The gunman wanted in the killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson hasn’t made it easy for New York police to find him, but he left behind some confusing clues that could lead to his arrest, experts said on Friday.

Although the fatal shots were fired in a busy part of Manhattan where there are countless surveillance cameras, and despite revealing his face at the hostel where he was believed to have been staying before the fatal shooting, investigators have identified the gunman who ambushed the 50 has not yet publicly identified -year-old insurance executive early Wednesday.

Former NYPD detective Michael Alcazar, now an associate professor at John Jay College of Criminal Justice, noted that the time before the shooter’s picture was released helped him.

“Right off the bat, this guy had a day to get away,” Alcazar told NBC News.

“But now that we have his picture, I can almost guarantee that Crime Stoppers investigators or someone else looking for reward money have gotten a solid lead as to who he is. They probably already have a lot more information about him than they’re letting on to the public.”

“This could be the tip the NYPD needs,” retired NYPD detective Jillian Snider told MSNBC. “This is someone with distinctive characteristics. He has a smile.”

Previously, Tom Verni, also a retired NYPD detective, told MSNBC’s Jose Diaz-Balart that it was only a matter of time before the shooter was identified or arrested as “his face is plastered on news sites across the country.” become. He also didn’t rule out the possibility that the killer might still be in New York City.

“In a city like New York City, you can disappear into a crowd,” Verni said.

NYPD Chief of Detectives Joseph Kenny later said they believed the suspect had left New York City. He said they had footage of him getting into a taxi that took him to a Port Authority bus station near 178th Street and Broadway.

“These buses are intercity buses,” Kenny said. “That’s why we believe he may have left New York City.”

Thompson was fatally shot in a “premeditated, pre-planned targeted attack” outside the New York Hilton Hotel in midtown Manhattan, Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch said. He was on his way to speak at the UnitedHealth Group investor conference when the gunman came up to him from behind and “fired multiple shots,” Tisch said at a news conference after the fatal shooting.

The gunman “laid in wait for several minutes” before opening fire, Tisch said.

Thompson’s final moments were captured on surveillance camera footage that showed the gunman approaching him from behind and opening fire. He continued firing as Thompson fell to the ground, the video showed.

Police said the gunman arrived at the scene about five minutes before the shooting. Thompson, who lived in Minnesota, was pronounced dead at Mount Sinai West Hospital.

Meanwhile, the shooter fled on foot and then on a rental bike, Tisch said. He was last seen in Central Park.