‘He can top me’: NYPD photos of UHC gunman ignite the last reactions anyone was expecting

The NYPD recently released new photos of the suspected gunman in the execution-style death of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson outside of a New York City Hilton Hotel ⏤ and uh oh, it looks like he’s a cutie.

It’s our first real look at the man, who is seen in one of the photos wearing a hoodie and flashing some pearly whites above a black mask hanging off his chin. Is he a killer? Is he hot? It looks like those two things are not mutually exclusive, and boy are people noticing.

Sure, it’s macabre and troubling that so many people seem more interested in a killer’s looks than the brutal murder of a very rich man, but as many of them are arguing, it’s also troubling that UnitedHealthcare, with revenues in the hundreds of billions, seems to systematically deny life-saving medical procedures to its customers. It also relies heavily on AI, with a 90 percent error rate to do so, per a recent class action lawsuit. One could argue that UnitedHealthcare is responsible for many, many more deaths than this killer, but of course the entirety of New York City is still on high alert as the NYPD works to uncover his identity and bring him to justice.

The photos were reportedly taken at an Upper West Side youth hostel, pulled from footage of the suspect talking on the phone before committing the heinous act. He also stopped at a Starbucks for a bottle of water and PowerBars not far from the Hilton before shooting Thompson.

Police have recovered unused ammunition, a water bottle, and a cell phone they’ve connected to the suspect and are working to pull DNA from. The gunman fired multiple shots at Thompson as he walked out of the hotel in the early morning hours of Dec. 4 before disappearing into an alley and fleeing on a bicycle toward Central Park. Thompson was pronounced dead at the scene soon after.

Police are offering $10,000 for any information about the suspect that leads to an arrest, but as online onlookers are already pointing out, people currently seem a little too smitten with welcoming the killer into their bedrooms for that. One person argued that yes, he’s a killer, but that doesn’t mean he’s broken.

Another X user was a bit more explicit in the way they talked about the killer.

They weren’t alone.

It’s not every day that you hear an assassin referred to as “pretty,” but here we are.

“That’s dude who won the Timothee Chalamat lookalike comp,” someone else commented. Can you see it?

Cue the, er, uncomfortable bedroom jokes.

Some are waiting for the man’s mugshot to circulate so they can get an even better look at him.

Oops, looks like the entire internet has a new crush.

And yikes, some are no longer dry.

While the investigation is moving “at a steady pace,” the NYPD’s biggest obstacle is trying to find a needle in a haystack filled with eight million other Manhattanites. If you or anyone you know might have information about the shooter’s identity, you are encouraged to call 1-800-577-8477 (TIPS). And not that they’ve announced this formally, but it’s probably best not to welcome a stranger who looks like the man above into your bedroom ⏤ no matter how tempting it is.