As New York police continue to unearth clues about who killed UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, questions have been raised about how the suspect could disappear in a city of constant surveillance.
Now two days into the manhunt for the shooter, here are his last known movements.
Shooter 'lying in wait' on Manhattan's major thoroughfare
On a busy street mere blocks away from some of Manhattan's biggest tourist sights and hours before its annual Christmas tree lighting, a man waits to commit a "targeted attack".
Police believe Mr Thompson's killer was "lying in wait" as he ignored a rush of people who passed the entry to the New York Hilton Midtown on Wednesday.
The CEO, 50, was walking alone towards the hotel when he was approached from behind and shot multiple times around 6:45am local time.
Surveillance video reviewed by investigators showed a person emerging from a parked car, pointing a gun at Mr Thompson's back, then firing from several feet away.
Mr Thompson was shot at least once in the back and once in the calf, New York Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch said.
"From watching the video, it does seem that he's proficient in the use of firearms as he was able to clear the malfunctions pretty quickly," NYPD Chief of Detectives Joseph Kenny added.
The bullets, according to authorities, were emblazoned with the words "deny," "defend" and "depose" — phrases similar to the way some attorneys describe how insurers deny services and payment.
Mr Thompson then falls to the sidewalk while the killer walks out of frame.
From there, the shooter — seen wearing a jacket, face mask and large backpack — flees through a passageway onto West 55th Street, before using an electric bike to take him near Central Park.
Police initially said the suspect rode into the park using the city's bike-share program, CitiBike, though they later said this wasn't the case.
[Map 1]A Starbucks trip, a hostel stay and a fake ID
Just moments earlier, the suspect can be seen at a Starbucks, two blocks away from the Hilton hotel.
Police have said they found a water bottle and protein bar wrapper from a trash can near the crime scene that they think were bought there.
The items are being tested by the city's medical examiner.
Fox News also found surveillance footage that they said showed the suspect walking towards the hotel an hour before the crime.
Video taken from a nearby deli, Stage Star Deli, shows a man in black clothing wearing a grey backpack stop in front of a pile of trash and bend down before moving on.
As his trail unravels, police now believe the suspect may have been in New York for up to 10 days before the shooting.
Authorities told US outlet ABC News he may have travelled on an interstate bus on November 24, before arriving at the Port Authority Bus Terminal in Midtown.
From there, senior law enforcement officials told the New York Times the man used a fake New Jersey ID on November 30 to book a room at a hostel on the Upper West Side.
An employee of HI New York City hostel said police had visited but declined to reveal more information to the Associated Press.
Spokeswoman Danielle Brumfitt said the hostel was cooperating with the NYPD and could not comment on the investigation.
[MAP 2]Manhunt struggles despite surveillance system
One senior official told the New York Times they were still looking for a surveillance image where the suspected shooter's face was entirely unobscured.
New York has one of the most advanced surveillance systems of any major US city, in the wake of 9/11.
There are thousands of cameras in Manhattan and all feeds can be monitored in real time as well as reviewed for previous footage, aided by facial recognition software.
"It's called the real-time crime centre: actionable intelligence can be relayed to the responding officers in the field," former NYPD detective sergeant Felip Rodriguez told Reuters.
Still, the surveillance doesn't always yield a rapid response.
In 2022, shooter Frank James shot 10 people in a crowded Brooklyn subway car.
It would take New York police 36 hours to find him, even though he had been seen on surveillance footage.
Brittany Blair, a former director of intelligence operations at the Cook County Sheriff's Office in Chicago, told the New York Times that investigations like Mr Thompson's were "extremely tedious".
"It takes analysis of tens of thousands of hours of footage from all different camera sources," she said.
In the meantime, recently appointed Police Commissioner Tisch said her department would use every resource to track down the shooter — including a $10,000 reward.
NYPD spokesperson Carlos Nieves urged anyone with information to contact the department "even if it seems trivial."
"We ask you to call the tip line because that little piece of information could be the missing piece of the puzzle that ties everything together," he said.
ABC/Wires
