What do we know about the suspect in fatal NYC shooting of UnitedHealthcare CEO?

NEW YORK (NewsNation) — Authorities searching for the shooter who killed UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson on Wednesday morning called the deadly attack "premeditated" during a news conference later that day.

Thompson, 50, was shot just before 7 a.m. in front of a Hilton hotel on 54th Street between 6th and 7th Avenues, according to officials. He was rushed to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

The gunman had been waiting for Thompson to arrive at the hotel for an investor's meeting, police said. NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch called it a “premeditated, preplanned, targeted attack,” during a news conference Wednesday. 

The suspect was “lying in wait for several minutes, and as the victim was walking to the conference hotel, the suspect approached from behind and fired several rounds, striking the victim at least once in the back and at least once in the right calf," she said. 

New York City Mayor Eric Adams has vowed to catch the shooter.

“This was not what appears to be a just random act of violence. It seems to be clearly targeted by an individual, and we will apprehend that individual,” he said.

What do we know about the suspect?

The shooter appears to be a “light-skinned male. He’s wearing a light brown or cream-colored jacket, a black face mask, black and white sneakers, and a very distinctive gray backpack,” NYPD Chief of Detectives Joseph Kenny said.

Before the shots were fired, many people passed by the suspect who “appeared to wait for his intended target,” according to Tisch. 

As Thompson arrived at the Hilton, the shooter stepped out from behind a car and fired multiple rounds, striking Thompson in the leg and back. Kenny said it appeared that the “gun malfunctions as he clears the jam and begins to fire again."

The shooter then ran through an alley, hopped on an electric Citi Bike and rode through Central Park on Center Drive, police said.

“I hear a shot,” a witness told Nexstar's WPIX. “When I look around, I saw a guy with a gun. He shot three times, then he starts running.”

Investigators recovered several 9 mm shell casings from outside the hotel and a cellphone from the alleyway through which the suspect fled. They were also searching Thompson's hotel room and interviewing his UnitedHealthcare colleagues, Kenny said.

While the shooting was targeted, police say they still don’t know a motive for the attack.

What is happening with the manhunt? 

A search for the suspect is ongoing as of 3 p.m. ET Wednesday.

Authorities have deployed police drones, helicopters, and dogs in an effort to find the shooter and have a “massive presence” in Manhattan following the shooting, NYPD Chief of Department Jeffrey Maddrey said. 

“We have the drones up. We have aviation out. We have canine out,” he said. “An incident like this happens — we don’t spare any expense.”

The electric bike the shooter took off in has a GPS system, which authorities are tracking, they said.  

“The last we see with him on that bike is in Central Park,” Kenny said. “There are GPS on those bikes. We’ll be working with the company.”

Police said the e-bike that the shooter used to ride into Central Park came from the city’s bike-share program, CitiBike. A spokesperson for Lyft, which operates the program, told The Associated Press that the company had not yet been contacted by police.

The NYPD is offering up to $10,000 for information that leads to an arrest in the case.

Nexstar's WPIX and The Associated Press contributed to this report.