UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, 50, was fatally shot outside of a hotel in Midtown Manhattan on Wednesday morning, per the New York Post. The attack took place around 6:46 a.m. and appears to have been a targeted attack, according to police.
The shooter was described as wearing a mask, and had been seemingly waiting for Thompson to arrive at the hotel for a conference before opening fire, shooting at the CEO repeatedly. The shooter then fled on a bicycle.
Thompson was rushed to nearby Mt. Sinai Hospital in critical condition. He was later pronounced dead.
He was allegedly shot once in his chest and once in his leg.
At present, no arrests have been made, and police are still searching for Thompson’s killer.
According to witnesses, the shooter had been milling around the hotel for some time before encountering Thompson. The killer did not appear to be a guest at the hotel, nor to have any other business there. He was described as a white male wearing black and white tennis shoes, a cream-colored jacket, and a black face mask. He was also carrying a gray backpack.
The hotel in question was the Hilton on 6th Avenue, where the conference was being held.
Thompson became CEO of UnitedHealth’s insurance division, UnitedHealthcare, in 2021 and worked out of its offices in Minnetonka, Minnesota. He was in New York for a conference with UnitedHealthcare’s parent company, UnitedHealth Group, for its annual Investor Day.
According to UnitedHealth Group’s CEO, Andrew Witty, the Investor Day conference was immediately canceled, citing “a very serious medical situation” involving one of the attendees.
Prior to becoming CEO of UnitedHealth’s insurance division, Thompson worked as the company’s head of government programs, including retirement and Medicare. Prior to UnitedHealth, he worked at a Minneapolis-based accounting and auditing firm.
The UnitedHealth Group is ranked fourth in the Fortune 500, and has over 100,000 employees in various American states.
