Gunman Kills CEO of United Healthcare Outside Hilton Hotel, Cops Say He Was Targeted
A masked gunman appeared to be waiting for Brian Thompson outside the Hilton Hotel at around 6:45 a.m. on Dec. 4. The killer was last seen fleeing on a Citi e-bike through Central Park minutes after the shooting.
| 04 Dec 2024 | 04:10
After scouring nearby surveillance video, police said the suspect was in a Starbucks on Sixth Ave. and 56th St. mere minutes before the shooting. (
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Police said the shooter appeared to be waiting for Brian Thompson outside the Hilton Hotel on Sixth Ave. at 6:45 a.m. (
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United Healthcare CEO Brian Thompson, 50, was shot and killed by an assasin outside the Hilton Hotel early on the morning of Dec. 4. His wife Paulette Thompson said he told her he had been receiving threats recently, but police had no clear idea who the lone gunman is. Cops did say it appeared to be a targeted attack. (
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The suspect, wearing a gray backpack, white sneakers and a brown coat was seen fleeing on a Citi e-bike on Sixth Ave. before entering the Center Drive in Central Park minutes after the 6:45 a.m. shooting that killed United Healthcare CEO Brian Thompson. (
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Newly installed Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch said at a Dec. 4 press conference that the shooting appeared to be targeted. She is flanked by Deputy Commissioner Tarik Shepard (far left); chief of detectives Joseph Kenny (left) and chief of department Jeffrey Madrey (right). (
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A lone, masked gunman opened fire on the CEO of United Healthcare in an early morning shooting on Dec. 4 killing him outside the Hilton Hotel in mid-town.
Brian Thompson, was shot outside the Hilton Residence Houses at 1335 Sixth Ave. near 54th St.. He was preparing to deliver an address at an investor conference at the hotel later that morning.
Jessica Tisch, the newly appointed police commissioner called the shooting a “brazen, targeted attack” at a press conference at One Police Plaza hours after the shooting and said the killer appeared to by “lying in wait” for Thompson when he fired around 6:45 a.m.
Thompson was struck in the back and fell to the ground. Police said the suspect’s gun appeared to jam, but he was able to quickly unjam it and fire a second shot that struck Thompson in the calf. He was rushed to Mount Sinai Morningside Hospital where he was pronounced dead.
“Many people passed the suspect, but he appeared to wait for his intended target,” Tisch said, adding that the shooting “does not appear to be a random act of violence.”
While police said they did not yet have a motive, Tisch said “every indication is that this was a premeditated, preplanned, targeted attack.”
NYPD Chief of Detectives Joseph Kenny said that three 9 mm shell casings were recovered at the scene and a cell phone recovered in the alleyway between 54th and 55th St, where the suspect first fled on foot, is being analyzed for forensic evidence.
“The motive for this murder currently is unknown, but, based on the evidence we have so far, it does appear that the victim was specifically targeted,” Kenny said. “But at this point, we do not know why.”
The suspect is believed to be a white male. He was wearing a black mask covering his face and had a gray backpack on his back and wore white sneakers. He was later captured on surveillance video fleeing north on Sixth Ave. on a Citi e-bike before entering Center Drive in Central Park.
Police were offering a $10,000 reward for information leading to the arrest of the suspect and are urging the public to call 1-800-577-8477 (TIPS) with any info on the killer’s identify.
Thompson, who was married and the father of two, lived in Maple Grove, MN, a suburb of Minneapolis. He had been CEO since April 2021 and earlier held other executive level jobs for the giant healthcare provider.
Thompson’s wife, Paulette Thompson, told NBC News that her husband said he had received some threats recently, but had no specific details.
“There had been some threats,” she told the outlet. “I don’t know details. I just know that he said there were some people that had been threatening him.”
Kenny said that police would be scouring social media, interviewing family members and contacting local police in Minneapolis.
The shooting occurred only blocks away from where thousands of people were expected to gather on the evening of Dec. 4 for the annual lighting of the Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree. Chief of Department Jeffrey Maddrey said at the press conference that the tree lighting would go on as planned. He said there would be a “massive” police presence using drones and dogs and that officers would be on the streets around Rockefeller Center as well as in the subways. But he said the big NYPD turnout is standard procedure for large events that attract huge crowds of spectators such as the tree lighting and the recent Thanksgiving Day Parade.