This still image made from a video provided by the New York City Police Department shows the gunman, left, behind Brandon Lincoln Woodard pulling the weapon from his jacket pocket a moment before the shooting. (AP)
New York City police have identified one of two suspects in the brazen execution-style shooting Monday in midtown, The New York Times reported.
The paper, citing an unnamed source, reported that investigators are searching for a low-level criminal from Queens who is believed to have been behind the wheel of the getaway car.
Police would not confirm the report to FoxNews.com.
Earlier, law enforcement sources told The New York Post that Brandon Lincoln Woodard, 31, walked past his killer's getaway car seconds before his murder. Police believe someone in the car pointed Woodard out to his murderer.
Woodard then received either a text message or a phone call, turned around, and headed back toward the car, sources tell the Post. In a chilling photo released by the NYPD Tuesday, Woodard is seen staring at what appears to be a phone as the gunman reaches into his jacket behind him.
The new information comes as police released a man in their custody related to the murder after questioning him. Authorities reportedly believe he is a friend of the gunman, who they have not arrested or identified.
On Wednesday, police found the getaway car linked to Woodard's murder.
Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly said Wednesday that the car has been found in Queens. Sources tell the Post authorities believe a woman may have rented the car.
Authorities investigating the case have uncovered more questions than answers, including why Woodard traveled to New York or an explanation for his somewhat strange behavior while in the city.
The Post reports Woodard spent his first night in the city watching a football game and going to dinner with a woman. Witnesses who saw him at breakfast the next morning said he appeared nervous and was looking over his shoulder.
He then out of his hotel and waited for a cab, but left suddenly, saying that he had to go to a bank, a hotel employee told the Post.
Woodard, who is the father of a 4-year-old girl, was known as a promoter.
"Thank you, thank you," his stepfather, Rod Wellington, told the Post after learning someone connected to the case had been questioned. "We’re hopeful."
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