A targeted attack on Brian Thompson, the chief executive of UnitedHealthcare, left him dead outside a hotel in midtown Manhattan on Wednesday. The shooter, described as a man wearing a black face mask and gray backpack, fled into an alleyway and later jumped onto an e-bike heading into Central Park.
Thompson was alone at the time of the attack, without security detail. He was pronounced dead at 7:12 am after being shot multiple times outside the New York Hilton Midtown hotel. The motive behind the attack remains unclear.
According to police, the shooter arrived about five minutes before Thompson reached the conference location and ignored others as he approached him from behind. The assailant’s gun malfunctioned briefly but was quickly fixed, allowing him to continue firing. A cellphone was found in an alleyway near the hotel, but its ownership is still unknown.
Thompson, who led UnitedHealthcare’s insurance division since 2021, had worked for the company for over two decades and held a $10.2 million annual compensation package. His wife revealed that some people may have been threatening him due to issues with insurance coverage, although their department reported no previous threats against the executive.
Source: https://apnews.com/article/unitedhealthcare-ceo-brian-thompson-shooting-79a9710978fc7adbb23d3fed4ea2f70d