The mysterious masked gunman who assassinated UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson in Midtown arrived in New York City from Atlanta more than a week before unraveling his murder plot — and allowed images of his face to go public when he let his guard down flirting with a hostel worker.
NYPD detectives, with the help of Port Authority police, have managed to track the gunman’s movements from when he first arrived in the city. Police sources said the suspect arrived in the city on a Greyhound bus from Atlanta on the evening of Nov. 24.
Port Authority police have recovered video images of the suspect walking through the terminal after disembarking the bus, a police source with knowledge of the case said.
Footage has also been recovered of the gunman coming out of a Midtown subway station at 57th St. and riding an e-bike from Central Park, video and images seen by the Daily News shows.
He found his way to the HI New York City Hostel on Amsterdam Ave. near W. 104th St., where cops recovered images of the suspect without a mask and smiling at someone behind the reception desk.
The hostel staffer reportedly got the suspect to smile by flirting with him and asking him to pull down his mask to “see his handsome face.”
Cops released the image Thursday on the second day of the manhunt.
The suspect booked a room at the hostel using a fake New Jersey ID, sources said.
Police are also trying to identify the massive pistol the gunman used. Although they have yet to recover the weapon, investigators believe it is a B&T VP9, a firearm with an attached suppressor which is manufactured in Switzerland.
Cops are investigating a recent purchase of this type of firearm in Connecticut to see if it could be linked to the killing.
The suspect shot Thompson, 50, as he walked to a Hilton hotel on W. 54th St. and Sixth Ave. where he was about to address colleagues and company investors at an conference, police said.
Harrowing surveillance footage shows the man shoot Thompson in the back then cooly clear a jam in his pistol, before firing at least three more times.
He fled the scene on a bicycle and disappeared in Central Park, but cops picked up his trail late Wednesday night on the Upper West Side.
Cops found the words “Deny,” “Delay,” and “Defend” etched on the bullets — a supposed insurance industry mantra for delaying claims and maximizing profits — leading police to believe that the killer has a beef with the insurance industry.
Police are offering $10,000 reward for any information leading to the gunman’s capture.
Anyone with information regarding his whereabouts is urged to call NYPD Crime Stoppers at (800) 577-TIPS. All calls will be kept confidential.
