CEO of UnitedHealthcare fatally shot in NYC

The CEO of health insurer UnitedHealthcare, a significant employer in Hartford, was killed in a shooting outside a midtown Manhattan hotel Wednesday morning, according to CNN.

The executive, Brian Thompson, was walking toward the New York Hilton Hotel to attend UnitedHealthcare’s annual investor conference when he was shot in the chest, CNN reported.

It appeared to be a targeted attack, CNN said, citing law enforcement officials.

The shooter fled on foot and then got on a bicycle, the news outlet said. As of 10:30 a.m., police were still searching for the gunman, whom they said could be in Central Park. 

Meanwhile, Thompson was taken to Mount Sinai West where he was pronounced dead.

The investigation is ongoing.

Thompson was named CEO of UnitedHealthcare in April 2021. UnitedHealthcare is part of UnitedHealth Group, a Fortune 500 company.

UnitedHealthcare once leased 18 floors of office space in Hartford’s CityPlace I skyscraper on Asylum Street. 

In August 2022, the Hartford Business Journal reported that UnitedHealthcare was downsizing from its approximately 350,000-square-foot office footprint in CityPlace I to around 57,000 square feet of space on two floors.

UnitedHealthcare remains a prominent employer in Connecticut and had 5,737 employees based in the state in 2023, according to the Hartford Business Journal’s 2024 Book of Lists.