CEO of America's largest health insurance company assassinated

(CLO) Brian Thompson, CEO of America's largest health insurer UnitedHealth, was shot dead by a masked man in an apparent assassination Wednesday morning in Midtown Manhattan.

Thompson, 50, was shot at about 6:45 a.m. local time outside the Hilton Hotel on Sixth Avenue, just before the company's annual investor conference. He was taken to a nearby hospital, where he was pronounced dead. Police said the gunman is still at large and they are still investigating a motive.

"This does not appear to be a random act of violence," New York City Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch said at a news conference. "Every indication is that this was a targeted, premeditated attack."

Police cordoned off the area where the assassination took place. Photo: AP

Police said the suspect, who was masked and carrying a gray backpack, fled on foot before getting on an electric bike and running into Central Park.

CEO Thompson's wife, Paulette, told NBC News that he had received several threats, though she did not know the specifics.

“Basically, I don't know, lack of insurance?” she said, seemingly alluding to a potential insurance-related motive. “I don't know the details. I just know that he said that some people had threatened him.”

UnitedHealth is the largest health insurer in the United States, providing services to tens of millions of Americans who pay more for health care than people in any other country.

The company is also grappling with the fallout from a massive data breach at its Change Healthcare unit, which disrupted patient care and physician pay for months.

Camera image of the perpetrator. Photo: US Police

The gunman arrived outside the Hilton Hotel about five minutes before Thompson, ignoring other people walking by. He then shot Thompson in the back as he passed, NYPD Chief of Detectives Joseph Kenny told reporters.

Surveillance video showed the pistol appeared to be equipped with a silencer. Baird investment analyst Michael Ha, who attended the UnitedHealth event, said people were scared, confused and crying in the hotel hallways.

After the assassination, UnitedHealth removed photos of the leaders from its website.

Bui Huy (according to Reuters, AP, CNN)

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