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?
This is sound advice. There are too many bad actors among cops to trust them to be impartial or fair.