Brian Thompson, the CEO of UnitedHealthcare, was killed by a masked gunman early Wednesday in a “targeted attack” outside a Hilton hotel in Midtown where he was expected to speak to a ballroom full of colleagues and investors, officials said.
Thompson, 50, a married father of two from Minnetonka, Minn., was shot in the back. The shooting was caught on surveillance camera, and the NYPD released images of the suspected gunman holding a pistol equipped with what appears to be a silencer, and another of him riding away from the scene on a bicycle.
“Based on the evidence so far, it does appear that the victim was specifically targeted, but we do not know why,” NYPD Chief of Detectives Joseph Kenny said Wednesday. “This does not appear to be a random act of violence.”
The gunman arrived at the scene several minutes before Thompson, surveillance video seen by the Daily News shows.
“He was lying in wait for several minutes,” Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch said about the gunman. “Then he fired several rounds, striking the victim once in the back and right calf.
“Many people passed the suspect. but he appeared to wait for his intended target,” Tisch said.
Thompson’s family was devastated by the news of his apparent assassination.
“We’re still in shock,” Thompson’s mother-in-law, Paulette Reveiz, told the Daily News Wednesday. “The only thing I can say is he’s a good man. I can’t say anything else.”
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Thompson’s brother, when reached, declined to comment.
His wife, Paulette Thompson, told NBC News that the CEO had received threats before his trip to New York.
“There had been some threats,” she told the outlet. “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.”
Thompson had exited his hotel across the street and was walking to the Residences Hilton Club on W. 54th St. near Sixth Ave. at about 6:45 a.m. to help set up the conference when the gunman opened fire from a few feet away, police sources said.
The CEO was expected to give a speech at the conference sponsored by UnitedHealthcare, officials said.
Witnesses told police the gunman, who was dressed in a black sweatshirt, a black face mask, black-and-white sneakers, and was sporting a large gray backpack, crept up behind Thompson before shooting him.
EMS rushed the CEO to Mount Sinai West, where he died of his wounds at about 7:12 a.m., police said.
UnitedHealthcare executives tried to go on with their presentation at 9 a.m., but ultimately had to cancel the day’s itinerary, according to Bloomberg News.
“We’re dealing with a very serious medical situation,” UnitedHealth Group CEO Andrew Witty told the crowd.
Chilling surveillance video of the shooting shows Thompson, wearing a blue blazer, briskly walking down W. 54th St. when the gunman steps up behind him.
The gunman fires one round. His gun then jams, but he calmly clears the chamber before firing at least two more times, the video shows.
The gunman then walks past the victim before darting between two parked cars and running off. The entire shooting took place as cars zipped up and down the avenue.
Kenny said the gunman “appeared to be proficient” in handling firearms by the way he cleared the jam.
Law enforcement sources who have seen the video said the shooter used a common procedure known as “tap, rack, bang” to free the jammed bullet and continue firing within a few seconds.
Cops found three 9-mm. shell casings as well as a few live rounds that had been expelled from the pistol as he freed the jam.
The shooting occurred in front of a panicked witness who detectives are trying to locate and question, Kenny said.
The gunman ran through the nearby plaza by the Ziegfeld Theater between W. 54th and W. 55th Sts. and jumped on a Citi Bike on W. 55th St. to escape, police said. A cell phone was found where the gunman was standing.
Cops were trying to access the phone and swab the device for DNA, but investigators said they weren’t sure if the phone belonged to the gunman.
The gunman was last seen pedaling north on Sixth Ave. toward Central Park. Cops lost sight of the gunman at Central Park, Kenny said.
Kenny said his detectives were working with Citi Bike to find the GPS tracking data on the suspect’s ride. They were also scouring for video to track the gunman’s movements before he showed up in Midtown.
Cops released photos of the masked gunman in a Starbucks near W. 55th St. a few minutes before the shooting.
Detectives were also working with authorities in Minnesota, as well as co-workers and family “to see if there have been any threats against him in the past,” Kenny said.
Mayor Adams said City Hall has reached out to UnitedHealthcare to lend any assistance they may need.
“NYPD is on the job,” he said. “We want to just really calm New Yorkers and particularly business executives that again, this was not what appears to be just a random act of violence — it seems to have been clearly targeted by an individual, and we will apprehend that individual.”
NYPD officials said the early-morning killing would not affect Wednesday night’s tree-lighting ceremony at Rockefeller Center. NYPD Chief of Department Jeffrey Maddrey said there would be a “massive police presence” protecting onlookers.
Thompson was made chief executive officer for UnitedHealthcare in April 2021, according to his company biography. Prior to this role, he served as CEO of UnitedHealthcare government programs including Medicare & Retirement and Community & State. Before leading government programs, Thompson served as CEO of UnitedHealthcare Medicare & Retirement.
No arrests have been made. Cops are offering a $10,000 reward for any information about the gunman.
Anyone with information is asked to call NYPD Crime Stoppers at (800) 577-TIPS. All calls will be kept confidential.
With Graham Rayman, Emma Seiwell and Colin Mixson
