UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, 50, was shot and killed Wednesday morning outside the Hilton in midtown Manhattan, where he was set to address investors.
A manhunt is now underway for the gunman who police believe targeted Thompson in the shooting, although a motive remains unclear, according to the New York Times.
Thompson, a Minnesota resident, took the helm of UnitedHealth Group’s insurance division, one of the nation’s largest, in 2021. He’d worked at UnitedHealth Group for nearly 21 years and graduated from the University of Iowa, according to his LinkedIn.
He was walking into the hotel for UnitedHealth Group’s annual investor conference when he was shot in the chest by a masked man, who then fled on bicycle, CNN reported. Thompson was taken to Mount Sinai hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
The investor conference was abruptly canceled after the shooting.
“We’re dealing with a very serious… situation,” UnitedHealth Group CEO Andrew Witty said, according to PIX11. “We’re going to have to bring to a close the event today… I apologize for bringing things to a close but I hope you’ll understand.”
UnitedHealth Group is one of the largest corporations in the country, with $372 billion in revenue last year.
New York police commissioner Jessica Tisch called the killing a “brazen targeted attack.”
“This is horrifying news and a terrible loss for the business and health care community in Minnesota,” Gov. Tim Walz posted on X.
Wife: Thompson had received threats
NBC News reported that Thompson’s spouse, Paulette Thompson, said that he had been receiving threats.
“There had been some threats,” she said in a phone call to NBC News. “Basically, I don’t know, a lack of coverage? I don’t know details. I just know that he said there were some people that had been threatening him.”
The Star Tribune reports that Thompson was the father of two Wayzata High School students, one current and one who graduated this year past spring.
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