Investigators are looking for clues to help identify a masked gunman who disappeared in Central Park after chasing down the leader of America’s largest health insurance company on a Manhattan sidewalk.
UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, 50, died in the early-morning attack Wednesday as he walked to the company’s annual investor conference at the Hilton in midtown, not far from tourist attractions such as Radio City Music Hall and the Museum of Modern Art.
The murder, and the shooter’s movements minutes before and after, were captured on a multitude of security cameras present in that part of town.
A video showed him approaching Thompson from behind, grabbing his pistol and firing several shots, barely stopping to clear the jam from the short gun as the dying health executive fell to the pavement.
Other security cameras captured the initial stages of the gunman’s escape. He was seen running down the block into a pedestrian plaza, then escaping on a bicycle into Central Park, where he disappeared.
This is terrible news and a terrible loss for the business and healthcare community in Minnesota.
Minnesota is sending our prayers to Brian’s family and the United Healthcare team. https://t.co/6lAL2lJXzn
— Governor Tim Walz (@GovTimWalz) December 4, 2024
Although the police conducted an intensive search using drones, helicopters and dogs, the whereabouts of the killer could not be revealed until late at night.
New York City Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch said that while investigators have not yet established a motive, the shooting was not a random act of violence.
“Several people passed the suspect, but he seemed to be waiting for his intended target,” Tisch said at a news conference Wednesday. “Looking at the video, it looks like he’s proficient with the weapon because he was able to take down the bad guys very quickly,” said NYPD Chief of Detectives Joseph Kenney.
Police released several surveillance images of the man, who was wearing a hooded jacket and mask that hid most of his face and did not attract attention on the cold winter day. Some of the photos were taken in a Starbucks coffee shop shortly before the shooting.
The police department offered a reward of up to $10,000 for information leading to an arrest and conviction.
“Brian was a highly respected colleague and friend to all who worked with him,” said the insurer’s Minnetonka, Minnesota-based parent company, UnitedHealth Group Inc. said in a statement. “We are working closely with the New York Police Department and ask for your patience and understanding during this difficult time.”
Thompson’s wife, Paulette Thompson, told NBC News that she told him “there were some people who were threatening him.” He did not have specifics but suggested the threats may have involved problems with insurance coverage.
Eric Werner, the police chief in the Minneapolis suburb where Thompson lives, said his department had not received any reports of threats against the executive.
Investigators recovered several 9mm shell casings from outside the hotel and a cellphone from the alleyway where the shooters fled. They were also searching Thompson’s hotel room, interviewing his UnitedHealthcare colleagues and reviewing his social media, Kenney said.
Police initially said he entered Central Park on a bicycle from CitiBike, the city’s bike-share program. But a spokesman for Lyft, which runs the program, said police officers informed the company on Wednesday afternoon that the bike was not from the Citibike fleet.
Healthcare giant UnitedHealth Group was holding its annual meeting with investors to update Wall Street on the company’s direction and expectations for the coming year. The company ended the convention early after Thompson’s death.
Thompson, a father of two, had been with the company since 2004 and served as CEO for more than three years. UnitedHealthcare is the largest provider of Medicare benefit plans in the United States and manages health insurance coverage for employers and state and federally funded Medicaid programs.
Minnesota Governor Tim Walz posted on social platform X that the state is “sending our prayers to Brian’s family and the United Healthcare team.” “This is terrible news and a terrible loss for the business and health care community in Minnesota,” the Democrat wrote.