The gunman who shot and killed UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson early Wednesday was previously seen talking on the phone and inside a local Starbucks.
The unidentified killer was captured on surveillance footage loitering around the Hilton Hotel in Manhattan about 10 minutes before opening fire. reports the New York Times.
Around 6:30 a.m., he appeared to be making a phone call as he walked on the sidewalk about 175 feet from where Thompson, 50, was shot and killed.
He was also seen standing at the counter of a nearby Starbucks dressed all in black with his face virtually hidden by a balaclava before the shooting.
At 6:45 a.m., surveillance footage obtained by DailyMail.com showed Thompson, a father of two, walking in front of the Hilton when the gunman pulled out a large handgun fitted with a silencer and shot him in the back.
Thompson was initially able to stumble down the street, but the gunman followed him and continued shooting at the CEO as he fell to the ground, hitting him in the chest and calf before fleeing the scene on a bicycle.
Police said he escaped to Central Park, sparking a massive citywide search for the killer.
They say the shooting appears to have been aimed at Thompson and are investigating the possibility that it was motivated by a grudge against the insurance company, the largest health insurer by market share in the United States. according to ABC 7.
The unidentified man who shot and killed the CEO of UnitedHealthcare was seen at a nearby Starbucks counter moments before opening fire.
Thompson was scheduled to speak at an investor meeting at the Hilton Hotel on Wednesday morning, where he would announce United Healthcare’s hugely profitable financial outlook for 2025, including projected revenue of more than $450 billion.
His schedule was widely known and witnesses have said the alleged gunman even knew which door Thompson was going to exit from before opening fire.
Witness Amar Abdelmula, a driver, told PIX11 of the moment he heard the gunshots: “I wasn’t paying attention and then I heard the gunshot.
‘It was a silent weapon, a black weapon. (I) saw him after he shot him, and he was running across the street. I tried to take a photo, but it was too far away and unclear.
‘I was shocked. The first time I see the crime in front of me,” he added. “I was afraid that he would shoot me too, my car, I saw it all.”
Michael Dissen, who was at the hotel for another conference, also told DailyMail.com that he heard a “commotion” at around 7.05am.
“I heard all these sirens and I thought, ‘New York,’ but then I went up and had coffee and I saw everyone looking at their phones and I saw what happened,” he said.
Brian Thompson, 50, was scheduled to speak at an investor meeting at the Hilton hotel on Wednesday morning when he was killed.
Witnesses said the shooter knew which door Thompson was going to come out of before opening fire.
Footage showed NYPD officers performing CPR on the CEO, before he was rushed to Mount Sinai Hospital in critical condition. He was later declared dead
Still, the investor conference reportedly began without interruption at 8 a.m. on the second floor of the Hilton until news of the shooting began to circulate.
Unaware that it was Thompson who was hit, an attendee told the group that “someone got shot outside.”
Parent company United Healthgroup CEO Andrew Witty is said to have stopped the meeting at the hotel shortly after 8am upon learning of the tragedy.
He told attendees: ‘We are dealing with a very serious medical situation with one of our team members. As a result, I’m afraid we will have to end the event.’
Police say the shooting appears to have been aimed at Thompson and are investigating the possibility that it was motivated by a grudge against the insurance company.
A Hilton worker told DailyMail.com that staff members were shocked by the murder on their doorstep.
A Hilton worker, who asked to remain anonymous, told DailyMail.com afterwards that staff were shocked by the public killing on their doorstep.
“It’s strange that this happens in this area,” he said. ‘For this guy to do this around here with all these cameras and everything, there has to be something behind it. I mean, obviously there was, you have to be pretty crazy to do something like that.”
Hours after the shooting, flags outside UnitedHealthcare’s headquarters in Minnetonka, Minnesota, were lowered to half-staff as the company said in a statement it was “deeply saddened and shocked” by the news of Thompson’s death.
“Brian was a colleague and friend highly respected by all who worked with him,” the insurer said in a statement.
‘We are working closely with the New York Police Department and ask for your patience and understanding during this difficult time. “Our hearts go out to Brian’s family and everyone who was close to him.”
Thompson, seen at the United Healthcare charity golf event earlier this year, was described by the company as “a colleague and friend highly respected by all who worked with him.”
United is the largest health insurer by market share in the United States. The company has been the subject of frequent protests by activists for allegedly systematically denying patients care.
One such protest earlier this year led to the arrest of 11 people outside United Healthcare’s headquarters in Minnetonka, Minnesota.
The company made headlines in February after being subjected to a cyberattack that cost it $872 million.
In fact, Thompson’s wife, Paulette ‘Pauley’ Thompson, 51, has said that her husband had been receiving “some threats” before his trip to New York.
‘Basically, I don’t know, lack of coverage? I don’t know details. “I just know that he said there were some people who had been threatening him,” he told NBC News.
Thompson was also being investigated by the Justice Department for antitrust violations and accused of insider trading.
The department launched an investigation to determine whether the private company was unfairly restricting its competitors and running a monopoly.
Then in May, the city of Hollywood Firefighters’ Pension Fund filed a complaint against Thompson and other executives, accusing the CEO of failing to inform investors about the federal investigation before divesting more than 31 percent of his shares, obtaining 15.1 million dollars in profits.
In legal filings, the fund said Thompson and other company executives sold more than $117 million in UnitedHealth common stock during the four-month period when insiders knew about the federal antitrust investigation but the public did not.
The California Public Employees Retirement System, the largest state public pension fund in the United States, joined that complaint in October and filed an amendment seeking a jury trial against UnitedHealth executives, including Thompson.
Thompson is survived by his wife Paulette ‘Pauley’ Thompson, 51, and their two children who live in the family’s $1.5 million home in Maple Grove, Minnesota.
He is now survived by his wife Pauley and their two children, who live in the family’s $1.5 million home in Maple Grove, Minnesota.
“We are devastated to learn of the senseless murder of our beloved Brian,” she told ABC 7 following her husband’s untimely death.
“Brian was an incredibly loving, generous and talented man who truly lived life to the fullest and touched many lives,” she said.
‘Most importantly, Brian was an incredibly loving father to our two children and he will be greatly missed.
“We appreciate your well wishes and ask for complete privacy as our family goes through this difficult time.”
His sister Elena Reveiz told the New York Times that she was stunned by the news of her brother’s murder.
“He was a good person and I’m very sad,” she said, describing Thompson as a good father to his two children.
Minnesota Governor and 2024 Democratic vice presidential candidate Tim Walz, who was photographed with Thompson in 2022, also said the shooting was “horrible news and a terrible loss for the business and health care community in Minnesota.”
Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey added in his own statement: ‘This is a shocking and devastating loss for our entire community. “Shocking” is the only word I can find right now.”