A vicious lookalike contest has taken place in New York where attendees were encouraged to dress up as Brian Thompson’s killer.
The tawdry event took place Saturday morning in Washington Square Park, as the manhunt for the killer of the UnitedHealthcare CEO entered its fourth day.
Eight participants took part in the event where they wore hooded jackets and face masks in an attempt to look like the common killer.
The winner said he was heading to the park in Manhattan after hearing about the contest Saturday morning.
He said: ‘There was a message about a lookalike competition, I thought I could probably shave my mustache and put on my normal outfit.
‘I think I can sort of manage it, I haven’t been able to see if he has hair, so that helps a bit. Plus he’s wearing a mask, which isn’t difficult.
“I definitely had the jacket, someone had an impromptu vote among the people who were here and I got the biggest cheers. I didn’t make any money.
“I appreciate the vote of confidence, there would be money involved and I said I would give half to Palestinian aid. I don’t know who or anyone organized this.”
The winner, seen here, said he was heading to the park in Manhattan after hearing about the contest Saturday morning
Eight contestants took part in the competition, wearing hooded jackets and face masks, in an attempt to look like the killer.
The winner said he himself had problems with health insurers because of the medications he was taking, but that he was not a UnitedHealthcare customer.
Another participant had a handwritten sign draped over his black clothing that read “Deny Defend Depose,” three words the gunman had written on the shell casings.
The New York Post reported that a person passing by shouted, “I don’t know if y’all should be doing this – but your life choices I guess.”
While the game was in progress, New York City Mayor Eric Adams said told reporters the “net is tightening” for his killer that officers now have a name for the suspect.
He spoke as the search for Thompson’s killer enters its fourth day, but said authorities will not reveal the suspect’s identity at this stage.
“We don’t want to release that right now,” he said. ‘If you do that, you are essentially giving a tip to the person we are looking for and we absolutely do not want to give that person the upper hand.
‘Let him continue to believe that he can hide behind the mask. We revealed his face. We are going to reveal who he is and we are going to bring him to justice.”
As the match was underway, New York City Mayor Eric Adams said the “net is tightening” for his killer, telling reporters that officers now have a name for the suspect, seen here
The New York Post reported that a person passing by shouted, “I don’t know if y’all should be doing this – but your life choices I guess.”
On Friday One night, the NYPD provided a clearer picture of the killer’s movements after killing Thompson.
They say he entered the park at 6:48 a.m. after the shooting and was then seen leaving 77th Street on Manhattan’s Upper West Side at 6:56 a.m.
Surveillance footage captured him near 86th Street and Columbus Avenue two minutes after leaving the park while still riding his bicycle.
At 7:04 a.m., he then got into a taxi at 86th Street and Amsterdam Avenue and drove north.
At 7:30 a.m. he had arrived at the Port Authority bus station in the north of the city, where he reportedly boarded a bus and left the city.
The 50-year-old father of two was shot earlier this week as images of his murder circulated on social media amid an ongoing manhunt for his killer
On Thursday, officials said the person had arrived in the city on a bus from Atlanta, Georgia, in late November and had been staying at a hostel on the Upper West Side.
It was at the hostel that a flirtatious conversation with a hostel worker gave police officers their first look at the killer, when he was asked to lower his mask.
NYPD Chief of Detectives Joseph Kenny has said they believe the killer is a disgruntled ex-employee or angry client.
The distinctive backpack he was wearing when he killed Thompson was recovered in Central Park on Friday evening.
On Saturday, police sources told NBC News that a jacket was found next to Monopoly money.
The bag was found by police during their second visit to the park and was placed between boulders just south of the park carousel.
On Saturday, footage obtained by DailyMail.com showed teams of police divers in the water near the Bethseda Fountain as part of their search.
Investigators confirmed the underwater search was linked to Wednesday’s “brutal, targeted attack” that left the father of two dead.