Brian Thompson, UnitedHealthcare CEO shot dead by white unidentified male outside midtown Hilton hotel as authorities seek to arrest un-identified suspect. Victim has arrived for conference to discuss insurer’s outlook.
The CEO of UnitedHealth was fatally shot, Wednesday morning outside the Midtown Hilton hotel in what police surmise may have been a targeted attack.
Brian Thompson, 50, had arrived at the hotel located at 54th st and sixth avenue around 6:46 a.m for a conference when a masked man allegedly waiting for him fired at the health insurance CEO repeatedly, before fleeing.
Thompson, 50, was shot in the chest by the un-identified masked man in a possibly targeted attack, with the suspect fleeing down 6th Avenue and who was now being sought by police, sources told the New York Post.
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When police arrived, the CEO was ‘unconscious, unresponsive with a gunshot wound to the leg and chest,’ USA Today reported.
Thomas was rushed to the Mt Sinai Hospital in critical condition, where he was later pronounced dead, police said.
The gunman, who was wearing a ski mask, fled down an alleyway near West 55th Street and remains at large, police said.
Authorities had yet to identify the suspect or make any arrests.
The suspect was described as a white male wearing a cream-colored jacket, black face mask, and black and white sneakers. Officials said he was also carrying a grey backpack.
Witnesses said the un-identified suspect prior to the shooting had been spotted ‘milling about’ near the vicinity of the hotel, on 6th avenue.
When the suspect spotted Thompson, he began to fire from a distance, striking him multiple times, police sources added.
The masked man then fled through the Ziegfeld alleyway and hopped on a bike to flee the scene.
Police sources said the shooter wasn’t a guest at the hotel but it is unclear if he had other business there.
The suspect was described as a skinny man wearing all black who stands at about 6-foot-1, police said.
No motive for the health insurance executive’s slaying was immediately known.
Thompson, who has worked with UnitedHealth for the last 20 years, took the role of CEO for UnitedHealth in 2021, where he earned a reported $10 million a year.
The executive was slated to speak at an investor meeting at the Hilton Hotel soon after the shooting.
He previously served as the company’s head of government programs, including Medicare and Retirement.
According to a release from United Healthcare on Tuesday, Thompson was set to speak about the company’s hugely profitable 2025 financial outlook, including announcing expected revenues upwards of $450 billion.
