NEW YORK, Dec 4 (Reuters) – Brian Thompson, the CEO of UnitedHealth’s (UNH.N), opens new tab insurance unit, was killed on Wednesday morning outside a Midtown Manhattan hotel in what police described as a targeted attack by a gunman lying in wait for him.
Thompson, 50, was shot around 6:45 a.m. ET (1145 GMT) outside the Hilton on Sixth Avenue, just before the company’s annual investor conference. He was rushed to a nearby hospital, where he was pronounced dead. Police said the gunman was at large and they were still investigating a motive.
“This does not appear to be a random act of violence,” New York City Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch said at a press conference. “Every indication is that this was a premeditated, pre-planned, targeted attack.”
The suspect, wearing a mask and carrying a gray backpack, fled on foot before mounting an electric bike and riding into Central Park, police said.
The killing took place just hours before the city’s annual Christmas tree lighting at Rockefeller Center a few blocks away, a televised event that draws massive crowds. Police officials said that event would proceed as planned under heavy security.
Thompson’s wife, Paulette, told NBC News that he had received some threats, though she did not know any specifics.
“Basically, I don’t know, a lack of coverage?” she said, appearing to allude to a potential insurance-related motive, according to the network. “I don’t know details. I just know that he said there were some people that had been threatening him.”
UnitedHealth is the largest U.S. health insurer, providing benefits to tens of millions of Americans, who pay more for healthcare than people in any other country. Thompson had been the CEO of UnitedHealthcare, a unit of UnitedHealth Group, since April 2021.
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REUTERS
