New York police hunt for man who killed UnitedHealth executive Brian Thompson

NEW YORK (Reuters) -New York police were searching on Thursday for the man who killed UnitedHealth executive Brian Thompson in a brazen attack outside a Midtown Manhattan hotel and was last seen fleeing into Central Park.

Thompson, the CEO of UnitedHealth’s insurance unit, was shot from behind on Wednesday morning in what police described as a targeted attack by a masked assailant lying in wait. It came just before the company’s annual investor conference at the Hilton on Sixth Avenue. 

The words “deny,” “defend” and “depose” were carved into the shell casings found at the scene, police sources told ABC and the New York Post. Reuters has not independently verified that information. The words mirror the title of a book critical of the insurance industry published in 2010 titled “Delay Deny Defend.”

Investigators have not yet named a suspect and were still looking for a motive, the New York City Police Department said during a press conference on Wednesday morning. They have not provided a briefing since. 

“This does not appear to be a random act of violence,” New York City Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch told reporters. 

“Every indication is that this was a premeditated, pre-planned, targeted attack.”

Security video showed the shooter behind Thompson, 50, raising his handgun and firing at his back. Police said the gunman arrived outside the hotel several minutes before Thompson and waited for him to walk past before firing, ignoring other passers-by. 

The suspect, wearing a hooded sweatshirt and balaclava and wearing a gray backpack, fled on foot before mounting an electric bike and riding into Central Park, police said.

Police published a number of photographs of the suspect taken from video cameras in the area, including one with the gun raised and pointed toward Thompson and another of the suspect fleeing on a bike. 

Other photos captured a glimpse of his eyes, brow and the bridge of his nose as he stood in a cafe, with a caption asking the public for any help in identifying the man.

The killing took place on the morning of the city’s annual Christmas tree lighting at Rockefeller Center a few blocks away. The event went ahead as planned under heavy security.

UnitedHealth is the largest U.S. health insurer, providing benefits to tens of millions of Americans, who pay more for healthcare than people in any other country. Thompson, 50, had been the CEO of UnitedHealthcare, a unit of UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH), since April 2021.

The company has been grappling with the fallout from a massive data hack of its Change Healthcare (NASDAQ:CHNG) unit that provides technology for U.S. healthcare providers, disrupting medical care for patients and reimbursement to doctors for months. 

Thompson had worked at UnitedHealth since 2004 in several divisions, according to a biography later removed from the company’s website. 

“Our hearts go out to Brian’s family and all who were close to him,” the company said in a statement.

Thompson’s wife, Paulette, told NBC News on Wednesday that he had been receiving some threats related to his job, but was not specific. In a later statement she said “Brian was an incredibly loving, generous, talented man who truly lived life to the fullest and touched so many lives.” 

Police departments in both Maple Grove, Minnesota, where Thompson lived, or in Minnetonka, where UnitedHealth is based, said they had no record of threats against him. The Minneapolis Police Department said there was “no occurrence” of Thompson in its records.