The manhunt for the cold-blooded assassin who shot and killed UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson in Midtown enters its second day Thursday, and investigators are running out of leads.
Beyond the chilling first image of the masked suspect's face (he's smiling broadly), NYPD detectives and FBI agents search for clues that lead them to the unidentified killer. Processed a trail of evidence that was expected to lead.
The main clues are:
Rare spy guns of World War II
The gunman may have used a modern version of a rare World War II spy gun, and investigators want to trace the purchase, officials told the Post.
Sources said the gun used by the gunman in the murder outside the Sixth Avenue Hilton Hotel appears to be a B&T VP9, an improved version of the Wellrod pistol, a suppression gun developed in World War II.
Sources said the investigation was led by a recent purchase of the gun by a Connecticut-based firearms manufacturer.
However, nearly two days after the shooting, the gunman's gun had still not been recovered, and the connection was inconclusive.
Disturbing surveillance video of the shooting showed the gunman using a silenced pistol, deftly rocking the slide with each shot.
Hostels in Upper West Side
Investigators were tracking the route of a murder suspect in Manhattan. HI New York City Hostel Sources say it's located on Amsterdam Avenue on the Upper West Side.
Officials said surveillance images showing the suspect smiling broadly were taken at the hostel.
On Wednesday, a swarm of plainclothes NYPD officers and FBI agents searched the hostel, residents told the Post.
Officials say the suspect appears to have checked into the hostel on Nov. 30 using a fake New Jersey ID.
But investigators also found evidence that the gunman had been in New York City since Nov. 24, although sources said it was unclear where he had been staying before checking into the hostel.
Search continues for killer's getaway electric bike and backpack
The e-bike that the gunman drove up Sixth Avenue and into Central Park after calmly killing Thompson at about 6:46 a.m. Thursday remains missing.
NYPD officials initially identified the suspect's vehicle as a Citi Bike, but representatives from parent company Lyft later confirmed that police no longer believe the suspect used his own bike. He said he did.
Police sources said the suspect may have taken the subway from the hostel carrying a backpack containing a bicycle battery.
Video released Thursday showed the suspect casually leaving what appeared to be the 57th Street subway station in Midtown about 30 minutes before the shooting.
The suspect is seen wearing a distinctive gray backpack in the video and other footage of the shooting itself.
But Wednesday's massive search was foiled after separate video footage showed the suspect leaving Central Park on West 77th Street without a backpack, officials said. .
burner phone, water bottle, fingerprint
Police continued to search for a so-called burner phone (a prepaid cell phone without a contract that is difficult to trace) that was found in an alley near the scene of the shooting.
Officials said fingerprints were recovered when police processed both the cellphone and a water bottle found nearby.
The suspect was seen making a phone call about 10 minutes before the murder while en route to the Hilton Hotel on Sixth Avenue.
Authorities believe the water bottle was one of two he purchased at a Starbucks at West 56th Street and Sixth Avenue, a few minutes' walk from the hotel.
—Additional reporting by Ronny Reyes
