CEO fatally shot outside New York hotel

The chief executive of one of America’s largest health insurers was fatally shot outside a hotel in New York City hotel on Wednesday morning, the New York Police Department said.
Brian Thompson, 50, the CEO of UnitedHealthcare, was shot in the chest outside the Hilton in midtown Manhattan at 6.45am.
Parent company UnitedHealth did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The company cancelled the remainder of an investor event in Manhattan that had just begun.
“We’re dealing with a very serious medical situation with one of our team members, and as a result, I’m afraid we’re going to have to bring to a close the event today,” UnitedHealth CEO Andrew Witty said.
The NYPD deputy commissioner’s office said earlier that a man was shot in front of the Hilton, located at 1335 6th Avenue. He was brought to Mount Sinai West Hospital less than a mile away in critical condition, and was later pronounced dead.
Police believe Thompson had been targeted by his assailant. Investigators told CNN that the gunman was waiting in the area for some time before Thompson’s arrival.
Police officers were searching for the gunman, who fled east on Sixth Avenue, reports said. He was wearing a cream-coloured jacket, a black face mask and a grey backpack.
Brian Thompson joined UnitedHealthcare in 2004 and was named CEO in April 2021, according to the company’s web site. He lived in Minnesota.
UnitedHealthcare is a unit of UnitedHealth Group. The latter, which provides insurance and pharmacy benefits through several units, is one of the largest corporations in the US, with revenues of $372 billion in 2023.