Police in New York are hunting a gunman who shot dead a healthcare executive outside a hotel in what was a “brazen targeted attack”.
Brian Thompson, who had been the chief executive of UnitedHealthcare since April 2021, was killed outside the Hilton Hotel in midtown Manhattan.
The gunman, who was wearing a face mask, was lying in wait for about five minutes before he approached the 50-year-old victim from behind.
Image: Mr Thompson had been in his role for three years. Pic: UnitedHealthcare/AP
He opened fire several times, shooting him in the back and leg. He then walks towards Mr Thompson and continues to shoot.
Police said the weapon jammed during the attack, which happened at around 6.45am local time on Wednesday. But the shooter cleared the jam and started firing again.
The suspect then fled on foot before getting on a GPS-tracked e-bike and was last seen in Central Park.
Mr Thompson, who lived in Minnesota, was taken to a nearby hospital but could not be saved.
Police are still searching for the suspect and are offering a $10,000 (£7,866) reward for information. Officers also said they did not yet have a motive for the shooting.
Photos taken from CCTV footage shows a man wearing a grey backpack riding a bicycle, and another photo of the individual appearing to be pointing a gun.
Image: An image of the individual sought in connection to the investigation of the shooting of Brian Thompson. Pic: NYPD/Reuters
Image: Pic: NYPD/Reuters
The suspect was described as a light-skinned male, wearing a light brown or cream coloured jacket, a black face mask, black and white trainers and distinctive grey rucksack.
Police said there was another person standing next to Mr Thompson when he was attacked outside the hotel, and are in the process of identifying them.
New York City’s police commissioner Jessica Tisch said the shooting was a “brazen, targeted attack”.
“This does not appear to be a random act of violence. Every indication is that this was a premeditated, pre-planned, targeted attack,” she said.
Brian Thompson was the boss of UnitedHealth’s insurance division.
He had been at the company, in various roles, for 20 years and had served in his current job since 2021.
Mr Thompson worked under group chief executive Sir Andrew Witty, the experienced British executive best known in the UK for his tenure in charge at pharmaceutical firm GlaxoSmithKline in the early 2000s.
UnitedHealthcare is the largest provider of Medicare health insurance plans in the United States – policies that holders generally find cause to complain about industry-wide.
Medicare plans cover people aged 65 or older and younger people with disabilities.
America’s healthcare insurance costs rank as the most expensive in the world.
The firm also manages health insurance for companies.
Mr Thompson’s wife, Paulette Thompson, said that he had been receiving threats.
“There had been some threats,” she said in a phone call to Sky’s US partner network, NBC News. “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.”
“I can’t really give a thoughtful response right now. I just found this out and I’m trying to console my children,” she added.
Image: Pic: Reuters
Image: Police officers stand near the scene where the chief executive of UnitedHealthcare Brian Thompson was shot and killed in Midtown Manhattan. Pic: Reuters
The attack happened as the company was scheduled to have its annual meeting with investors on Wednesday morning in the Hilton. Mr Thompson had arrived in New York on Monday to attend the meeting and was staying in a hotel opposite the Hilton.
It is understood Mr Thompson was in charge of organising the conference and was due to speak at the meeting.
Image: Bullets lie on the footpath of the scene outside the Hilton Hotel in midtown Manhattan. Pic: AP
Image: A member of the NYPD Crime Scene Unit takes a picture of a shell casing found at the scene. Pic: Reuters
“We’re dealing with a very serious medical situation with one of our team members, and as a result, I’m afraid we’re going to have to bring to a close the event today,” UnitedHealth’s chief executive Sir Andrew Witty said.
The suspect was described as using a firearm with a silencer, CNBC reported, citing a person familiar with the incident.
UnitedHealthcare is the insurance arm of the healthcare giant UnitedHealth Group.
Image: The scene after Brian Thompson was fatally shot in New York. Pic: AP
Image: Pic: Reuters
Image: Members of the NYPD Crime Scene Unit work near evidence markers placed where shell casings were found. Pic Reuters
In a statement, it said: “Brian was a highly respected colleague and friend to all who worked with him. 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.”
There have been no arrests, and the investigation is active and ongoing.
The scene of the shooting is a short walk from tourist sites such as the Museum of Modern Art and Rockefeller Centre. The popular Rockefeller Centre Christmas tree lighting is set to take place Wednesday evening.
Melania Trump has threatened to sue Hunter Biden for more than $1bn (£736.5m) in damages if he does not retract comments linking her to Jeffrey Epstein.
Mr Biden, who is the son of former US president Joe Biden, alleged in an interview this month that sex trafficker Epstein introduced the first lady to President Donald Trump.
“Epstein introduced Melania to Trump. The connections are, like, so wide and deep,” he claimed.
Ms Trump’s lawyer labelled the comments false, defamatory and “extremely salacious” in a letter to Mr Biden.
Image: Hunter Biden. File pic: AP
Her lawyer wrote that the first lady suffered “overwhelming financial and reputational harm” as the claims were widely discussed on social media and reported by media around the world.
The president and first lady previously said they were introduced by modelling agent Paolo Zampolli at a New York Fashion Week party in 1998.
Mr Biden attributed the claim that Epstein introduced the couple to author Michael Wolff, who was accused by Mr Trump of making up stories to sell books in June and was dubbed a “third-rate reporter” by the president.
The former president’s son doubled down on his remarks in a follow-up interview with the same YouTube outlet, Channel 5 with Andrew Callaghan, entitled “Hunter Biden Apology”.
Asked if he would apologise to the first lady, Mr Biden responded: “F*** that – that’s not going to happen.”
He added: “I don’t think these threats of lawsuits add up to anything other than designed distraction.”
Ms Trump’s threat to sue Mr Biden echoes a strategy employed by her husband, who has aggressively used legal action to go after critics.
Public figures like the Trumps must meet a high bar to succeed in a defamation suit like the one that could be brought by the first lady if she follows through with her threat.
In his initial interview, Mr Biden also hit out at “elites” and others in the Democratic Party, who he claims undermined his father before he dropped out of last year’s race for president.
This comes as pressure on the White House to release the Epstein files has been mounting for weeks, after he made a complete U-turn on his administration’s promise to release more information publicly.
The US Justice Department, which confirmed in July that it would not be releasing the files, said a review of the Epstein case had found “no incriminating ‘client list'” and “no credible evidence” the jailed financier – who killed himself in prison in 2019 – had blackmailed famous men.
But there are fears they will discuss a deal robbing Ukraine of the land currently occupied by Russia – something Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said he won’t accept.
Here’s what three of our correspondents think ahead of the much-anticipated face-to-face.
Putin’s legacy is at stake – he’ll want territory and more By Ivor Bennett, Moscow correspondent, in Alaska
Putin doesn’t just want victory. He needs it.
Three and a half years after he ordered the invasion of Ukraine, this war has to end in a visible win for the Russian president. It can’t have been for nothing. His legacy is at stake.
So the only deal I think he’ll be willing to accept at Friday’s summit is one that secures Moscow’s goals.
These include territory (full control of the four Ukrainian regions which Russia has already claimed), permanent neutrality for Kyiv and limits on its armed forces.
I expect he’ll be trying to convince Trump that such a deal is the quickest path to peace. The only alternative, in Russia’s eyes, is an outright triumph on the battlefield.
Image: Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump meeting in Osaka in 2019
I think Putin‘s hope is that the American president agrees with this view and then gives Ukraine a choice: accept our terms or go it alone without US support.
A deal like that might not be possible this week, but it may be in the future if Putin can give Trump something in return.
That’s why there’s been lots of talk from Moscow this week about all the lucrative business deals that can come from better US-Russia relations.
The Kremlin will want to use this opportunity to remind the White House of what else it can offer, apart from an end to the fighting.
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4:25
What will Kyiv be asked to give up?
Ukraine would rather this summit not be happening By Dominic Waghorn, international affairs editor, in Ukraine
Ukraine would far rather this meeting wasn’t happening.
Trump seemed to have lost patience with Putin and was about to hit Russia with more severe sanctions until he was distracted by the Russian leader’s suggestion that they meet.
Ukrainians say the Alaska summit rewards Putin by putting him back on the world stage.
But the meeting is happening, and they have to be realistic.
Most of all, they want a ceasefire before any negotiations can happen. Then they want the promise of security guarantees.
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2:35
Does Europe have any power over Ukraine’s future?
That is because they know that Putin may well come back for more even if peace does break out. They need to be able to defend themselves should that happen.
And they want the promise of reparations to rebuild their country, devastated by Putin’s wanton, unprovoked act of aggression.
There are billions of Russian roubles and assets frozen across the West. They want them released and sent their way.
What they fear is Trump being hoodwinked by Putin with the lure of profit from US-Russian relations being restored, regardless of Ukraine’s fate.
Image: US Army paratroopers train at the military base where discussions will take place. File pic: Reuters
That would allow Russia to regain its strength, rearm and prepare for another round of fighting in a few years’ time.
Trump and his golf buddy-turned-negotiator Steve Witkoff appear to believe Putin might be satisfied with keeping some of the land he has taken by force.
Putin says he wants much more than that. He wants Ukraine to cease to exist as a country separate from Russia.
Any agreement short of that is only likely to be temporary.
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1:41
Zelenskyy: I told Trump ‘Putin is bluffing’
Trump’s pride on the line – he has a reputation to restore By Martha Kelner, US correspondent, in Alaska
As with anything Donald Trump does, he already has a picture in his mind.
The image of Trump shaking hands with the ultimate strongman leader, Vladimir Putin, on US soil calls to his vanity and love of an attention-grabbing moment.
There is also pride at stake.
Image: Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson in Alaska, where Trump will meet his Russian counterpart. File pic: Reuters
Trump campaigned saying he would end the Russia-Ukraine war on his first day in office, so there is an element of him wanting to follow through on that promise to voters, even though it’s taken him 200-plus days in office and all he’s got so far is this meeting, without apparently any concessions on Putin’s end.
In Trump’s mind – and in the minds of many of his supporters – he is the master negotiator, the chief dealmaker, and he wants to bolster that reputation.
He is keen to further the notion that he negotiates in a different, more straightforward way than his predecessors and that it is paying dividends.
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