UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson killed in 'brazen, targeted' Midtown shooting, NYPD says
Dec. 4, 2024, 8:39 a.m.
Police were still seeking the gunman Wednesday, and offering a $10,000 reward for information.
A gunman fatally shot the CEO of UnitedHealthcare outside a Midtown hotel on Wednesday morning in what NYPD officials are calling a “brazen, targeted attack,” setting off a citywide manhunt.
The shooting happened at 6:46 a.m. outside the New York Hilton Midtown Hotel on Sixth Avenue, police said. UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson was shot in the back and calf and taken to Mount Sinai Hospital, where he was later pronounced dead.
“This does not appear to be a random act of violence,” NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch told reporters at a press conference on Wednesday, adding that the shooter appeared on surveillance video to be “lying in wait for several minutes” as Thompson made his way to the Hilton from his hotel across the street.
The attack took place near Rockefeller Center on one of the busiest days of the year for the famed tree lighting ceremony. Police said the ceremony would not be affected.
“We will have a massive police presence out there around Rockefeller Center,” NYPD Chief of Department Jeffrey Maddrey told reporters, adding that additional police officers would also be stationed in the subway system.
The gunman ignored other passersby and focused on Thompson, police said. Thompson was one of the organizers of UnitedHealth Group’s annual investor conference at the Hilton, an event that was scheduled to start at 8 a.m.
NYPD Chief of Detectives Joseph Kenny said the gun jammed several times during the shooting, but the gunman was quickly able to unjam it and continue shooting. After firing several rounds at the CEO, the shooter fled through a nearby alleyway, then got onto an electric Citi Bike and rode north on Sixth Avenue, police said at the press conference.
The shooter was last seen in Central Park on Center Drive, NYPD officials said. Police later released a picture of the alleged shooter — wearing a dark, hooded jacket, a face mask and a light-colored backpack — at an indoor counter. Officials said that was taken a few blocks away, before the shooting.
“We will not rest until we identify and apprehend the shooter in this case,” Tisch said, asking the public to be vigilant. She said the NYPD was offering a $10,000 reward for anyone who could provide information about the shooter.
Police have pulled in detectives from other precincts to help with the investigation. Some are focusing on looking for video evidence, while others are questioning Thompson’s employees about possible motives and working with Citi Bike to track the bicycle, police said.
Thompson was named UnitedHealthcare's CEO in April 2021. He first joined the company’s corporate development team in 2004, and has since worked in a variety of leadership roles, according to his bio on the insurer’s website. He previously led government programs for UnitedHealthcare, as well as its Medicare and retirement program.
UnitedHealth Group — of which UnitedHealthcare is a division — was scheduled to hold its annual Investor Conference on Wednesday, though it was promptly called off after news of the shooting spread.
Thompson was visiting New York from his home in Minnesota. Kenny said the motive for the shooting was not immediately clear.
He said detectives were reaching out to law enforcement officials in Minnesota, speaking to members of Thompson’s family and executing a search warrant in his hotel room to look for anything that would indicate why he was targeted. He added that they would also be scrutinizing a cellphone found in the alleyway where the gunman fled.
Thompson traveled without a security detail, Kenny said.
Thompson’s wife Paulette Thompson told NBC News that he had been receiving threats, but did not alter his travel habits. She added that she was focusing on consoling their two children. Another relative reached by Gothamist said she did not want to comment.
Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz said on X Wednesday, “This is horrifying news and a terrible loss for the business and health care community in Minnesota. Minnesota is sending our prayers to Brian’s family and the UnitedHealthcare team.”
UnitedHealth Group is the largest health insurance firm in the country and the health care giant has grown to control a growing share of the health care industry overall. It now also holds the title of the largest employer of physicians.
There have been no fatal shootings in the 18th Precinct, which covers the western portion of Midtown below Central Park, so far this year, according to NYPD data compiled by Gothamist.
Detectives clustered around the Hilton's side door on Wednesday, and several evidence markers could be seen across the sidewalk as pedestrians stopped to look at the scene.