Posted originally on the CTH onDecember 6, 2024 | Sundance 

I find it very interesting amid all of our current discussions unattached to the events in New York City, that ‘facial recognition technology‘ appears to be the investigative emphasis to find the gunman who killed UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson on December 4th.

From the latest information, the assassin arrived in New York City on November 24, traveling from Atlanta, Georgia, to New York City by bus.  Ten days later the unknown gunman executed his mission.  New York police have some evidence from the trail of the gunman as they track his travel into and then out of the area.  {Developments Here}

The evidence includes CCTV security images of the gunman checking in to a hostel, using a fake New Jersey ID, paying cash.  The police also located a water bottle purchased from a local Starbucks and a cell phone retrieved from the area where the gunman fled.  If the assassin was a professional, the physical evidence could be purposeful, meaning dropped intentionally.

With this much time to distance himself from the area, it will be challenging for investigators to locate him, even if they are able to come up with a solid identification.  And with that background, again we go into the world of ‘facial recognition software’ as a tool to identify a bad guy.  Strange coincidence. Hmmm?

NEW YORK – The unidentified man suspected of gunning down UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson outside a Midtown Manhattan hotel remains at large after Wednesday’s attack, which was described by police as “brazen, targeted” and “premeditated.”

The killer entered New York City by bus on Nov. 24, when a surveillance camera at Port Authority Bus Terminal caught his arrival at 9 p.m., law enforcement sources told ABC News.

The inbound bus originated in Atlanta but it was not immediately clear where the suspected boarded. Sources told ABC News he was spotted on board in Washington, D.C.

Police are investigating whether the suspect left New York City by bus on Wednesday after the murder. The 10-day period he was in New York City before the shooting is the focus of investigative efforts.

Police have collected video of the suspect all over the city, including in the subway, in cabs and in a McDonald’s, sources told ABC News. In each place, he paid with cash and he made sure to keep his mask on, which indicates to detectives he knew he was coming to New York City to commit the murder, sources said.

Police were able to find a surveillance image of the suspect without his face mask on because he was flirting with the woman who checked him into a hostel on Manhattan’s Upper West Side, police sources said.

As he stood at the check-in desk, the sources said the woman asked to see his smile. The shooter obliged, pulling down his mask long enough for the surveillance camera to capture his face.

Police have determined the suspect checked into the hostel using a New Jersey license that wasn’t his own, police sources told ABC News.

The masked gunman shot Thompson at point-blank range at 6:44 a.m. Wednesday outside the New York Hilton Midtown, where Thompson was heading for his company’s investors conference.

“The shooter then walks toward the victim and continues to shoot,” NYPD Chief of Detectives Joseph Kenny said. “It appears that the gun malfunctions, as he clears the jam and begins to fire again.”

Written on the shell casings were the words “deny,” “defend” and “depose,” according to police sources.

[…] Investigators believe they were able to score DNA samples from several pieces of evidence discovered at or near the crime scene, law enforcement sources told ABC News. The samples are currently at the NYC Office of the Chief Medical Examiner to be run through databases for a possible match — a process that could take several days, the sources said.

Police were also able to extract a fingerprint off a water bottle the suspect bought at a Starbucks, but the print is smudged so it’s not clear how helpful it will be, sources said.

The suspect fled on foot and then fled north on a bike and rode into Central Park, police said.

A person appearing to be the suspect was seen just before 7 a.m. on the Upper West Side, riding a bicycle away from Central Park. He has not been spotted since. (more)