Police in New York City have released two new images of a “person of interest” in the case of the killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson.
Posting on social media on Thursday afternoon UK time, the NYPD shared a pair of images of the potential assassin in which he can be seen grinning after the “premeditated attack”.
Police have said they’re offering a $10,000 reward for any information leading to an arrest and conviction in the bizarre case – just hours after discovering three chilling words inscribed on bullet casings at the scene.
The NYPD said: “This does not appear to be a random act of violence; all indications are that it was a premediated, targeted attack.”
The potential assassin can be seen grinning after the ‘premeditated attack’
X/NYPD
The as-yet-unnamed suspect, wearing a mask and carrying a grey backpack, fled on foot before riding an electric bike away into the city’s Central Park, police have said.
Officers are understood to be using facial recognition technology to track the suspect down – though are still yet to establish a motive.
The late CEO’s wife had said there had “been some threats” against her husband earlier – but stopped short of providing details.
“I just know that he said there were some people that had been threatening him,” she told MSNBC, adding a motive could have included “a lack of coverage”.
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Police in New York City have released two new images of a ‘person of interest’ in the case
X/NYPD
While police sources told ABC News earlier that the words “deny,” “defend” and “depose” had been found on bullet casings at the site of Thompson’s death on NYC’s Sixth Avenue – just before the company’s annual investor conference.
At about 9am ET – an hour after the event started, UnitedHealth chief executive Andrew Witty announced the conference had been cancelled because of a “very serious medical situation”.
One guest at the event, Michael Ha, said people were frightened, confused and crying in the New York Hilton Midtown hotel’s hallway.
“At the time, we did not know what had happened, when it had happened, where it had happened.
The shooting of Brian Thompson occurred at approximately 6.46am on Wednesday near the New York Hilton Midtown on Sixth Avenue
REUTERS
“So we didn’t even know if there was a potentially a shooter in the actual building itself,” he said.
Police are operating on the assumption that Thompson was “specifically targeted” – while CCTV footage from the scene itself shows how the assailant’s pistol appeared to be fitted with a silencer.
Heather Higginson, a visitor from London staying at the Hilton where the shooting occurred, said the violence was shocking.
“That’s not what you want to hear at Christmas, is it? It’s very sad.”