The NYPD released new photos Thursday of the suspected gunman who shot and killed UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson outside a Midtown hotel.
The surveillance images show the suspect’s face, which had previously been hidden, with him seen flashing a smile with a black mask hanging from his chin.
The suspect was wearing the same dark hoodie he wore when he is believed to have fired repeatedly at Thompson, 50, on Wednesday morning as the victim walked up to the Hilton on Sixth Avenue.
Another close up photo shows the suspect carrying the same backpack he was later spotted with.
The photos were taken from an Upper West Side youth hostel where police believe the suspect had been staying at before the shooting, law-enforcement sources said.
Footage just fifteen minutes before the shooting showed the gunman seemingly talking to someone over the phone as he made his way to the hotel on Sixth Avenue.
Police also released pics of the suspect making a purchase at the Starbucks at West 56th Street and Sixth Avenue, located just minutes away from the hotel.
In those photos, the gunman was wearing a black face mask as he nonchalantly bought a bottle of water and two PowerBars, law enforcement sources told The Post.
What we know about the shooting of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson
- Brian Thompson, the CEO of insurance giant UnitedHealthcare, was gunned down Wednesday outside a luxury Midtown hotel in a “brazen, targeted attack,” police said.
- The methodical killer used a firearm with a silencer outside the Hilton hotel along Sixth Avenue.
- The gunman fired at Thompson multiple times, striking his back and right calf before fleeing on foot.
- The NYPD released a new photo of the hooded suspect standing in front of the counter at the Starbucks at West 56th Street and 6th Avenue, just minutes from the Hilton hotel where he gunned down Thompson, 50.
- Thompson was named CEO of UnitedHealth in April 2021. He joined the company in 2004. He was one of several senior executives at the company under investigation by the Department of Justice.
- Thompson’s wife, Paulette, said her husband had been getting threats before he was killed.
- The NYPD is investigating a possible message — which appears to include the words “deny,” “depose” and “defend” — engraved on live rounds and shell casings left behind by the masked assassin.
Follow along with The Post’s live updates on the news surrounding Brian Thompson’s murder.
Police have recovered the cellphone and one of the water bottles that he purchased at the Starbucks.
Investigators hope they can pull fingerprints from the unspent ammunition, as well as DNA from the water bottle and phone, sources said.
Police were still looking for the suspect after he was spotted riding away from the crime scene on Sixth Avenue and entering Central Park just before 7 a.m. Wednesday.
The NYPD and Crimes Stoppers are offering a $10,000 reward for information on the gunman leading to his arrest.