The gunman who shot and killed UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson early Wednesday morning was earlier spotted talking on the phone and inside a local Starbucks.
The unidentified killer was caught on surveillance footage loitering around the Hilton Hotel in Manhattan about 10 minutes before he opened fire, the New York Times reports.
At around 6.30am, he appeared to be making a phone call as he walked down the sidewalk just about 175 feet from where Thompson, 50, was shot and killed.
He was also spotted standing by a counter at a nearby Starbucks dressed in all black with his face mostly obscured by a balaclava ahead of the shooting.
By 6.45am, surveillance footage obtained by DailyMail.com showed Thompson, a father of two, walking in front of the Hilton when the gunman drew a large gun fitted with a silencer and shot him in the back.
At first, Thompson was able to stumble down the street, but the gunman followed and continued firing at the CEO as he fell to the ground, hitting him in the chest and calf before he fled the scene on a bike.
Police said he escaped into Central Park, sparking a massive city-wide manhunt for the killer.
They say the shooting appears to have been targeted at Thompson, and are investigating the possibility it was motivated by a grudge against the insurance company, the largest health insurer by market share in America, according to ABC 7.
The unidentified man who shot and killed UnitedHealthcare CEO was spotted at a counter at a nearby Starbucks in the moments before he opened fire
Thompson had been slated to speak at an investor meeting at the Hilton Hotel Wednesday morning, in which he would announce United Healthcare’s hugely profitable 2025 financial outlook – including expected revenues of more than $450 billion.
His schedule was widely known, and witnesses have said the suspected gunman even knew which door Thompson was going to emerge from before opening fire.
Witness Amar Abdelmula, a driver, told PIX11 of the moment he heard gunshots: ‘I wasn’t paying attention and then I heard the shot.
‘It was silent gun, black gun. (I) saw him after he shot him, and he was running across the street. I tried take a picture, but too far away, not clear.
‘I was shocked. First time I see crime in front of me,’ he added. ‘I was afraid he (would) shoot me too, my car, I saw everything.’
Michael Dissen, who was at the hotel for a different conference, also told DailyMail.com he heard a ‘commotion’ at around 7.05am.
‘I just heard all these sirens and I thought, “New York City”, 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, had been slated to speak at an investor meeting at the Hilton Hotel Wednesday morning when he was killed
Witnesses said the shooter knew which door Thompson was going to emerge from 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 pronounced dead
Still, the investor conference reportedly began without interruption at 8am on the second floor of the Hilton until news of the shooting began to circulate.
Without knowing it was Thompson who was hit, one attendee told the group that ‘someone got shot outside.’
CEO of parent company United Healthgroup Andrew Witty is said to have halted the meeting at the hotel just after 8am upon hearing of the tragedy.
He told attendees: ‘We’re dealing with a very serious medical situation with one of our team members. As a result, I’m afraid, we’re going to have to bring to a close the event.’
Police say the shooting appears to have been targeted at Thompson, and are investigating the possibility it was motivated by a grudge against the insurance company
A Hilton worker told DailyMail.com that staff members were left shaken by the assassination at their doorstep
A Hilton worker, who asked to remain anonymous, told DailyMail.com in the aftermath that staff have been left shaken by the public assassination on their doorstep.
‘For this to happen in this area, it’s weird,’ he said. ‘For this guy to do it around here with all these cameras and everything, there’s got 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 the UnitedHealthcare 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 highly respected colleague and friend to 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 all who were close to him.’
Thompson, seen at the United Healthcare charity golf event earlier this year, was described by the company as ‘a highly respected colleague and friend to all who worked with him’
United is the biggest health insurer by market share in America. The company has been the subject of frequent protests by activists for allegedly systematically denying care for patients.
One such protest earlier this year led to the arrests of 11 people outside the United Healthcare headquarters in Minnetonka, Minnesota.
The company made headlines in February after it was subjected to a cyber-attack which cost $872 million.
In fact, Thompson’s wife, Paulette ‘Pauley’ Thompson, 51, has said her husband had been receiving ‘some threats’ before his trip to New York.
‘Basically, I don’t know, a lack of coverage? I don’t know details. I just know that he said there were some people that had been threatening him,’ she told NBC News.
Thompson was also being investigated by the Department of Justice for antitrust violations and accused of insider trading.
The department launched a probe into whether the private company was unfairly restricting competitors and running a monopoly.
Then in May, the City of Hollywood Firefighters’ Pension Fund initiated a complaint against Thompson and other executives, accusing the CEO of failing to tell investors about the federal probe before he unloaded over 31 percent of his stock, taking in $15.1 million in proceeds.
In legal documents, the fund said Thompson and other company execs sold over $117 million worth of 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, America’s largest state public pension fund, then joined that complaint in October and filed an amendment seeking a jury trial against the UnitedHealth execs 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 shattered to hear about the senseless killing of our beloved Brian,’ she told ABC 7 following her husband’s untimely death.
‘Brian was an incredibly loving, generous, talented man who truly lived life to the fullest and touched so many lives,’ she said.
‘Most importantly, Brian was an incredibly loving father to our two sons and will be greatly missed.
‘We appreciate your well wishes and request complete privacy as our family moves through this difficult time.’
Her sister Elena Reveiz told the New York Times that she was stunned by the news of her brother’s slaying.
‘He was a good person and I am so sad,’ she said, describing Thompson as a good father to his two children.
Minnesota governor and 2024 Democratic nominee for Vice-President Tim Walz, who was pictured with Thompson in 2022, also said the shooting was ‘horrifying 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 whole community. ‘Shocking’ is the only word I can find at the moment.’
