UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson killed: Who are the victim and suspect?

This undated photo provided by UnitedHealth Group shows UnitedHealthcare chief executive officer Brian Thompson [UnitedHealth Group via AP]

UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson was shot and killed outside a Manhattan hotel on Wednesday. The gunman is still at large, but the police have released footage of a suspect.

The police have described it as a targeted attack, and the shooting also triggered a frantic manhunt in New York City.

Here’s what we know:

What happened and when?

• Thompson was shot at about 6:44 am (11:44 GMT) as he walked alone towards the New York Hilton Midtown from a nearby hotel. He was set to speak at an investor meeting in the hotel.
• Before the shooting, the gunman seemed to be “lying in wait for several minutes,” according to police. Surveillance footage shows the attacker emerging from behind a car. Thompson was alone outside the hotel.
• According to the New York Police Department (NYPD), the gunman approached Thompson from behind and raised his handgun within feet of the victim.
• “The shooter then walks toward the victim and continues to shoot. It appears the gun malfunctions as he clears the jam and begins to fire again,” NYPD Chief of Detectives Joseph Kenny said. The man fired at least three shots.
• According to reports, Thompson, in a blue suit, took several steps, turned to face the gunman and then collapsed on the pavement. Two minutes later, at 6:46am (11:46GMT), officers responded to a call to 911 saying that a person was shot.

This still image from surveillance video obtained by The Associated Press shows the suspect, left, sought in the killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, centre, outside a Manhattan hotel [AP Photo]

• At 6:48am (11:48GMT) he was taken to hospital. The suspected gunman fled northwards on Sixth Avenue and later jumped onto an electric bike that he took into Central Park.
• At 7:12 am (12:12GMT), Thompson was pronounced dead at the Mount Sinai West hospital.

A police officer is reflected in a hotel window near the scene where the CEO of UnitedHealthcare, Brian Thompson, was shot [Shannon Stapleton/Reuters]

Where did the shooting happen?

• The shooting took place outside New York Hilton Midtown, at 237 West, 54th Street.
• This hotel is located in a busy tourist area, opposite the Museum of Modern Art and half a mile from the Rockefeller Center, where the city’s most famous Christmas tree was scheduled to be lit on Wednesday.

Who was Brian Thompson?

• Thompson, who was 50, was the CEO of UnitedHealthcare, the insurance arm of parent company UnitedHealth Group Inc.
• He had been in Minnetonka, where the company is based in Minnesota, running its insurance division since 2021. According to reports, he spent 20 years rising through the ranks. Thompson was one of the company’s highest-paid executives, earning an annual compensation package of $10.2m.
• He maintained a low profile, with UnitedHealth Group Inc’s CEO Andrew Witty assuming a more visible role, including testifying before Congress.
• According to a report by The New York Times, under his watch the company’s profit rose to more than $16bn last year from $12bn in 2021.
• The company has attracted attention and has been accused of refusing to authorise healthcare procedures and treatment. In November, a lawsuit accused UnitedHealth Group of using an algorithm that systematically denied rehabilitation care to elderly patients. The size of the company has also attracted the attention of authorities, which are investigating whether it has engaged in anti-competitive behaviour.
• Thompson began his career as a certified public accountant and graduated from the University of Iowa in 1997. He lived in the Minneapolis suburb of Maple Grove and was the father of two high school-aged children.
• The NYPD’s Joseph Kenny said investigators looked at Thompson’s social media accounts while they also interviewed employees and family members. “Didn’t seem like he had any issues at all,” Kenny said. “He did not have a security detail.”

What we know about the suspect

• The killer, according to images released by police, was a man wearing a dark hooded jacket, a grey backpack, dark trousers and a mask covering the bottom of his face. Police also described him as a light-skinned male.

• According to reports, he arrived near the hotel about five to 10 minutes before Thompson and ignored passersby as he lay in wait.
• He reportedly stopped at a nearby Starbucks on Sixth Avenue before the shooting. Several images released by the police from inside the coffee shop showed what appeared to be a man dressed the same way as the gunman at about 6:17am (11:17 GMT) around 30 minutes before the crime took place. It was not clear what he was doing in Starbucks.
• At about 6:30am (11:30 GMT), the attacker appeared to be making a phone call, as he walked down the pavement about 175 feet (53 metres) away from where Thompson was killed, a video released by The New York Times showed.

This image provided by the New York City Police Department shows the suspect sought in the killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson outside a Manhattan hotel [New York City Police Department via AP]

• According to officials, he seemed to know how to handle firearms. “From watching the video, it does seem that he’s proficient in the use of firearms as he was able to clear the malfunctions pretty quickly,” Kenny said.
• Officials also said he was using what appeared to be a silencer on the gun. Authorities recovered “three live 9mm rounds and three discharged 9mm shell casings” from the scene, Kenny explained.
• The motive remains unclear, but Thompson’s wife Paulette Thompson told NBC News “there had been some threats” against her husband.
• The shooter remains on the loose. The police are offering up to $10,000 to anyone who can offer information about Thompson’s death.