Smiling suspect seen in new images as New York police hunt killer of healthcare executive Brian Thompson

New images have been released of the suspect wanted over the targeted murder of a healthcare boss in New York City.

Brian Thompson, the chief executive of UnitedHealthcare, was gunned down outside a Manhattan hotel yesterday morning before the start of a conference.

Police say the gunman was wearing a mask and footage has shown him walking slowly behind Mr Thompson, before shooting him several times in the back.

Mr Thompson, 50, was ambushed at 6.45am local time on Wednesday as he walked to the company’s annual investor conference at a Hilton in Midtown.

The attacker fired multiple times at Mr Thompson and continued despite the gun briefly jamming, according to police.

He then escaped the scene on an e-bike towards Central Park.

In new pictures released by police, the suspect can be seen smiling prior to the attack.

The masked gunman used ammunition emblazoned with the words “deny,” “defend” and “depose,” a law enforcement official said.

The words on the ammunition may have been a reference to strategies insurance companies use to try to avoid paying claims.

New York Mayor Eric Adams, who is a retired NYPD captain, told MSNBC’s Morning Joe programme that what had “shocked” them was the fact the shooter used a silencer, something he had never encountered “in all of my years in law enforcement”.