As New York police continue to uncover clues about who killed UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, questions have been raised about how the suspect could disappear in a city under constant surveillance.

Now, two days after the manhunt began for the shooter, here are his last known movements.

Gunman “lurks” on Manhattan’s main thoroughfare

On a busy street just blocks from some of Manhattan’s biggest tourist attractions and hours before the annual Christmas tree lighting, a man waits to carry out a “targeted attack.”

Police believe Mr Thompson’s killer was “lying in wait” as he ignored the rush of people passing the entrance New York Hilton Midtown on Wednesday.

The 50-year-old CEO was walking alone toward the hotel when he was approached from behind and shot multiple times at around 6:45 a.m. local time.

Surveillance videos reviewed by investigators showed a person getting out of a parked car, pointing a gun at Mr. Thompson’s back and 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.

“It appears from the video that he is proficient with firearms as he was able to resolve the malfunctions fairly quickly,” added NYPD Chief of Detectives Joseph Kenny.

Authorities said the bullets were marked with the words “deny,” “defend” and “depose” – phrases similar to those some lawyers use to describe how insurers deny benefits and payments.

Then Mr. Thompson falls to the sidewalk as the murderer runs out of frame.

From there, the shooter – seen wearing a jacket, face mask and large backpack – flees through a passage West 55th Street, before bringing him near it on an electric bike Central Park.

Police initially said the suspect rode to the park through the city’s bike-sharing program, CitiBike, but later said that was not the case.

A Starbucks trip, a hostel stay, and a fake ID

Just moments earlier, the suspect was seen at one Starbucks, two blocks from the Hilton Hotel.

Police said they found a water bottle and a protein bar wrapper in a trash can near the crime scene that they believe were purchased there.

The items will be examined by the city’s coroner.

Fox News also found surveillance footage that allegedly showed the suspect walking toward the hotel an hour before the crime.

Video from a nearby deli, Stage Star DeliIt shows a man dressed in black with a gray backpack stopping in front of a pile of rubbish and bending down before moving on.

As his trail unravels, police now believe the suspect may have been in New York for up to ten days before the shooting.

Authorities told US media outlet ABC News that he may have traveled on an interstate bus on November 24 before arriving there Port Authority Bus Terminal in Midtown.

From there, senior law enforcement officials told The New York Times that the man used a fake New Jersey ID to book a room at a hostel on the Upper West Side on Nov. 30.

An employee of HI New York City Hostel said police visited but declined to provide further information to the Associated Press.

Spokeswoman Danielle Brumfitt said the hostel was cooperating with the NYPD and could not comment on the investigation.

The search is difficult despite the surveillance system

A senior official told The New York Times that they were still searching for a surveillance image that showed the suspected shooter’s face completely unobscured.

Since September 11th, New York has had one of the most advanced surveillance systems of any major US city.

There are thousands of cameras in Manhattan and all feeds can be monitored in real time and checked for previous footage using facial recognition software.

“It’s called the real-time crime center: actionable information can be passed along to responding officers on the scene,” former NYPD detective Sergeant Felip Rodriguez told Reuters.

However, monitoring does not always result in a quick response.

In 2022, gunman Frank James shot and killed ten people in a crowded subway car in Brooklyn.

It would take the New York Police Department 36 hours to find him, even though he was 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 lengthy.”

“It requires analyzing tens of thousands of hours of footage from all different camera sources,” she said.

Meanwhile, recently appointed Police Commissioner Tisch said her department would use all means to track down the shooter – including a $10,000 reward.

NYPD spokesman Carlos Nieves urged anyone with information to contact the department, “even if it seems trivial.”

ABC/Wires