Police in New York have released new images of the suspected killer who gunned down UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson in Midtown Manhattan on Tuesday.
The NYPD has released a clear, unmasked image of the assassin who shot Thompson.
The killer, who appears to be male but has not been identified, was seen smiling in the images.
Officials said the image was taken from the New York International Hostel in the Upper West Side, where he was believed to have checked out before the shooting.
The person, who appears to be male, is seen without a mask and smiling.
“All indications are that it was a premeditated, targeted attack,” the NYPD said in an X post.
🚨UPDATE: Below are photos of a person of interest wanted for questioning regarding the Midtown Manhattan homicide on Dec. 4. This does not appear to be a random act of violence; all indications are that it was a premediated, targeted attack.
The full investigative efforts of… pic.twitter.com/K3kzC4IbtS
— NYPD NEWS (@NYPDnews) December 5, 2024
The post reiterated a previous statement made by Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch about the shooting.
The breakthrough comes as NYPD sources have told several outlets they are zeroing in on identifying the killer.
The gunman left behind a cryptic message on bullet casings at the scene.
Detectives with the NYPD revealed late on Wednesday that the assassin Thompson left bullet casings reading “depose,” “deny,” and “defend.”
The cryptic words resemble the title of the 2010 book “Delay, Deny, Defend” by author Jay M. Feinman.
The book details “why insurance companies don’t pay claims and what you can do about it.”
With the search for the killer ongoing, the message has left it to cops to determine if they could hint at a motive for the slaying of the CEO.
Police have searched a hostel in the Upper West Side neighborhood of Manhattan where they believe the suspect had been staying.
Sources told CNN on Thursday morning that detectives obtained a search warrant for a property in the city.
Law enforcement officials said the gunman was believed to have stayed at the New York International Hotel after images showed him there without a mask.
It was initially reported that the hostel was near Kama Central Park Hostel.
Police reportedly visited several hostels in an attempt to find any staff or guests who encountered the gunman.
Insiders also told ABC News that the suspect was seen outside the Frederick Douglass Houses, a public housing project also in the Upper West Side, a 5 am on the morning of the shooting.
Meanwhile, former ATF special agent in charge Jim Cavanaugh said the suspect “likely” surveilled Thompson’s actions on the day before the murder.
Cavanaugh told NBC News that the killing did not strike him as a professional hit job.
He explained that a paid assassin would not have left pointed inscriptions on shell casings at the scene.
Cavanaugh said in the hunt for the killer, detectives will not ignore what he termed the “pre-op,” where the killer may have left clues to his identity in the lead-up to the shooting.
“This guy is in a place (Starbucks) five minutes before the CEO comes by – likely he surveilled the CEO the day before,” Cavanaugh said.
“So he may also be on surveillance cameras the day before without a mask.”
The NYPD said that anyone who can provide information leading to an arrest and conviction can receive a $10,000 reward, asking the public to contact Crime Stoppers with any information.
