Police Release Chilling New Photos Showing Face of Man Wanted for Questioning in Insurance CEO’s Assassination
Image provided by New York Police Department.
The New York Police Department released new photos Thursday that showed the face of the man wanted for questioning in connecting with the shooting of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, hoping that the public can assist with identifying and finding him.
Thompson was shot and killed early Wednesday morning outside of the New York Hilton Midtown, where the company was holding an investor conference. The masked suspect reportedly shot the 50-year-old CEO multiple times before fleeing, first on foot and then on an e-bike into Central Park. A manhunt is underway and the investigation is ongoing. Police have said that they believe this was a premeditated and targeted attack.
On Thursday, CNN reported that the police had tracked the suspect to a nearby hostel, where he reportedly stayed for several days prior to the shooting. Surveillance video showed him mostly wearing a mask, but there were several instances where he was in a hooded jacket and his face was exposed. The NYPD released two images on Thursday morning.
The NYPD described the photos (one at the top of this article and the other below) as “photos of a person of interest wanted for questioning regarding the Midtown Manhattan homicide on Dec. 4.” In both photos, he is wearing a dark turtleneck shirt or sweater under a brown jacket with a drawstring hood.
Image provided by New York Police Department.
“This does not appear to be a random act of violence; all indications are that it was a premediated, targeted attack,” the NYPD post continued. “The full investigative efforts of the NYPD are continuing, and we are asking for the public’s help—if you have any information about this case, call Crime Stoppers at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477). There is a reward of up to $10,000 for information leading to an arrest and conviction.”
CNN chief law enforcement and intelligence analyst John Miller told anchor Pamela Brown that having these photos of the man’s face was “a turning point” in the investigation, with the police now “crowdsourcing this clue to the general population.”
The shooting suspect could have gone to the airport and flown to anywhere in the world, said Miller, and the photos were not good enough quality to reliably use facial recognition software, but they could still prove useful to the investigation because people who know this person in real life will still be able to recognize him and will respond, “usually very quickly.”
“You know, I think of the last couple of serial killer cases that I was involved in, in the NYPD,” Miller continued, “where we finally got a full face shot with good lighting. And within hours of putting that out, we had people calling in saying, ‘I know who that is.’ I’m pretty confident that this will work. When you look at that image, if you know him, you’ll know him.”
This is a breaking news story and has been updated with additional information.
Watch the clip above via CNN.
