The boss of the leading health insurer in the United States, UnitedHealthcare, was shot dead Wednesday morning in the center of New York, local media reported, speaking of a targeted assassination and a suspect on the run in the capital world of finance.
It was shortly before 7 a.m. when Brian Thompson, 50, was shot dead near the Hilton hotel in Midtown, the center of Manhattan which houses the headquarters of banks, insurers and financial groups, the local channel first announced. Continuous news Pix 11 New York.
The man died on arrival at the nearest hospital, according to the same source.
An AFP photographer noted that the area around the hotel, at the corner of 54th Street and Sixth Avenue, one of the most congested areas of Manhattan in the morning and evening, was cordoned off by police. New York police, the NYPD.
The New York Times and CNBC television raise, citing anonymous sources, the possibility that the victim was directly targeted, killed by one or more shots from a firearm with a silencer.
CBS, which spoke to an NYPD police officer, claims that the alleged killer was waiting for Mr. Thompson near the hotel and that the 50-year-old was allegedly shot in the chest.
The suspect, wearing a mask on his face and all in black, fled on a bicycle and is actively being sought, according to the media, always citing anonymous police sources.
“Very serious” situation
Questioned by AFP, an NYPD spokesperson simply confirmed shots fired targeting a person in this business district of the financial and cultural capital of the United States. A press conference is expected soon.
According to local media, UnitedHealth Group had been holding a financial conference for its investors at the Hilton hotel in Midtown since 8 a.m., a meeting which had to be interrupted an hour later by the group’s big boss Andrew Witty, who got emotional. of a “very serious situation (…).”
Mr. Thompson had been part of parent company UnitedHealth Group for 20 years and led its health arm UnitedHealthcare since 2021. It insures 51 million people and works with government programs such as Medicare, the American health insurance system for seniors.
UnitedHealth Group, one of the largest insurers on the planet, has 440,000 employees and $371 billion in annual revenue.
Contacted by AFP, the communications services of the insurance group and its health subsidiary have not yet responded.
