UnitedHealthcare CEO assassin’s 2 eerie connections to NJ

🚨The NYPD continues to look for the person who shot CEO Brian Thompson

🚨The gunman reportedly used a fake New Jersey driver's license

🚨The title of a Rutgers law prof's book may have inspired words written on the bullets

The killer who shot UnitedHeathcare CEO Brian Thompson outside a Manhattan hotel used a fake ID when he arrived in New York, according to a published report.

A masked gunman approached Thompson as he exited the New York Hilton around 6:45 a.m. Wednesday and then ran away before getting on an electric bicycle. The NYPD says the shooting "does not appear to be a random act of violence.

Police have not identified Thompson's assassin.

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Rutgers law professor's book inspired words on bullets?

The gunman is believed to have purchased a Greyhound bus ticket in Atlanta in late November, unnamed law enforcement told The Associated Press. According to The AP, he presented a fake New Jersey identification card while checking into a hostel in Manhattan.

Employees who work at the hostel told investigators they remembered a man who almost always wore a mask when interacting with them or walking by the front desk. The person wore a jacket that looked like the one worn by the man pictured in surveillance images, the official told The AP.

The NYPD disclosed that the words "deny,” “defend” and “depose” were written on each of the bullets fired at Thompson. A book titled “Delay, Deny, Defend" is cited as a possible explanation for the words was written in 2010 by a Rutgers law professor, Jay M. Feinman.

According to the Rutgers website, Feinman is a distinguished professor emeritus who teaches at Rutgers Law School in Camden. Feinman is considered an expert in insurance law, torts, and contract law. He has written seven books.

Feinman has declined to comment to several media outlets including the New York Post about his book's possible connection to the shooting.

It is also a common phrase used by lawyers and critics about insurers that delay payments, deny claims and defend their actions.

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A moment of flirtation led to an image of the man’s face, law enforcement official says

Investigators have learned the man lowered his mask at the front desk of the hostel because he was flirting with the woman who checked him in, the law enforcement official said, leading to a photo of his face.

The woman told investigators that during that encounter she asked to see his smile and he pulled down his mask, the official said.

The official wasn’t authorized to discuss details of the ongoing investigation and spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity.

— Mike Balsamo, The Associated Press

Police test DNA and fingerprints on discarded bottle as they hunt for UnitedHealthcare CEO’s killer

Police said Thursday they found a water bottle and protein bar wrapper from a trash can near the scene of the ambush and think the suspect bought them from a Starbucks minutes before the shooting. The items were being tested by the city’s medical examiner.

— The Associated Press

Police have obtained other surveillance images of the person wanted for questioning

Those images include New York’s subway system, a law enforcement official said. In establishments where the person was captured on camera, he always appeared to pay with cash, the official said.

The official wasn’t authorized to discuss details of the ongoing investigation and spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity.

— Mike Balsamo, The Associated Press

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