Brian Thompson, the 50-year-old CEO of UnitedHealthcare, had a short walk to his presumed destination early Wednesday morning: the Hilton Hotel in midtown Manhattan where his company was holding its annual investors conference. The executive, who lived in a suburb near his company’s Minneapolis-area headquarters, was staying at a hotel just across the street, according to reports.
Apparently walking alone, Thompson wore a blue blazer with no overcoat, despite the chill in the air. At around 6:46 a.m., he was just seconds away from one of the Hilton’s entrances on West 54th Street when a figure in a black face mask approached him holding a long handgun, shot Thompson several times from behind, then swiftly crossed the street and entered an alleyway next to New York’s famous Ziegfeld Theater.
