Maybe I’m just face-blind or being dense but the photos from the scene of the crime look like a different dude than the ginning hostel check in guy. The jackets and backpacks are different. Although people can have multiple jackets and backpacks. We don’t see much of the shooters face but the eyebrows look different. Although, people can pluck/shave eyebrows. I guess the happy hostel guy would have come forward and been like “WTF?” and “I have an alibi” if it wasn’t him?
It’s the smart thing to do and pretty basic evasion tactic that I know I learned from a kids book about spies when I was a kid.
My guess is, he road the ebike to Central Park (known fact), ran into a restroom to quick change, probably did something to modify his appearance then continued off blending into the crowd, probably leaving the city on public transit to further anonymise himself.
Another tactic mentioned in that same kids spy book was to put something distracting like a bandage on your face so it’s harder for witnesses to remember your face, they’ll just remember there was a big bandage on the cheek or whatever. I’ve never heard of people actually using that tactic so I do have to wonder if there’s a pitfall there that’s not immediately obvious