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CEO of UnitedHealthcare is killed in New York
Police believe the executive, Brian Thompson, 50, was targeted in the attack.
NEW YORK — The CEO of UnitedHealthcare, one of the nation’s largest health insurers, was fatally shot outside a hotel in midtown Manhattan on Wednesday morning, police said.
The CEO, Brian Thompson, 50, was shot just after 6:45 a.m. at the New York Hilton Midtown on Avenue of the Americas near 54th Street, according to a police report. Thompson was taken to Mount Sinai West, where he was pronounced dead.
Investigators were still searching for the gunman, who fled along the Avenue of the Americas, police said. A surveillance image released by police showed a person in a black hooded garment and wearing a backpack pointing a weapon, and another showed the person fleeing on a bike. Neither image showed the shooter’s face.
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Police believe Thompson was targeted in the attack, according to two people familiar with the investigation who spoke on the condition of anonymity. The shooting happened on the morning of the company’s annual investor conference in New York City, and Thompson had arrived early to prepare for the conference, the people said.
The gunman apparently knew which door Thompson was going to enter and shot him several times from a few feet away, then fled. The gunman, the people said, ran, jumped on a bicycle and pedaled away.
The company’s investor presentations were underway as news began to spread of the shooting. Ryan Langston, an analyst in the audience, said people started getting notifications on their phones. Then Andrew Witty, the CEO of UnitedHealth Group, the parent company of UnitedHealthcare, addressed the audience.
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“We’re dealing with a very serious medical situation,” Witty said, according to Bloomberg.
Langston said the room “quickly turned very somber, very quiet.” He added, “People, including myself, were calling their families. I let them know I was OK.”
Thompson was promoted to CEO of Minnesota-based UnitedHealthcare in April 2021, heading one unit of the larger UnitedHealth Group. Neither company immediately responded to messages seeking comment.
Thompson’s sister-in-law, Elena Reveiz, said she was still processing the news of his death. “He was a good person, and I am so sad,” Reveiz said when reached by phone. She said Thompson had two children, and she was on her way to be with his family.
Yellow caution tape closed off the section of West 54th Street just outside the hotel entrance. Inside, the morning continued as usual, with guests ordering coffee and arriving with luggage.
This article originally appeared in The New York Times.
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