A hostel clerk had a brief flirty moment with the suspected shooter of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson which handed authorities bombshell evidence by getting a better look at the assailant.
The staff member told CNN that she had asked the gunman to lower his mask while flirting with him as he checked into the HI New York City Hostel in Manhattan’s Upper West Side.
After complying, surveillance cameras inside the hostel managed to grab a clearer picture of the smiling suspect that the NYPD later circulated as part of their ongoing manhunt.
According to police sources who spoke to CNN, the suspect had arrived in the city aboard a Greyhound bus from Atlanta on November 24, ten days before Wednesday’s shooting.
Sources said he then appeared to move around the city after checking into the hostel, having left on November 29 and then checking back in on November 30.
He had checked into the hostel using a fake New Jersey driver’s license and had paid in cash for his stay.
A new image obtained by CNN shows the killer walking along West 55th Street while heading to the Hilton Hotel on the morning of the shooting.
Surveillance cameras inside the hostel managed to grab a clearer picture of the smiling suspect that the NYPD later circulated as part of their ongoing manhunt
A new image obtained by CNN shows the killer walking along West 55th Street while heading to the Hilton Hotel on the morning of the shooting
He had checked into the hostel using a fake New Jersey driver’s license, seen here, and had paid in cash for his stay
Officers are still searching for the unknown assailant who gunned down Thompson, seen here, outside of the Hilton Hotel in Manhattan on Wednesday morning
Officers had appeared at the hostel on Thursday as part of their ongoing search and had also raided a Long Island Rail Road train on Wednesday.
The weapon used in the shooting is also now believed to have been a modern version of a rare World War II gun.
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The smiling CEO assassin: Everything we know about the UnitedHealthcare gunman
Sources told The New York Post that detectives are focusing their efforts on a Connecticut gun store they believe sold the B&T VP9 gun.
Detectives investigating the murder also found shell casings with the words ‘deny’, ‘defend’ and ‘depose’ inscribed on them.
Images of him with his face covered had emerged on Wednesday of him inside a Starbucks near the hotel prior to the shooting.
Inside a nearby trash can, officers found a water bottle and protein bar wrapper that they say the gunman purchased from the coffee chain minutes before the shooting.
The gunman had escaped on foot before making his way to an electric bike and disappearing into central park.
Surveillance footage of the shooting shows Thompson walking alone outside of the entrance to the midtown hotel when the gunman steps into frame and opens fire.
The terrifying video shows the masked killer draw out a large gun and shoot Thompson in the back, sending the CEO stumbling down the street as he continues to fire.
Newly appointed police commissioner Jessica Tisch said on Wednesday that the shooter appeared to be ‘lying in wait for several minutes’ before approaching Thompson.
Tisch added: ‘Many people passed the suspect, but he appeared to wait for his intended target’, and said that it did not ‘appear to be a random act of violence’.
Officers had appeared at the hostel on Thursday as part of their ongoing search and had also raided a Long Island Rail Road train on Wednesday
Detectives investigating the murder also found shell casings with the words ‘deny’, ‘defend’ and ‘depose’ inscribed on them
Police sources close to the investigation told CNN that they believe the shooter was an experienced marksman based on his reactions.
Firearms experts who studied the footage told the outlet that he reacted like someone with training from law enforcement or military would be trained to react to such an issue.
Thompson’s widow Paulette said her husband, who she is separated from, had been receiving threats in the run up to the shooting.
He was set to announce the company’s hugely profitable 2025 financial outlook, including expected revenues upwards of $450 billion.
UnitedHealthCare had hired security for their top executives with Thompson having his own security detail for the event who were absent when he was gunned down.
Detectives investigating the murder also found shell casings with the words ‘deny’, ‘defend’ and ‘depose’ inscribed on them.
As news of his assassination circulated on Wednesday morning, many major healthcare providers beefed up their personal protection for their top execs, according to CNN.
His schedule was widely known, and witnesses have said the suspected gunman even knew which door Thompson was going to emerge from before opening fire.
Without knowing it was Thompson who was hit, one attendee told the group that ‘someone got shot outside.’
CEO of parent company United Healthgroup Andrew Witty is said to have halted the meeting at the hotel just after 8am upon hearing of the tragedy.
Thompson’s family left a note on the door of their Minnesota mansion on Thursday describing the exec as an ‘incredibly loving, generous, talented man’.