A manhunt is underway in New York for the suspect who shot the CEO of the country’s largest private health insurer Wednesday morning.
Police said UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson was shot and killed outside the New York Hilton Hotel in midtown Manhattan, where UnitedHealth Group was holding its annual investor conference.
Here’s what to know:
Police say Thompson was targeted
New York police commissioner Jessica Tisch said the shooting was a “brazen, targeted attack.”
“Every indication is that this was a premeditated, pre-planned, targeted attack,” Tisch said during a briefing. “Many people passed the suspect, but he appeared to wait for his intended target.”
According to police, Thompson was on his way to the conference from his hotel across the street before 6:45 a.m. when he was gunned down.
Thompson, who runs UnitedHealth Group’s insurance division, had arrived early to prepare for the conference, the police said.
Tisch said the attacker waited “for several minutes” before he saw Thompson walking to the hotel. The suspect approached Thompson from behind and fired several rounds, striking him at least once in the back and once in the right calf.
Police recovered three live 9mm rounds and three discharged 9mm shell casings from the scene. A cellphone was also recovered from an area where the assailant fled and was being analyzed to see if it was linked to the shooting, police said.
Thompson’s wife 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, according to the network. “I don’t know details. I just know that he said there were some people that had been threatening him.”
Suspect remains at large
“The shooter appears to be a light-skinned male. He’s wearing a light brown or cream colored jacket, a black face mask, black-and-white sneakers, and a very distinctive gray backpack,” NYPD Chief of Detectives Joseph Kenny said.
Police are urging anyone with information to come forward and are offering a $10,000 reward.
The shooter fled on foot until he picked up an electric bike, which he rode into Central Park.
Kenny said the gunman was “proficient in the use of firearms” because after the gun malfunctioned, he was able to clear a jam and continue firing.
Police officials stressed that there is no danger to the general public, and said the annual lighting of the Christmas tree in Rockefeller Center will go on as planned Wednesday night despite the search for the gunman.
Rockefeller Center is about four blocks from the midtown Hilton, where Thompson was shot.
UnitedHealthcare is the nation’s largest health insurance company
The Minnetonka, Minnesota-based company on Tuesday released its 2025 projections ahead of Wednesday’s investor conference.
The parent company, UnitedHealth Group, expects 2025 revenues of more than $450 billion. It is the nation’s largest private health insurer and the largest employer of physicians. Its subsidiaries are involved in almost all aspects of the health system.
The healthcare giant said it expects 2025 sales in excess of $330 billion. About 50 million Americans receive health coverage through UnitedHealthcare, according to the company.
UnitedHealthcare has put an emphasis on Medicare Advantage, the private alternative to traditional Medicare that now covers a majority of the nation’s older adults. It enrolls more than 9 million people, the largest share of Medicare Advantage enrollees among any company in the market.
Thompson was a key part of UnitedHealthcare’s growth. He had been with the company since 2004 and was appointed chief executive in 2021. According to public records, he earned more than $10 million in compensation in 2023, which includes base salary, bonuses and stock.
In a statement, UnitedHealth Group said the company was “deeply saddened and shocked” by Mr. Thompson’s death.
“Brian was a highly respected colleague and friend to all who worked with him. We are working closely with the New York Police Department and ask for your patience and understanding during this difficult time,” the company said. “Our hearts go out to Brian’s family and all who were close to him.”
UnitedHealth controversies
The company’s size and reach have made it a target of criticism by lawmakers and scrutiny from federal regulators.
A subsidiary called Change Healthcare, a payment processing company, fell victim to a cyberattack earlier this year that compromised millions of people’s private health information and froze the payments of providers across the country. The company said a third of Americans’ data were potentially stolen.
Bipartisan lawmakers in the House and Senate demanded answers from CEO Andrew Witty during a pair of hearings in May.
The Department of Justice last month sued to block UnitedHealth Group’s proposed $3.3 billion acquisition of rival home health and hospice services provider Amedisys Inc., arguing it would be anticompetitive and essentially corner the market since United previously bought a rival company to Amedisys.