UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson was shot and killed outside the New York Hilton Midtown on Wednesday morning, police said as they search for a lone gunman who fled the scene in what's being investigated as a "targeted attack."
Thompson, 50, was shot around 6:45 a.m. as he arrived at the West 54th Street exit of the hotel off Sixth Avenue, according to police, who said officers found him "unconscious and unresponsive" at the scene.
He suffered gunshot wounds to the back and right thigh and was rushed in critical condition to Mount Sinai West, where he was pronounced dead, police said.
The shooting happened around 6:45 a.m. outside the West 54th Street exit of the hotel, off Sixth Avenue, according to police.
A wanted poster being distributed by the NYPD shows the suspect sought in connection with the killing. A pair of photos shows him opening fire and fleeing on a bicycle. A $10,000 reward is being offered for information in the homicide, police said.
NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch said at a news conference from police headquarters that “every indication is that this was a premediated preplanned, targeted attack.”
“Many people passed the suspect, but he appeared to wait for his target,” Tisch said, calling the shooting “brazen.”
NYPD Chief of Detectives Joseph Kenny said the gunman waited alongside the hotel building, arriving before Thompson and "lying in wait for several minutes."
“The shooters steps onto the sidewalk from behind a car, he ignores numerous other pedestrians, approaches the victim from behind and shoots him in the back. The shooter then walks towards the victim and continues to shoot,” Kenny said.
After gunning down Thompson, the shooter ran through an alleyway behind the Ziegfeld Ballroom and then to Sixth Avenue, where he hopped on an electric Citi Bike and traveled north on Sixth towards Central Park. The last video police have is him entering the park via Center Drive at 6:48 a.m.
According to police, the shooter was wearing a black mask, a cream-colored jacket and a gray backpack. He is said to be about 5 feet, 10 inches tall.
Kenny said a motive is currently unknown but it “does appear the victim was specifically targeted.”
“At this point, we don’t know why,” Kenny said, adding investigators are getting a search warrant for Thompson’s hotel room and working with the company to see if he’d been the subject of threats in New York or Minnesota, where UnitedHealthcare is based and where Thompson lived.
Thompson was the CEO of UnitedHealthcare, the health benefits business of UnitedHealth Group, a position he was appointed to in 2021. Sometimes known as "BT," he had been with the company since 2004.
UnitedHealthcare is one of the largest health insurers in the U.S. and was hosting an annual meeting with investors at the hotel on Wednesday. An announcement was made to attendees that the conference would end early.
A caterer for the event told 1010 WINS she suspected something was wrong when no one showed up for a coffee break and the morning session at 7 a.m.
Crime scene tape surrounded blood, shell casings and several evidence markers on the street as detectives investigated throughout the morning. Police closed West 54th Street between Sixth and Seventh avenues.
1010 WINS reached out to UnitedHealthcare for comment but has not yet heard back.
Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, tweeted that the state was “sending our prayers to Brian’s family and the UnitedHealthcare team.”
“This is horrifying news and a terrible loss for the business and health care community in Minnesota,” Walz wrote.
Crime scene tape surrounded blood on the street and several evidence markers around 9:30 a.m. as detectives investigated. Police closed West 54th Street between Sixth and Seventh avenues.
Police are reportedly investigating whether the shooting was a targeted attack.
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