A masked gunman opened fire using a silenced weapon on UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson outside a Manhattan hotel, killing the health care executive before escaping the scene on a bike through a nearby alley on Wednesday, police said.
Thompson, 50, who had been with UnitedHealth for 20 years and became CEO in 2021, was struck multiple times, including in the chest, by gunfire, according to police sources. The shooter, described as masked, was not a guest at the hotel, though it remains unclear if he had other reasons to be there, authorities said.
After firing at Thompson from a distance, the gunman fled through the Ziegfeld alleyway and used a bike to make his escape, according to the New York Post.
The shooting happened at the Hilton hotel in New York City around 6:45 a.m. He was rushed to the hospital in critical condition but was pronounced dead there.
The UnitedHealth Group, headquartered in Minnetonka, Minnesota, employs over 100,000 people nationwide and ranks fourth on the Fortune 500.
