NEW YORK (1010 WINS) – A multi-state manhunt was underway Friday for the suspected killer of United Healthcare CEO Brian Thompson in Midtown earlier this week, according to police.
The manhunt includes at the very least New York, New Jersey and Connecticut, according to CBS News. Authorities are confident an arrest will take place, with one law enforcement official telling the outlet, "We're gonna get this guy."
The suspect used a fake New Jersey ID with a phony name to check into the HI New York City Hostel located at 891 Amsterdam Ave. on the Upper West Side, according to authorities.
"We are fully cooperating with the NYPD and, as this is an active investigation, cannot comment at this time," a Hi New York Hostel spokesperson said.
Authorities put together over 200 images of the suspect in an attempt to put together a timeline of his arrival to New York, at the shooting, and his route after fleeing the scene.
The suspected killer arrived in New York City last month on a Greyhound bus that originated in Atlanta, according to multiple reports.
Officials do not know if the suspect -- who killed Thompson shortly before 7 a.m. Wednesday near the Hilton on Sixth avenue in Midtown -- boarded in Atlanta or elsewhere along the route, law enforcement sources told CNN.
A Greyhound spokesperson said the company is "fully cooperating with authorities on this active investigation," adding that it can’t give any more details.
Also on Thursday, the suspect in the “targeted” killing was unmasked for the first time as police released two surveillance images showing his full face.
The NYPD put out the pair of photos showing the person "wanted for questioning" in the shooting. The images match the lobby of the HI New York City hostel on the Upper West Side, including its black-and-white checkered floor and a distinctive bench in the shape of a semi-circle.
The release of the photos came as the manhunt for the killer continued Thursday, with police using drones, helicopters and dogs for the search. Detectives are also conducting interviews and canvassing for clues in the killing, which police described as a likely “premeditated, preplanned, targeted attack.”
As the search intensified, reports revealed the shooter left three cryptic words on the ammo used in the ambush. The words “deny,” “defend” and “depose” were found emblazoned on three 9 mm shell casings recovered from the scene of the shooting at West 54th Street and Sixth Avenue, a law enforcement source told the Associated Press.
Investigators reportedly believe the shooting may have been motivated by a grudge against the insurance company, which is among the largest healthcare providers in the U.S. The words on the ammo could be a reference to strategies insurance companies use to try to avoid paying claims. There's also a 2010 book titled "Delay, Deny, Defend" about "why insurance companies don't pay claims and what you can do about it."
Police are piecing together a timeline of the suspect's movement and have focused at least in part on the Upper West Side. According to sources, he was seen leaving the area of the Frederick Douglass Houses around 5 a.m. Wednesday, less than two hours before the shooting. Investigators are said to have sought a search warrant for a location in the city where he may have stayed—and police were seen in front of the HI New York City hostel at West 103rd Street and Amsterdam Avenue.
An employee at the hostel said police had visited but declined to provide further information. Danielle Brumfitt, a spokesperson for the lodging, said in an emailed statement that they are cooperating with the NYPD but can't comment due to the active investigation.
The hunt brought officers to at least two hostels on the west side, based on a tip that the suspected shooter may have stayed at one of them, a law enforcement source told the AP. An employee at the second hostel, Kama Central Park, confirmed two detectives arrived at 7 a.m. and asked staff whether they recognized the man in a photo of the shooter. The workers did not, the employee said.
In addition to surveillance video of the suspect and the shell casings found at the scene, police are also investigating a cellphone discovered in a nearby alleyway and are DNA testing a water bottle and a candy wrapper left at a Starbucks at West 56th Street and Sixth Avenue, where the suspect was captured on camera minutes before the shooting, sources told 1010 WINS.
Brian Thompson, 50, was gunned down around 6:45 a.m. right outside the entrance to the hotel as he headed to an annual meeting with investors, where he'd been scheduled to speak. Surveillance video shows the gunman walking up behind him and opening fire, striking him in the back and leg.
Thompson’s wife Paulette Thompson told NBC News on Wednesday that "there had been some threats" to her husband, possibly about “a lack of coverage” from the insurer.
NYPD officials said that while the motive is unknown, all indications are Thompson was “specifically targeted,” with the shooter “lying in wait for several minutes” before Thompson arrived at the hotel for the conference.
“Many people passed the suspect, but he appeared to wait for his target,” NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch said at a news conference.
Speaking on MSNBC's "Morning Joe" Thursday, Mayor Eric Adams said the "pieces of the puzzle...are still coming together" but "we are on the right pathway."
"And in all of my years of law enforcement, I have never seen a silencer before," the mayor said, referencing the device reportedly attached to the shooter's gun. "And so that was really something that was shocking to us all. And so we're on the right path, and we believe we're going to apprehend this person."
According to reports, investigators believe the suspect was an experienced marksman but not a professional killer. An official told the AP that it appeared the shooter had at least some prior firearms training and experience with guns and that the handgun was equipped with a silencer.
“From watching the video, it does seem that he’s proficient in the use of firearms as he was able to clear the malfunctions pretty quickly,” NYPD Chief of Detectives Joseph Kenny said.
Investigators are also looking into whether the suspect had pre-positioned a bike as part of an escape plan, an official said. Police initially said the shooter rode into Central Park on a bicycle from the city’s bike-share program, CitiBike. But a spokesperson for the program’s operator, Lyft, said police officials informed the company Wednesday afternoon that the bike was not from the CitiBike fleet.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.