The CEO of insurance giant UnitedHealthcare, Brian Thompson, was shot and killed early Wednesday morning in New York in what appeared to be a targeted attack, according to Mayor Eric Adams. Thompson, 50, was executive vice president of UnitedHealthcare’s parent company, United Health Group, which was holding its annual investor conference in Midtown Manhattan.
Thompson was shot outside the Hilton Hotel at 54th and 6th Ave by a gunman who fired several shots and fled on an electric bicycle down 6th Avenue, according to the NYPD. Thompson was shot “at least once in the back and at least once in the calf,” according to a spokesman for the New York Police Department in a news conference that was broadcast live on YouTube.
The gunman is still at large and witnesses gave police conflicting accounts of what he looked like. Some witnesses described a man wearing a cream-colored coat while others said the man was dressed in black, according to the Times. The New York Post obtained surveillance footage showing a figure in a darker-colored hoodie carrying a lighter-colored backpack, which is likely where the confusion lies. The suspect was also wearing a black face mask.
Surveillance photos show suspect in fatal Midtown shooting of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson https://t.co/mWQJgx0Cje pic.twitter.com/gqYdacOuZG
— New York Post (@nypost) December 4, 2024
Thompson was shot around 6:45 a.m. ET, pronounced dead at the hospital at 7:12 a.m. The investor conference call began at 8:00 a.m., but didn’t stop until shortly after from 9:00 am. The conference attendees seemed unfamiliar. to the identity of the shooting victim, according to the New York Times, which quoted a person as saying “someone shot outside,” apparently not knowing it was the company’s CEO.
Police recovered a phone allegedly discarded by the suspect near the shooting, but the NYPD has not provided any details about any evidence they may have recovered from it yet. What is clear is that this was a targeted act, and police described the shooter as a “firearms expert” because the shooter quickly cleared a jam that occurred as he unloaded several rounds of ammunition.
“We want to be clear to New Yorkers that this does not appear to be a random act of violence,” Adams said, according to the New York Times.
Social media was quickly filled with reactions to the shooting, including everything from shock to dark humor. Given UnitedHealth’s long history denying claimsthere were more than a few jokes about how there are probably 100 million suspects in this country.
UnitedHealth Group is one of the nation’s largest companies and is based in Minnesota, where politicians expressed their condolences. Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minnesota, shared a link to a Star Tribune article about the killing.
“This is a horrifying and shocking act of violence,” Klobuchar said wrote to X. “My thoughts are with Brian Thompson’s family and loved ones and with everyone who works at United Healthcare in Minnesota.”
The NYPD is offering a $10,000 reward for information leading to the suspect’s arrest. UnitedHealth shares rose more than 2.4% after the news of the murder. It is currently being 1.4% per day.
