As New York City authorities continue to hunt for the identity of the alleged killer, they have released photographs of the man who fatally shot UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson in midtown Manhattan.
On Thursday, the NYPD released two photos of the killer, one of which showed the suspect smiling.
A thorough investigation was ongoing, with the NYPD offering a $10,000 prize for information leading to the perpetrator. The gunman’s motive, however, is yet unknown.
Thompson, a 50-year-old Minnesota resident, was scheduled to speak at an investor conference when he was shot at point-blank range at approximately 6:46 a.m. on Wednesday outside the New York Hilton Midtown on Manhattan’s 6th Avenue.
Police describe the crime as a “targeted attack.”
According to ABC, over two hours earlier, the suspect, a white male dressed fully in black, was seen going outside the Frederick Douglass Houses, a public housing building on the Upper West Side, as early as 5 a.m.
The last time we saw him was on a Starbucks surveillance video near West 56th Street and 6th Avenue in Manhattan, about 30 minutes before Thompson passed away.
About five minutes before the victim arrived, authorities observed the shooter walking alone to the New York Hilton Midtown, the location of Thomson’s scheduled conference speech.
The perpetrator then stepped out from behind a car and shot Thompson in the back and right calf, according to NYPD Chief of Detectives Joseph Kenny.
After escaping the scene, the suspect entered Central Park on an e-bike at 6:48 a.m. and was caught pedaling out of the park on West 85th Street shortly before 7 a.m., according to CBS camera footage.
According to The Times, as the NYPD hurried to discover the killer, they dispatched a swath of investigators—both uniformed and plainclothes—dogs, drones, and helicopters.
According to reports, investigators are using facial recognition technology to try to identify the culprit in surveillance photos.
According to CNN, authorities located the assailant at a hostel on 103rd and Amsterdam Avenue in Manhattan. A law enforcement officer informed the publication that investigators received one image of the guy in his hostel when he was not wearing a mask.
It is unclear whether the images of the suspect released on X match those referenced in CNN’s article.
Investigators are now focusing on a number of clues that they hope will help them identify the killer, including a mysterious statement left at the site.
ABC News reported that some of the live rounds and shot casings left outside the Hilton hotel bore the phrases “deny,” “depose,” and “defend.”
When the suspect escaped, he seemed to leave behind a Starbucks water bottle and a telephone in an alleyway. Investigators hope that the objects will be able to give fingerprint or DNA evidence.
According to New York City Mayor Eric Adams, the police believe it was “definitely” not a “random act of violence” after conducting a preliminary investigation.
“We believe this was clearly a targeted shooting,” he said on MSNBC’s Morning Joe on Thursday. “In all of my years in law enforcement, I have never seen a silencer before. That was really something that was shocking to us all.”
Adams added: “We’re on the right path, and we believe we’re going to apprehend this person.”