The CEO of UnitedHealth’s insurance division has been g%nned down in what police called a “brazen, targeted” attack.
Brian Thompson, 50, was repeatedly sh0t by a masked g%nman about 6:46 a.m. on Wednesday morning outside the Hilton hotel in Midtown, said NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch.
“Many people passed the suspect, but he appeared to wait for his intended target,” she said.
Thompson was hit in the torso, prompting a desperate attempt by first responders to save him with CPR, harrowing video shows.
He was rushed in critical condition to Roosevelt Hospital, where he was pronounced dead at 7:12 a.m., police said.
The mysterious gunman, who appeared to be skilled with a firearm, police said – ran off before hopping on an electric Citi Bike and disappearing into Central Park, said NYPD Chief of Detectives Joe Kenny.
A manhunt was underway for the suspect as the NYPD and CrimeStoppers offered a $10,000 reward for information.
The motive behind the heinous hit remained unknown, Kenny said.
The gunman walked up to the hotel – where the UnitedHealth Group was holding its investors’ conference – about five minutes before the shooting, Kenny said.
Witnesses told The Post the suspect had been spotted near the hotel, on Sixth Avenue, milling around.
When Thompson – who had been staying at the nearby Marriott, according to sources – walked up to the hotel, the masked suspect struck, Kenny said.
“The shooter steps onto the sidewalk from behind the car, he ignores numerous other pedestrians, approaches the victim from behind and shoots him in the back,” Kenny said. “The shooter then walks toward the victim and continues to shoot.”
The shooter’s weapon appeared to have malfunctioned at that point, but he managed to quickly clear the gun and begin to fire again – a sign the suspect is proficient with firearms, Kenny said.
Thompson was struck by bullets at least once each in his back and right calf, Tisch said.
The suspect was described as a white male wearing a dark jacket, black face mask, and black and white sneakers. Officials said he was carrying a distinctive gray backpack.
Kenny said the shooter first ran off through the Ziegfeld alleyway between 54th and 55th streets, then hopped onto an electric Citi Bike – a ride captured in another surveillance photo.
The gunman peddled up the Avenue of the Americas toward Central Park, and was last seen around 6:48 a.m. biking onto Center Drive, Kenny said.
Cops recovered three live 9-millimeter rounds and three discharged shell casings at the scene, the chief said.
“The motive for this murder currently is unknown, but based on the evidence we have so far, it does appear that the victim was specifically targeted,” Kenny said. “But at this point, we do not know why.”
Thompson leaves behind his wife Paulette ‘Pauley’ Thompson, 51, and two children in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
The family had received threats, Paulette Thompson told NBC News.