Brian Thompson, the CEO of UnitedHealthcare, was shot and killed outside the Hilton Midtown hotel in Manhattan during the early hours of December 4, 2024.
The attack, which was planned, occurred at approximately 6:45 a.m. as Thompson, aged 50, was heading to a conference for investors. Surveillance footage captures a masked shooter using a pistol equipped with a suppressor, following Thompson before firing.
After discharging several rounds, the gunman fled into Central Park. Authorities are actively chasing leads, scrutinizing surveillance footage, and probing into mysterious markings, “delay” and “depose,” discovered on ammunition linked to the shooter. His wife and two sons survive Thompson.
Thompson, who had been with UnitedHealth Group for two decades, was fatally shot outside a Hilton hotel in Midtown Manhattan in the early hours of December 4, 2024. According to officials, the incident happened around 6:45 a.m. and was characterized as targeted and deliberate. Thompson was 50 years old and led the health insurance division of the company. His wife and two sons survive him. Law enforcement is actively investigating leads related to the case.
Surveillance video of the incident indicates that the assailant had outfitted his pistol with a suppressor, also referred to as a silencer. This device is meant to quiet the sound and diminish the muzzle flash when firing rounds.
In the 1930s, the sale of suppressors was restricted in the United States under the National Firearms Act, primarily because of concerns that these devices were being used to carry out criminal activities.
Authorities are on the lookout for the shooter who fatally shot UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson in what has been characterized as a bold and calculated daytime assault in the center of New York City.
New York Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch noted that the masked assailant was reportedly “lying in wait” outside the Hilton Midtown shortly before 7 a.m. on Wednesday. Thompson was at the hotel to participate in his company’s annual investor conference.
When Thompson approached the entrance, a figure in a dark hood and gray backpack appeared a few feet behind him and shot him in the back, as shown in the surveillance footage obtained by CNN.
Thompson staggered forward before turning to confront the assailant and ultimately collapsed on the ground. The gunman then calmly moved toward the CEO and continued firing, seemingly clearing a jam in the weapon briefly before shooting again, according to the video evidence.
Thompson was pronounced dead less than thirty minutes after the shooting, and the manhunt for the assailant, who escaped into Central Park, remains ongoing as of Thursday.
Police are meticulously reviewing surveillance footage and investigating potential clues the shooter might have left behind while making his escape.
The words “delay” and “depose” were discovered on a live round and a shell casing linked to the assailant, according to law enforcement sources who spoke to CNN on Thursday, responding to an earlier report by ABC News regarding three words that were found.