Brian Thompson, CEO of UnitedHealthcare, one of the largest health insurers in the United States, was murdered this Wednesday in downtown Manhattan. The insurer’s 50-year-old CEO was shot dead by an assailant with his face covered in what police are calling a “brazen targeted attack.”
For 20 years, Brian Thompson, the healthcare executive killed Wednesday in a shooting in Manhattan, rose to the top of UnitedHealthcare.
What is known about Thompson and the shooting?
Thompson: 50 years old, from Minnesota and CEO since 2021
Brian Thompson lived in Minnesota, but was in New York for UnitedHealthcare’s annual investor conference, scheduled for Wednesday morning.
He joined UnitedHealth Group in 2004 and was the CEO of Minnesota-based UnitedHealthcare as of April 2021.
A University of Iowa alumnus, Thompson joined the firm from accounting giant PricewaterhouseCoopers. He was named CEO of UnitedHealthcare in April 2021, after serving in other roles, most recently as CEO of UnitedHealthcare’s government programs business.
UnitedHealth Group is the fourth largest company in the United States, behind Walmart, Amazon and Apple.
A father of two, Thompson lived in a suburb of Minneapolis, about a 20-minute drive from the company’s headquarters.
140,000 workers
Thompson, who ran a division employing about 140,000 people, had attended the company’s investor conference at the Hilton hotel in midtown Manhattan. He was shot outside the hotel and died later in hospital. The police are still searching for his killer.
“We are deeply saddened and shocked by the passing of our dear friend and colleague Brian Thompson, CEO of UnitedHealthcare,” the company said in a statement.
The firm added: “Brian was a highly respected colleague and friend to everyone who worked with him. We are working closely with the NYPD and ask for your patience and understanding during this difficult time. “Our hearts go out to Brian’s family and everyone who was close to him.”
Thompson’s wife has said she had been receiving threats
In a phone call to NBC News, Paulette Thompson said: “There had been some threats. I don’t know the details. “I only know that he said that there were some people who had been threatening him.”
Although he did not elaborate, the comment comes in the wake of negative reactions UnitedHealthcare has experienced over the coverages it provided.
Earlier this year, several protesters were detained outside the company’s headquarters in Minnesota, and were reportedly there to protest an alleged “pattern of inadequate coverage denials” by the insurer. And he said police had told him the shooting was “a planned attack.”
“He was a good person and I’m very sad,” Elena Reveiz, Thompson’s sister-in-law, told the New York Times.
Thompson, specific objective
New York Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch called the shooting a “brazen targeted attack” that “does not appear to be a random act of violence.”
“I want to be clear at this moment: everything indicates that this was a premeditated attack, planned in advance and with a specific objective,” she said.
The shooter has not been identified.
Images of the suspect released this Wednesday by the New York Police Department (NYPD) show a man dressed in a dark jacket with the hood up, a dark mask covering his nose, dark pants and a gray backpack.
The latest image released by police shows the suspect in a Starbucks coffee shop minutes before the shooting.
The gunman arrived at the scene on foot about five minutes before Thompson’s arrival, police said. From surveillance video, police said Thompson was seen at 6:44 a.m. local time walking alone toward the Hilton.
Authorities said he approached Thompson from behind and shot him in the back before advancing toward the victim and continuing to shoot. Ultimately, Thompson was shot in the back and at least once in the calf.
Authorities said the gun appeared to malfunction, and the gunman managed to resolve the problem before firing again and fleeing north toward an alley between 54th and 55th streets.
The shooter then continued walking west along the Avenue of the Americas, where he hopped on a Citi Bike electric bicycle and headed north toward Central Park.
Police said they were working to gather information about the electric bike, specifically its GPS tracker.
The shooter “mastered” firearms
Video footage of the shooting showed the suspect was “expert in firearms” and able to remove a casing in his gun in the middle of the attack, police said.
Police were unable to determine whether a silencer had been used from the video clip they have accessed.
Police say they recovered three 9mm bullets and three discharged 9mm casings.
A mobile phone was found near the scene of the incident.
Officers recovered a cell phone near the scene of the shooting and are conducting forensic analysis to see if it is related to the victim or the suspect.
Police offer up to $10,000
Police are searching for the shooter and are offering up to $10,000 to anyone with information about Thompson’s death, as noted in a recently posted poster with two surveillance photos.
At Wednesday morning’s press conference, NYPD Chief Jeffrey Maddrey encouraged New Yorkers to go about their daily activities, but to remain vigilant. Maddrey also said the shooting would not affect the Rockefeller Center tree lighting, scheduled for Wednesday night, but added that there would be a “massive” police presence, including a plainclothes detail.
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