The CEO of UnitedHealthcare’s insurance unit, Brian Thompson, was assassinated by a masked gunman this morning in New York City, according to local law authorities.
Thompson was brazenly shot in broad daylight at 6:46 a.m. Eastern time. The murder occured outside the Hilton Hotel at 13356 Sixth Avenue in midtown Manhattan, according to the NYPD.
The senior executive was supposed to speak at a major investor meeting at the hotel that day, reported PIX11 News on X.
After the shooting, Thompson was transported to Mount Sinai West Medical Center in critical condition. He was later pronounced dead at the hospital.
Witnesses said that the gunman waited for Thompson to arrive before shooting at him from a distance of approximately 20 feet.
A surveillance video posted on X by Colin Rugg, the co-owner of Trending Politics news site, appears to show the assailant shooting Thompson in the back with a silenced handgun earlier today. "Video footage shows a man in the grey backpack pulling out a pistol with a silencer on it before opening fire. The man was seen firing multiple shots at Thompson who stumbled to the ground," wrote Rugg. "According to The New York Post, the weapon jammed at one point, prompting the gunman to fix it so he could keep firing. He then fled down an alley and was last seen in Central Park," he added.
At a Wednesday news conference, NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch described how the masked suspect lay in wait for a few minutes before shooting Thompson several times in the back. The assailant then fled on foot into a back alley and escaped on an E-bike. The police commissioner called the murder of Thompson, who was 50, a “premeditated, preplanned targeted attack." She added that several witnesses told investigators they had passed by the suspect as he waited “for his intended target.”
Tisch urged the public to call the NYPD’s Crime Stoppers tip line and upped the reward for finding the killer to $10,000. The motive for the murder is unknown while the assassin has yet to be apprehended or identified, she said.
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The NYPD posted a photo of the suspect holding a gun with a silencer attached, along with another image of the suspect riding a bike.They described him as a “light-skinned” male "wearing a black hoodie, black pants, black sneakers with white trim, and a gray backpack."
Law enforcement is interviewing Thompson's family members, company employees, and other individuals in Minnesota, where UnitedHealth is based.
UnitedHealthcare is a unit of UnitedHealth Group, the largest health insurance company in the United States, according to Forbes.
Thompson became CEO of United Healthcare's insurance unit in 2021, after running its Medicaid and Medicare unit, according to the company’s website.
Tisch said that the shooting will not affect the lighting of the Christmas tree at Rockefeller Center in Manhattan later in the evening. “Millions of people will be enjoying the tree lighting tonight, among other holiday events, and the NYPD will be out there with them, keeping them safe,” the commissioner said.
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