Who is the suspect in UnitedHealthcare CEO shooting?

(NewsNation) — Authorities are searching for the gunman who fatally shot UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson connected Wednesday, and small is inactive known astir him oregon wherefore he attacked the executive.

Thompson, 50, was changeable conscionable earlier 7 a.m. adjacent a edifice connected 54th Street betwixt 6th and 7th Avenues, sources told NewsNation.

The gunman had been anticipating Thompson to get astatine the edifice for an investors meeting, constabulary said.

This was a “premeditated, preplanned, targeted attack,” NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch said during a quality conference.

The fishy was “lying successful hold for respective minutes, and arsenic the unfortunate was walking to the league hotel, the fishy approached from down and fired respective rounds, striking the unfortunate astatine slightest erstwhile successful the backmost and astatine slightest erstwhile successful the close calf," she said.

“This was not what appears to beryllium a conscionable random enactment of violence. It seems to beryllium intelligibly targeted by an individual, and we volition apprehend that individual,” helium said.

What bash we cognize astir the suspect?

The shooter appears to beryllium a “light-skinned male. He’s wearing a airy brownish oregon cream-colored jacket, a achromatic look mask, achromatic and achromatic sneakers, and a precise distinctive grey backpack,” NYPD Chief of Detectives Joseph Kenny said.

Many radical passed the idiosyncratic by, but helium “appeared to hold for his intended target,” according to Tisch.

As Thompson arrived astatine the Hilton, the shooter stepped retired from down a car and fired aggregate rounds, striking Thompson successful the limb and back. Kenny said it appeared that the “gun malfunctions arsenic helium clears the jam and begins to occurrence again."

The fishy past ran done an alley, hopped connected an electrical Citi Bike and rode done Central Park connected Center Drive.

“I perceive a shot,” a witnesser told Nexstar section affiliate WPIX. “When I look around, I saw a feline with a gun. He changeable 3 times, past helium starts running.”

Investigators recovered respective 9 mm ammunition casings from extracurricular the edifice and a compartment telephone from the alleyway done which the fishy fled. They were besides searching Thompson's edifice country and interviewing his UnitedHealthcare colleagues, Kenny said.

While the shooting was targeted, constabulary accidental they inactive don’t cognize a motive for the attack.

What is happening with the manhunt?

Authorities person deployed constabulary drones, helicopters and dogs successful an effort to find the shooter and person a “massive presence” successful Manhattan pursuing the shooting, NYPD Chief of Department Jeffrey Maddrey said.

“We person the drones up. We person aviation out. We person canine out,” helium said. “An incidental similar this happens — we don’t spare immoderate expense.”

The electrical motorcycle the shooter took disconnected successful has a GPS system, which authorities are tracking, they said.

“The past we spot with him connected that motorcycle is successful Central Park,” Kenny said. “There are GPS connected those bikes. We’ll beryllium moving with the company.”