Tourists flock to Rockefeller Christmas tree lighting unfazed by assassin on the loose
Tourists flocked to Rockefeller Center for the Christmas tree lighting Wednesday night, unfazed by an armed assassin on the loose after killing UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson around the corner hours earlier.
Thousands of visitors from all over the country and overseas stood in line for hours in hopes of getting a glimpse of the famous tree in Manhattan — just two blocks away from where the shocking murder was committed shortly before 7 a.m.
The tourists bundled up and sang along to performances by the Backstreet Boys and Kelly Clarkson as light flurries fell over the celebration before the tree lights were turned on at 10 p.m.
Many of the revelers were unaware of the broad daylight execution or if they had heard, they didn’t let it dampen their holiday spirit.
Canadians Heather Poliquin and her daughter Amy were in the sea of people hoping to find a good spot to watch the more than 50,000 multicolor lights illuminate the tree.
“We weren’t worried,” Amy told The Post. “We didn’t even know [about the shooting] until dinner time and that’s when we found out it happened earlier this morning, so we feel fine.”
“I heard about the shooting. We weren’t worried. We were far from it this morning, and obviously the shooter was only after him [the CEO],” another woman NT said.
One New Yorker who braved the crowds said the execution-style killing of Thompson crossed his mind, but felt it was just part of living in the city.
“The shooting did come across my mind. To be honest. Yes,” Bhushan Mondkar, 40, said. “In New York things like that are always on my mind. But the security has been crazy. Since the moment I got off the subway station. Everything is blocked. They checked my bag. So I feel safe.”
After a short pause, he added: “But it crossed my mind. It’s a little scary.”
A frustrated dad with a toddler said he wished people cared a little more about the crime.
“Yeah the shooting here, that’s crazy,” he said. “More people should’ve stayed home after hearing that, it’s packed.”
Many of the sight-seers were more distraught over the massive — and chaotic — crowd preventing them from a chance to actually see the performances or the tree lighting at 10 p.m. than the deadly shooting.
“I can’t hear any of the music. I got here hours ago to get a good spot and now I can’t even hear the music,” one woman complained as she smoked a cigarette.
Anna Marrero drove eight hours from Ohio with her wife and their 13-year-old daughter for the tree lighting but got separated from them when police began putting up extra barricades.
“This is really, really ridiculous.” Marrero, 37, told The Post. “I just came with my family. And they put my family on one side, and me on the other side.”
Still, others were too excited to see the 74-foot Norway spruce illuminated to let the shooting or the crowds get to them.
“I left my three babies at home with their dad,” Elena Thomson said in a thick Irish brogue. “They’re 2,3, and 6 years of age. And I’m solo traveling for the first time in me life! It was my 40th birthday last week. This is my birthday present to myself. And life begins at 40!”
“I came to see the tree and see New York and I absolutely love it. I wanna come back already.”
She called the moment the lights came on, sparkling around the pine branches “magical.”
“A beautiful tree. It really is. It’s gorgeous,” she said. “I feel like I’m livin the American dream.”
