New photos released of suspect in UnitedHealthcare CEO killing

MANHATTAN, N.Y. (WPIX) – New York Police released new photos Saturday night of the suspect wanted in the killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson.

The photos appear to be from a camera mounted inside a taxi. One of the photos shows him looking through the partition between the back seat and the front of the cab. The other photo shows him outside the vehicle. In both photos, his face is partially obscured by a blue, medical-style mask.

The manhunt continued on Saturday for the gunman who killed the 50-year-old UnitedHealthcare CEO outside the New York Hilton Midtown hotel in Manhattan Wednesday morning.

Thompson was walking to the hotel where he was to speak at an investor conference when the gunman approached him from behind and fatally shot him, police said.

“It appears the suspect was lying in wait for several minutes,” NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch said Wednesday. “At this time, every indication is that this was a premeditated, preplanned, targeted attack.”

The words “delay,” “deny” and “depose” were scrawled on the ammunition, one word on each of three bullets, according to NYPD Chief of Detectives Joseph Kenny. The messages mirror the phrase “delay, deny, defend,” which is commonly used by lawyers and critics about insurers that delay payments, deny claims, and defend their actions.

Video of the gunman fleeing Wednesday’s shooting showed him riding a bicycle into Central Park and later taking a taxi to a bus terminal that offers commuter service to New Jersey and Greyhound routes to Philadelphia, Boston, and Washington, D.C, according to the police chief.

Police have video of the man entering the bus station but no video of him exiting, leading them to believe he left the city, Kenny said.

On Saturday, police searched the pond near Bethesda Fountain in Central Park looking for additional evidence the shooter may have left behind. A backpack believed to belong to the shooter was found in Central Park on Friday, but the gun was not inside, according to sources.

“The manner in which they were able to follow his footsteps to recover evidence — some of it is known, some of it is unknown — the net is tightening, and we’re going to bring this person to justice,” Mayor Eric Adams said about the investigation Saturday.

With the high-profile search expanding across state lines, the FBI announced late Friday that it was offering a $50,000 reward for information leading to an arrest and conviction, adding to a reward of up to $10,000 that the NYPD has offered. Police say they believe the suspect acted alone.

Police provided no updates on the hunt Saturday, but investigators are urging patience — even with a killer on the loose.

“This isn’t ‘Blue Bloods.’ We’re not going to solve this in 60 minutes," Kenny told reporters Friday. “We’re painstakingly going through every bit of evidence that we can come across.”

The Associated Press contributed to this report.