Photos show man wanted for questioning after UnitedHealthcare CEO shot in Manhattan, the NYPD says
NEW YORK -- Newly released surveillance photos show a person who police say they want to question in connection to Wednesday's fatal shooting of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson outside a hotel in Midtown Manhattan.
Police sources say the photos were taken at 891 Amsterdam Ave., a hostel on the Upper West Side, before the shooting.
Investigators believe the man wanted for questioning may have arrived in New York City by bus as many as 10 days before the shooting. According to police sources, that man used a fake New Jersey ID with a fake name to check into the hostel.
And, it seems, that person of interest let his guard -- and his mask -- down as he talked to a woman working at the front desk.
"They were having a flirtatious moment and he pulls it down and he gives a big smile and that one informal moment between two human beings remains at this moment the most significant clue to date in this whole case," former NYPD Deputy Commissioner for Intelligence and Counterterrorism John Miller said.
The photo will next be put into facial recognition technology databases, and could lead to a hit.
"You can run it against their employee databases, there are databases of criminals, there are military databases, there are many places there are pictures," CBS News law enforcement contributor Rich Esposito said.
Esposito said getting those photos out could lead to someone recognizing him from the most casual contact.
"'Hey, I ride the bus with him. Hey, I've shot at the range with him. I work with that guy. It's my neighbor.' Those are the kinds of things that start to happen," Esposito said.
Intense scrutiny of guests at Upper West Side hostel
A tourist staying at Hi New York Hostel told CBS News New York two police officers showed up there overnight and questioned several people.
The NYPD has found surveillance footage of the suspect from approximately 5 a.m. Wednesday near the Frederick Douglass Houses, a NYCHA complex on Manhattan's Upper West Side. The hostel is located near there.
Guest Matheus Taranto said police were standing outside his door on the fourth floor.
"I saw two more guys dressed like detectives. Then I went to my room on the fourth floor. I went to brush to my teeth. When I got to the corner that goes to the bathroom, there was another detective, and he was like, no, you can't go past here," Taranto said.
"They just asked me questions like 'Did you see anyone who was there and did you notice anything?'" one person staying at the hostel said.
Visitor John Nielsen, from Denmark, said people he met stayed in the shared room.
"They were pretty shocked, because they shared the room with a person who could be pretty bad," Nielsen said.
"We are fully cooperating with the NYPD and, as this is an active investigation, cannot comment at this time," said a spokesperson for Hi New York Hostel.
Gunman may have dropped other vital clues
More than 24 hours after Thompson was gunned down in what police are calling a targeted shooting, a citywide manhunt continues for his killer. Detectives are combing through Thompson's electronics to see if he faced any threats, and they say the gunman may have dropped vital clues.
Investigators are searching Central Park for a missing backpack that could possibly contain the gun used in the attack, which authorities believe is a B&T Station SIX, a gun that has a built-in silencer, sources say.
"It's a covert-type weapon. It is not sold widely," Esposito said. "They'll go to the dealers of that gun and try to establish if they know who this person is... they know almost everything, and they're now just trying to get an identity."
"In all of my years of law enforcement, I have never seen a silencer before. And so that was really something that was shocking to us all," Mayor Eric Adams said.
Police have executed a search warrant at the victim's hotel room at the Marriott, down the block and across from the shooting scene, but nothing was found that gives any theory into the motive. His personal effects were found but nothing that pushes the investigation or the motive forward, police sources said.
CBS News has confirmed law enforcement officials say the words "deny" and "delay" were meticulously written in Sharpie on shell casings that were recovered at the scene.
Police have received numerous anonymous tips, including one which resulted in officers stopping an LIRR train to Seaford at 5:30 p.m. Wednesday to search for the suspect, sources told CBS News New York. They also conducted a search at an airport. Neither search turned up the suspect.
"We feel that we're moving at a steady pace, and we're going to have someone apprehended," Adams said.
"This is a nationwide search. This is not something that maybe just germane towards New York City. This may be something that touches other parts of the country. Listen, this may come back to some type of potential problem or personal beef with Mr. Thompson that happened in Minnesota," former NYPD Chief of Department Rodney Harrison said.
Video shows brazen shooting outside Hilton Midtown
Surveillance video captured the brazen and targeted attack early Wednesday morning.
A masked shooter using a silencer approached Thompson from behind and shot him in the back and the leg. The weapon appeared to jam, but the suspect cleared it and kept shooting.
The gunman then jogged across the street, in plain view of witnesses.
"I was looking at my phone, then I hear the shot. And when I looked, the guy was with a gun, like a silent gun," one witness said.
Thompson, a 50-year-old father of two, was heading to the Hilton Midtown to address investors at a UnitedHealthcare conference.
The NYPD is now working with authorities in Minnesota, where he is from, to identify any specific threats against him. Police sources say detectives uncovered rantings directed at the company, but no threats to his personal safety.
"Many people passed the suspect, but he appeared to wait for his intended target," NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch said at a news conference Wednesday. "Every indication is that this was a premeditated, preplanned, targeted attack."
Manhunt leads police to Central Park
From the Hilton, investigators believe the suspect hopped on a bike and rode to Central Park. Video obtained by CBS News appears to show him in the park wearing the distinct grey backpack he was wearing in the video when he was captured at the shoot scene in Midtown. He is then seen leaving the park on West 85th Street about 15 minutes after the shooting without the backpack.
"What we're looking at is a gunman who was thoughtful and prepared, staked out the scene, began by shooting the person in the back," said Esposito.
Police said the suspect planned carefully, but not perfectly. He went to a nearby Starbucks before the shooting, where sources say surveillance images may have captured enough of his face to run through facial recognition.
"The full investigative efforts of the New York City Police Department are well underway, and we will not rest until we identify and apprehend the shooter in this case," Tisch said.
Police sources say investigators are running forensic tests on a water bottle and candy bar wrapper they believe the suspect left at the Starbucks, as well as a discarded cellphone found near the scene. They also believe they have recovered a coffee cup the gunman may have used, and have dusted it for fingerprints, a high-ranking police source said.
A law enforcement source said he paid with cash at 6:17 a.m., roughly 30 minutes before the shooting. This all happened after the suspect was spotted at around 5 a.m. near where the hostel is located.
"A wonderful person with a big heart"
Thompson arrived in the city Monday from Minnesota and was scheduled to address investors at the company's annual investor relations conference. Top executives quickly canceled the shareholders meeting.
"The company is just distraught, his colleagues are distraught," said Taylor Smith, who was staying at the Hilton.
Investigators are now probing every aspect of Thompson's life to try to find a motive.
"They're going to look at the business end, you have a company that's laid people off. They're going to look at the personal stories, and they're going to focus on letters, desperate people who were denied care or tests or something that could've saved a life or who blame the company," Miller said.
The 50-year-old was married with two sons. His wife, Paulette, spoke about the family's loss.
"Brian was a wonderful person with a big heart and who lived life to the fullest," she said. "He will be greatly missed by everybody. Our hearts are broken and we are completely devastated by this news."
The NYPD is offering a $10,000 reward in the case, asking the public to call the Crime Stoppers hotline at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477), or 1-888-57-PISTA (74782) for Spanish. You can also submit a tip via their website. All calls are kept confidential.