The CEO of UnitedHealth’s insurance division was gunned down Wednesday morning outside the Hilton hotel in Midtown in what police say was a targeted attack.
Brian Thompson, 50, was at the hotel at around 6:46 a.m. arriving early for a conference when a masked man allegedly waiting for him fired at him repeatedly and fled eastbound off of 6th Avenue.
Thompson was hit in the chest.
He was rushed to the Mt Sinai Hospital in critical condition, where he was later pronounced dead, police said.
Andrew Witty, CEO of parent company UnitedHealth Group, said the firm had been holding its Investor Day conference at the hotel on Wednesday, which Thompson was attending.
The conference was abruptly called off due to “a very serious medical situation” with one of its team members, Witty said in a statement.
Officials said no arrests have been made yet and that the investigation is still ongoing.
The suspect was described as a white male wearing a cream colored jacket, black face mask, and black and white sneakers. Officials said he was also carrying a grey backpack.
Witnesses said the suspect had been spotted near the vicinity of the hotel, on 6th Avenue, milling around.
Sources said the shooter wasn’t a guest at the hotel but it is unclear if he had other business there.
When the suspect spotted Thompson, he began to fire from a distance, striking him multiple times, police sources added.
The masked man then fled through the Ziegfeld alleyway and hopped on a bike to flee the scene.
