The alleged assassin who executed UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson outside of a New York City hotel Wednesday is a wanted man in more than a few ways online.
Police on Thursday released the clearest photos yet of the suspected gunman, one of which showed him flashing a grin. The photos were screen grabs taken from footage of the suspect at a hostel in New York, where he allegedly used a fake ID to check in and shared a room with two other men, according to CNN.
Posting the photos to its social media accounts, the NYPD urged the public to contact Crime Stoppers with a $10,000 reward for any information leading to the suspect’s arrest. But in a disturbing twist, more than a few social media commentators hinted that they too wanted to get their hands on the suspected killer—albeit for all the wrong reasons.
“I’m not seeing enough discussion of how hot the [sic] assassin is and that’s the real crime in this whole matter,” wrote one X user.
Another thirsted, “UnitedHealthcare CEO gunman lookalike contest in my room 8pm tonight,” with another cheekily adding, “Babe wake up the alleged CEO shooter is low key hot.”
The general consensus online seemed to be surprise that the suspect of such a grisly crime did not himself appear to be grisly in photos shared by police.
“I’m sorry but the other site can never replace the collective insanity of this place finding out that the United Healthcare CEO is not just a social justice warrior but also an absolute panty dropper. Special times,” wrote one X user.
Another person added, “Update: it has now been revealed to the public that the gunman is hot and has a dazzling smile.”
Adding fuel to the fire, the suspect’s apparent smile in one of the screen grabs came during a flirty exchange with a woman who worked at the hostel’s front desk, CNN reported.
At least one commentator offered to play detective.
“The police might not find him but i have found a hot guy i saw in a grocery store once using my [Instagram] stalking skills im gonna find this man in an hour for personal reasons,” wrote X user @ymmayer.
Although some social media commentators have condemned the yassification of the killer’s image—“control yourself” wrote one person—the fawning over an alleged murderer seems to reflect a phenomenon called hybristophilia.
DeSales University professor of forensic psychology described it as type of attraction when a person “gets sexually aroused over someone else committing an offensive or violent act” in an 2018 interview with Cosmopolitan. The public’s recent fascination with the Menendez brothers, Ted Bundy and other men of ill repute over the years seem to back this up.
Although there is “no empirical research” to illustrate just how common the phenomenon is, said Louis B. Schlesinger, Ph.D., comments about the UnitedHealthcare executive’s suspected shooter suggest it’s alive and well.
In addition to the trend, Wednesday’s shooting incident also veered off into an online discussion of America’s health care system and its myriad failures.
Reddit moderators shut down a thread about the UnitedHealthcare executive’s killing that criticized the insurer’s denial of coverage to its policy holders.
“I cannot even guess how many person-years UHC has taken from patients and their families through denials,” wrote one medical doctor. “It has to be on the order of millions. His death won’t make that better, but it’s hard for me to sympathize when so many people have suffered because of his company.”
A smudged finger print has since been recovered from the scene, bringing cops closer to identifying who the mystery man is, reported CNN.
Yet after a tough year marked by a divisive presidential election, social media commentators are relishing in making the suspect out to be whoever they want.
“Are those pics actually the shooter. pls i hope so america needs a hot assassin,” one X user wrote.
Under that note, another commentator added, “Trump vibe shift is crazy we have hot shooters again.”
