Top executive shot dead outside New York hotel

Police investigators at the scene where UnitedHealthcare’s CEO Brian Thompson was shot and killed in an apparent targeted attack as he was en-route to to attend UnitedHealthcare’s annual investor conference in New York, 04 Dec. 2024.

A masked gunman shot dead a top U.S. health insurance executive outside a New York hotel Wednesday in an apparently targeted hit, before fleeing on a bicycle and triggering a citywide manhunt.

UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson was gunned down as he prepared to address investors with the gunman firing several times before using a rented bike to flee in the direction of Central Park, police said.

Police released security camera images showing the killer brandishing a handgun and wearing a hooded top. Detectives offered a $10,000 reward for the man's capture.

Chief of Detectives Joseph Kenny said the shooter arrived on foot about five minutes before Thompson as pedestrians streamed past an access door to the Hilton.

Kenny said he approached Thompson from behind and opened fire, cleared a jam in the firearm, and fired again.

"The motive for this murder currently is unknown, but based on the evidence we have so far, it does appear that the victim was specifically targeted. But at this point, we do not know why," Kenny told a press conference.

UnitedHealthcare is a major player in the multi-trillion-dollar U.S. health care market, providing workplace insurance, as well as administering huge health care programs like Medicare and Medicaid for older and low-income people funded by state budgets.

Thompson, 50, was shot just before 7:00 am at the hotel in the Midtown district of Manhattan, with the CNBC broadcaster suggesting a silencer had been used.

Kenny would not confirm the...

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