New Yorkers mockingly celebrated the assassination of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson in Washington Square Park with a truly disgusting gunman look-alike contest — a desperate search for the brazen killer continues Wednesday When you see it.
On Friday, the eight contestants wearing hooded jackets and face masks were surrounded by dozens of onlookers, whose cheers during the nose-picking stunt amounted to votes.
The winner, who wore a green jacket and covered his face and was spotted by the cold-blooded assassin, said he had heard about the contest that morning and headed to the park.
“Before I came here, no one looked at me, and now everyone wants to take pictures with me,” he told the Post.
When he was introduced as “Contestant No. 6,” one onlooker said, “He's the one.”
The would-be doppelganger said he didn't have to dress up specifically for the event: “I wear this everywhere.”
His killer looks earned him $50.
Champion acknowledged that he is not a UnitedHealthcare customer, but said he has had issues with his health insurance company covering some of the medications he takes.
“People don't feel very good about the state of our world,” he said, commenting on the unsympathetic reaction to the CEO's shocking killing.
One of the contestants who was firing a bubble gun had a handwritten sign above his black suit that read, “Reject Release.” Those three words were scrawled on a shell casing left at the scene by the gunman.
“Guys, I don't know if you should do this, but I think it's your life choice,” someone yelled as the contestants huddled together.
Thompson was gunned down before dawn Wednesday outside a midtown hotel as he walked unprotected to an investor event.
Authorities said the assassin fled shortly after the camera-caught killing, speeding through Central Park on his bike and at one point leaving the city on a bus.
Police released a photo taken from a surveillance camera showing the gunman lowering his mask and flirting with a woman working at the desk of the Upper West Side youth hostel where he was apparently staying when he arrived in the city.
As of Saturday evening, the city was still experiencing strong winds, but Mayor Eric Adams confirmed that police had identified the shooter.
“The net is getting tighter,” the mayor told reporters outside the Police Athletic League's holiday party in Harlem on Saturday.
