UnitedHealthcare C.E.O. Killed in ‘Brazen, Targeted Attack,’ Police Say
What We Know About the Killing of Brian Thompson, UnitedHealthcare C.E.O.
“Mr. Thompson was on his way to an investors’ gathering when he was killed by a masked shooter who fled on an electric bike, the police said.
A frantic manhunt is underway for a masked assailant who shot and killed the chief executive of UnitedHealthcare, one of the largest health insurers in the United States, outside a Midtown Manhattan hotel Wednesday morning in what the police called a brazen assassination.
The executive, Brian Thompson, was shot from behind as he arrived at the New York Hilton Midtown on West 54th Street for an investors’ gathering.
After firing at least three shots at Mr. Thompson, 50, and hitting him in the calf and back, the shooter ran through a nearby passageway to West 55th Street, where the police said he jumped on a bike and rode off into Central Park.
The police are now investigating whether the gunman escaped on an unmarked e-bike, rather than a Citi Bike as they first said, according to two people familiar with the investigation.
On Thursday, the police released two photos of the man who is believed to be the shooter with his mask down that appear to have been taken at a hostel he was staying at. A senior law enforcement official said the shooter had been sharing a room with two strangers at the hostel, which is on the Upper West Side of Manhattan near 103rd Street and Amsterdam Avenue. It remains unclear when the photos were taken.
The police were also investigating messages left on bullet casings at the scene of the shooting, according to two law enforcement officials. Authorities are running ballistics tests on the casings, which appear to have had the words “delay” and “deny” on them, the official said.
While the meaning of the message was not immediately clear, “Delay, Deny, Defend” is the title of a 2010 book by Jay M. Feinman, a professor emeritus at Rutgers Law School, that discusses ways that health insurance companies avoid paying for patients’ claims.
Who was Brian Thompson?
Mr. Thompson became UnitedHealthcare’s chief executive in April 2021. The company, which is based in a Minneapolis suburb, is a unit of UnitedHealth Group, whose market valuation of $560 billion makes it one of the country’s largest publicly traded companies.
Mr. Thompson spent more than 20 years rising through the ranks at UnitedHealthcare, which offers insurance to companies and individuals, employs about 140,000 people and had $281 billion in revenue in 2023.
He received total compensation of $10.2 million last year, with $1 million in base pay augmented by substantial cash and stock grants. The company’s profits rose on his watch, jumping to more than $16 billion last year from $12 billion in 2021.
But amid the growth, the company and its parent also attracted scrutiny from lawmakers and regulators who accused them of systematically refusing to authorize health care procedures and treatments.
UnitedHealth Group’s size and scope have attracted the attention of the Justice Department, which is examining whether it has engaged in anti-competitive behavior.
According to regulatory filings, Mr. Thompson owned about $20 million of UnitedHealth Group shares as of late September. Bloomberg reported in April that he was one of several company executives who sold shares before the Justice Department antitrust investigation was disclosed to investors — about $15 million worth, in Mr. Thompson’s case. The company told Bloomberg at the time that the sales had been approved.
UnitedHealthcare has drawn criticism from patients, lawmakers and others over its denial of claims that have, at times, left people stuck with sizable medical bills that they have to pay out of their own pockets.
UnitedHealthcare was the subject of a scathing report released by a Senate panel that documented insurers’ refusal to pay for the care of older people who suffered a fall or stroke. The report was part of Senate investigations into denial rates of private Medicare Advantage plans. Mr. Thompson’s company, in particular, was cited for a surge in denials in post-acute care when it increased to 22.7 percent in 2022 from 10.9 percent in 2020.
Before joining UnitedHealthcare, Mr. Thompson spent nearly seven years at the accounting and consulting firm PricewaterhouseCoopers, now known as PwC.
He graduated from the University of Iowa with an accounting degree in 1997 and lived in a Minneapolis suburb with his wife, Paulette R. Thompson, a physical therapist, and two children.
Why was he in Manhattan?
The shooting occurred as Mr. Thompson arrived early at the hotel to prepare for a UnitedHealthcare investors’ day gathering.
Such events, which are common for publicly traded companies, give major shareholders and analysts who track the companies a chance to hear from executives and pepper them with questions.
The New York Hilton Midtown, one of New York City’s largest hotels, is in a busy tourist area, close to the Museum of Modern Art and Rockefeller Center, where the famous Christmas tree was lit Wednesday night.
transcript
The police are searching for the suspect in the fatal shooting of Brian Thompson, the chief executive of UnitedHealthcare, near a Midtown Manhattan hotel on Wednesday morning.
In Midtown Manhattan early this morning, 50-year-old Brian Thompson, the C.E.O. of UnitedHealthcare, was shot and killed in what appears at this early stage of our investigation to be a brazen, targeted attack. The suspect approached from behind and fired several rounds, striking the victim at least once in the back and at least once in the right calf.
How did the shooting unfold?
The killer, according to images released by the police and security-camera footage, was a man wearing a dark hooded jacket, a gray backpack and a mask covering the bottom of his face.
Apparently knowing which door Mr. Thompson planned to enter, the shooter arrived outside the hotel about 10 minutes before his intended target and ignored passers-by as he lay in wait.
By The New York Times
As Mr. Thompson, in a blue suit, walked toward the hotel entrance, the shooter approached him from behind and fired at least three shots with a pistol that appeared to be fitted with a silencer. The pistol jammed during the shooting, but the gunman cleared the jam quickly and continued firing.
Struck by the bullets, Mr. Thompson took several steps, turned to face his assailant and then collapsed on the sidewalk.
With his victim crumpled against a wall, the shooter walked toward him slowly. He seemed to point the gun at Mr. Thompson one more time, then walked away. He began to run only as he was crossing the street.
Where does the investigation stand?
The police commissioner, Jessica Tisch, who was sworn into the job just last week, said her department would “not rest until we identify and apprehend the shooter in this case.”
Officers recovered a cellphone near the shooting site, and detectives were conducting a forensic analysis to see whether it was linked to the killing, the police said.
Investigators were also expected to comb through footage from the many security cameras on the surrounding blocks that might offer leads as to where the shooter came from and where he went.
One place he apparently stopped before the shooting was a nearby Starbucks on Sixth Avenue. Several images released by the police from inside the coffee shop showed what appeared to be a man dressed the same way as the shooter.
The police released additional images of who they believe to be the shooter on Thursday morning. The images show a man, smiling and wearing a green jacket, backpack and what looks like the black face mask he was seen wearing in previous photos around his neck.
Investigators were also examining Mr. Thompson’s background for signs of a possible motive.
He had recently received several threats, according to a law enforcement official familiar with the investigation; the source and precise nature of the threats was unclear.
Reed Abelson, Chelsia Rose Marcius, William K. Rashbaum, Andy Newman and Shayla Colon contributed reporting.
Ed Shanahan is a rewrite reporter and editor covering breaking news and general assignments on the Metro desk. More about Ed Shanahan“
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