New photos of Brian Thompson’s ‘assassin’ released as cops reveal ‘we know his name’ & divers comb Central Park lake
COPS have released two new photos of Brian Thompson's suspected assassin.
The 50-year-old UnitedHealthcare CEO was shot at point-blank range on the sidewalk outside the New York Hilton on Wednesday morning in what has been called a "brazen and targeted attack."
As the manhunt for the killer enters its fifth day, the NYPD has released new photographs of the man wanted for questioning.
Previously, only two images were released showing the suspect's full face as he checked into a hostel days before the shooting and pulled down his mask to flirt with the receptionist.
The new photographs show a man in a black hoodie, wearing a blue medical mask looking through the partition of what appears to be a New York City cab.
The second image is taken from inside a vehicle while the man is on the sidewalk.
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Again, he is wearing a face mask, a hood over his head, and a black puffer jacket.
It is hoped that the pictures released on Saturday will lead to new information being sent to the cops who have said that they are closing in on the suspected killer.
New York Mayor Eric Adams revealed on the weekend that the police now have a name for the suspect wanted in the shooting and the "net is tightening."
The warning to the suspect comes as divers have been spotted in Central Park Lake as they continue searching for evidence to help with the case.
Investigators were spotted in the water near the Bethesda Fountain on Saturday afternoon, the reported.
Divers were scouring the area less than a mile and a half away from where another key piece of evidence was found near the carousel in the park.
Over the past 48 hours, investigators have made several breakthroughs in the case.
After combing Central Park, cops found what they believed to be the shooter's backpack wedged between two rocks near the carousel and they have probed an alleged burner phone belonging to the suspect.
As cops appeal for more information, the FBI and NYPD have offered rewards for information leading to an arrest in the case.
New York police originally offered $10,000 to those with crucial information about the suspect and this was bolstered on Friday when the FBI joined by offering up to $50,000.
Also bolstering the investigation on Friday was the announcement that the Atlanta Police Department have joined the case.
It comes after the suspect has been linked to the state.
He is believed to have entered New York City on a Greyhound bus that originated from Atlanta in November and he fled on a bus back there after the assassination.
No motive has been released yet for the killing, but police believe Thompson was "specifically targeted".
Forensics teams discovered a chilling message left on the bullets the killer used to murder Thompson in cold blood.
The words "deny," "depose," and "defend," were found on live rounds and shell casings at the scene, police sources told the New York Post.
An expert has claimed that the shooter's gun malfunction may have been "for show" and connected to this message scrawled on the shell casings.
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The killer held the weapon in both hands and calmly fired the deadly rounds that hit Thompson in the back and the leg.
Cops are working to establish what kind of firearm was used by the assassin as detectives believe he may have used a rare WW2 spy gun with 9mm rounds.