including the COVID-19 pandemic. Some sections have been open since 2022 for limited tours.
More than 100,000 artifacts of Egypt’s ancient treasures will be displayed in the world’s largest archaeological museum, according to the Egyptian state information website.
Abbas told the AP that the trial run starting Wednesday would help prepare for the full opening by identifying operational issues, including which parts of the museum might become overcrowded.
The displays across the 12 halls tap into issues related to society, religion, and doctrine in ancient Egypt, he added. The open-style halls have been classified by dynasty and historical order, and will showcase thousands of artifacts.
Eras that will be exhibited in the main galleries include the Third Intermediate Period (about 1070-664 B.C.), Late Period (664-332 B.C.), Graeco-Roman Period (332 B.C.-395 A.D.), New Kingdom (1550-1070 B.C.), Middle Kingdom (2030-1650 B.C.), and Old Kingdom (2649-2130 B.C.). One of the halls displays statues of “Elite of the King,” members of the royal family and high-ranking officials who worked in the army, priesthood, and the government.
Limited tours have been allowed in parts of the site since late 2022 to test visitors’ experience and the museum’s operational preparedness.
Aude Porcedde, a Canadian tourist who visited several sections, told the AP she was amazed by the museum, adding that Egyptian civilization is important for her and for the world to know more about.
“There is a lot of history and a lot of things we are not aware of, especially coming from the other side of the world, and seeing everything here and learning from the locals has been great,” said Costa Rican tourist Jorge Licano.
The grand staircase, six stories high and with a view of the pyramids, and the commercial area are open to the public, showcasing monuments and artifacts that include sarcophagi and statues. Other parts of the museum, including the King Tutankhamun treasure collection, are set to open at later dates.
All halls are equipped with advanced technology and feature multimedia presentations to explain the lives of the ancient Egyptians, including its kings, according to Eissa Zidan, director-general of preliminary restoration and antiquities transfer at the museum.
One of the halls will use virtual reality to explain the history of burial and its development throughout ancient Egypt.
“The museum is not only a place to display antiquities, but it also aims to attract children to learn about ancient Egyptian history ... The museum is a gift to all the world,” Zidan told the AP.
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Associated Press journalist Fatma Khaled contributed to this report from Cairo.
FILE - Visitors walk past the cups used in the mosaic of ancient Egyptian King Tutankhamun's mask at the yard of the Grand Egyptian Museum near the Great Pyramids of Giza, Egypt, Saturday, Dec. 28, 2019. (AP Photo/Hamada Elrasam, File)
Visitors walk past ancient Egyptian statues along the Grand Staircase at the Grand Egyptian Museum in Giza, Egypt, Tuesday, Oct.15, 2024. (AP Photo/Khaled Elfiqi)
Visitors walk past ancient Egyptian colossal statues along the Grand Staircase at the Grand Egyptian Museum in Giza, Egypt, Tuesday, Oct.15, 2024. (AP Photo/Khaled Elfiqi)
Visitors walk past ancient Egyptian colossal statues along the Grand Staircase at the Grand Egyptian Museum in Giza, Egypt, Tuesday, Oct.15, 2024. (AP Photo/Khaled Elfiqi)
King Ramses II statue is displayed at the Grand Egyptian Museum in Giza, Egypt, Tuesday, Oct.15, 2024. (AP Photo/Khaled Elfiqi)
NEW YORK (AP) — The gunman who killed the CEO of the largest U.S. health insurer likely left New York City on a bus soon after the brazen ambush that has shaken corporate America, police officials said Friday. But he left something behind: a backpack that was discovered in Central Park.
Three days after the shooting of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, police still did not know the gunman's name or whereabouts or have a motive for the killing, Chief of Detectives Joseph Kenny told reporters. Investigators were looking at whether the shooter may have been a disgruntled employee or client of the insurer, he said.
Video of the gunman fleeing Wednesday's shooting showed him riding a bicycle into Central Park and later taking a taxi to a bus terminal that offers commuter service to New Jersey and Greyhound routes to Philadelphia, Boston and Washington, D.C, according to Kenny.
Police have video of the man entering the bus station but no video of him exiting, leading them to believe he left the city, Kenny said.
Investigators on Friday found a backpack in the park that had been worn by the gunman during the shooting, police said, following a massive sweep to find it in a vast area with lakes and ponds, meadows, playgrounds and woods.
Police didn’t immediately reveal what, if anything, it contained but said it would be analyzed for clues.
The gunman made sure to conceal his identity with a mask during almost all of his time in the city, including during the attack and while he ate, yet left a trail of evidence in view of the nation’s biggest city and its network of security cameras.
The gunman arrived in New York City on Nov. 24 and shot Thompson 10 days later outside his company’s annual investor conference at a hotel just blocks from Radio City Music Hall and Rockefeller Center.
The gunman got off a bus that originated in Atlanta and made several stops along the way, Kenny said. Police have not determined where he got on the bus. Investigators have a list of passengers, but none of them would have had to provide an ID when they climbed aboard, Kenny said.
Investigators believe the suspect used a fake identification card and paid cash, Kenny said, when he checked in at the hostel, which has a café along with shared and private rooms and is blocks from Columbia University.
Investigators have tested a discarded water bottle and protein bar wrapper in a hunt for his DNA. They also were trying to obtain additional information from a cellphone found along the gunman's escape route.
Photos of the suspected shooter that were taken in the lobby of a hostel on Manhattan’s Upper West Side appear to from the only time he removed his mask, Kenny said. The images, showing a man smiling in the lobby of the HI New York City hostel. They are among a collection of photos and video circulated since the shooting — including footage of the attack, as well as images of the suspected gunman at a Starbucks beforehand.
"From every indication we have from witnesses, from the Starbucks, from the hostel, he kept his mask on at all times except for the one instance where we have him photographed with the mask off,” Kenny said.
His roommates at the hostel also said he didn't speak to them. Nothing of investigative value was found in a search of the suspected shooter's hotel room.
Asked how close he felt police were to making an arrest, Kenny said, “This isn’t ‘Blue Bloods.’ We’re not going to solve this in 60 minutes. We’re painstakingly going through every bit of evidence that we can come across. Eventually, when an apprehension is made, we will have to present all of these facts to a judge and jury, so we’re taking our time, doing it right and making sure we’re going to get justice for this victim and closure for his family.”
Security video of the shooting shows the killer approaching Thompson from behind, firing several shots with a gun equipped with a silencer, barely pausing to clear a jam while the executive fell to the sidewalk.
Police were looking into the possibility that the weapon was a veterinary pistol, which is a weapon commonly used on farms and ranches if an animal has to be euthanized quietly, Kenny said — though he stressed that hadn't been confirmed.
The words “delay,” “deny” and “depose” were scrawled on the ammunition, one word on each of three bullets, Kenny said. A law enforcement official previously told The Associated Press the words were “deny,” “defend” and “depose." The messages mirror the phrase “delay, deny, defend,” which is commonly used by lawyers and critics about insurers that delay payments, deny claims and defend their actions.
Thompson, a father of two sons who lived in a Minneapolis suburb, had been with Minnesota-based UnitedHealthcare since 2004 and served as CEO for more than three years.
The insurer’s parent company, UnitedHealth Group Inc., was holding its annual meeting in New York for investors. The company abruptly ended the conference after Thompson’s death.
UnitedHealth Group said it was focused on supporting Thompson’s family, ensuring the safety of employees and assisting investigators. “While our hearts are broken, we have been touched by the huge outpouring,” the company said.
UnitedHealthcare provides coverage for more than 49 million Americans. It manages health insurance coverage for employers and state and federally funded Medicaid programs.
In October, UnitedHealthcare was named along with Humana and CVS in a Senate report detailing how its denial rate for prior authorizations for some Medicare Advantage patients has surged in recent years.
The shooting has rocked the health insurance industry in particular, causing companies to reevaluate security plans and delete photos of executives from their websites. A different Minnesota-based health care company said Friday it was temporarily closing its offices out of an abundance of caution, telling employees to work from home.
Balsamo reported from Washington. Jake Offenhartz, Cedar Attanasio and Karen Matthews in New York, John Seewer in Toledo, Ohio, and Jeff Martin in Atlanta contributed to this story.
Traffic rolls past the George Washington Bridge Bus Station in New York, Friday, Dec. 6, 2024, where the gunman fleeing Wednesday's shooting of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson took a taxi to, according to surveillance video. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)
Pedestrians cross the road outside George Washington Bridge Bus Station in New York, Friday, Dec. 6, 2024, where the gunman fleeing Wednesday's shooting of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson took a taxi to, according to surveillance video. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)
Pedestrian walk outside George Washington Bridge Bus Station in New York, Friday, Dec. 6, 2024, where the gunman fleeing Wednesday's shooting of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson took a taxi to, according to surveillance video. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)
Traffic rolls past the George Washington Bridge Bus Station in New York, Friday, Dec. 6, 2024, near where the gunman fleeing Wednesday's shooting of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson took a taxi to, according to surveillance video. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)
Commuters wait inside the George Washington Bridge Bus Station in New York, Friday, Dec. 6, 2024, where the gunman fleeing Wednesday's shooting of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson took a taxi to, according to surveillance video. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)
A New York City Police officer walks through brush and foliage in Central Park near 64th Street and Central Park West, Friday, Dec. 6, 2024, in New York, while searching for a backpack police believe was dropped in the park by the person suspected of killing UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson on Wednesday, Dec. 4, 2024. (AP Photo/Ted Shaffrey)
Commuters wait for buses at the George Washington Bridge Bus Station in New York, Friday, Dec. 6, 2024, where the gunman fleeing Wednesday's shooting of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson took a taxi to, according to surveillance video. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)
A New York City Police officer walks through brush and foliage in Central Park near 64th Street and Central Park West, Friday, Dec. 6, 2024, in New York, while searching for a backpack police believe was dropped in the park by the person suspected of killing UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson on Wednesday, Dec. 4, 2024. (AP Photo/Ted Shaffrey)
This still image from surveillance video obtained by the Associated Press shows the suspect, left, sought in the the killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, center, outside a Manhattan hotel where the health insurer was holding an investor conference, Wednesday, Dec. 4, 2024. (AP Photo)
A woman crosses Amsterdam Avenue outside the HI New York City hostel, Thursday, Dec. 5, 2024, in New York, where police say the suspect in the killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson may have stayed.(AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)
A man crosses the street outside the HI New York City hostel, Thursday, Dec. 5, 2024, in New York, where police say the suspect in the killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson may have stayed.(AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)
Members of the media line a sidewalk outside the HI New York City hostel, Thursday, Dec. 5, 2024, in New York, where police say the suspect in the killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson may have stayed. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)
New York Police investigators exit the HI New York City Hostel, Thursday, Dec. 5, 2024, in New York, where police say the suspect in the killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson may have stayed. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)
New York Police investigators arrive at the HI New York City Hostel, Thursday, Dec. 5, 2024, in New York, where police say the suspect in the killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson may have stayed. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)
This image provided by the New York City Police Department shows a man wanted for questioning in connection to the investigation of the killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson outside a Manhattan hotel, Wednesday, Dec. 4, 2024. (New York City Police Department via AP)
This image provided by the New York City Police Department shows a man wanted for questioning in connection to the investigation of the killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson outside a Manhattan hotel, Wednesday, Dec. 4, 2024. (New York City Police Department via AP)
