The murder suspect who shot and killed UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson arrived in New York City last month on an interstate Greyhound bus, law enforcement sources told the Post.
Officials said the suspect arrived at the Port Authority Bus Terminal in Manhattan on Nov. 24 after departing from Atlanta, Georgia.
However, it was not immediately clear where the cold-blooded gunman jumped onto the bus.
After setting foot in the Big Apple, he checked into the HI New York City hostel on the Upper West Side, then went on to stake out the Hilton Hotel in Midtown, where he killed Thompson early Wednesday morning.
After checking out of the hostel for the night, he returned a day later on Nov. 30 by Uber and apparently rebooked the room using a fake New Jersey ID, sources said.
Meanwhile, police earlier Thursday released chilling surveillance images showing the killer's unmasked face for the first time smiling in the lobby of the same hostel.
Sources said the gunman pulled down his mask because he was “flirting” with the receptionist, who simply asked to see his face.
What we know about the shooting of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson
- Brian Thompson, CEO of insurance giant UnitedHealthcare, was shot and killed in a “brazen, targeted attack” outside a luxury midtown hotel on Wednesday, police said.
- The methodical killer used a silenced gun outside the Hilton Hotel on Sixth Avenue.
- The gunman fired multiple shots at Thompson, striking him in the back and right calf, before fleeing on foot.
- The NYPD releases new photos of the hooded suspect standing in front of the Starbucks counter at West 56th Street and Sixth Avenue, just minutes from the Hilton Hotel where Thompson, 50, was shot and killed. did.
- Mr. Thompson was appointed CEO of UnitedHealth in April 2021. He joined the company in 2004. He was one of several senior executives at the company under investigation by the Justice Department.
- Thompson's wife, Paulette, said she had received threats before her husband was killed.
- The New York City Police Department is investigating whether live bullets or shell casings left behind by a masked assassin may have been engraved with messages that appear to include the words “denial,” “resign,” and “defense.”
Follow the Post's live updates on news about Brian Thompson's murder.
Police and FBI agents later searched the hostel, but sources said a search of his room, which he shared with two other people, turned up nothing of note as of Thursday afternoon. It is said that there was not.
The developments in the case came as police slowly pieced together the gunman's whereabouts in the days leading up to the shooting.
As the manhunt continues for the gunman, sources say police have recovered a burner cell phone he threw away when he fled the crime scene and disappeared into Central Park minutes after the officer was killed.
Police said the suspect was seen on the phone on his way to a hotel on Sixth Avenue.
Authorities also found one of the water bottles he had purchased. at starbucks Located at West 56th Street and 6th Avenue, just minutes from the hotel.
Additional reporting by Georget Roberts
