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After fatal shooting of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, here’s what we know
UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson was shot and killed Wednesday morning outside of a hotel in New York City, police said. A manhunt is underway to find the gunman, who fled the scene on a bike into Central Park.
Here is what we know so far.
Shooting appeared to be targeted attack
Thompson, 50, suffered a single gunshot wound around 6:45 a.m. ET, while outside of the Hilton Midtown hotel in a busy section of Manhattan. Police said they believe this was not a random attack, and that Thompson was targeted. Authorities are searching for a motive.
“We are deeply saddened by this morning’s events in the area and our thoughts are with all affected by the tragedy,” a spokesperson for the hotel said in a statement.
Investigators have video of the shooting in which the gunman appeared to wait for Thompson prior to firing, police said. The gunman arrived at the shooting location on foot about five minutes before Thompson arrived. The CEO was not robbed.
The shooting happened ahead of an investors conference that UnitedHealth Group, the parent company of UnitedHealthcare, was scheduled to host Wednesday morning at the Hilton, according to a spokesperson for the subsidiary. Thompson had worked for UnitedHealthcare since 2004 and served as its CEO since 2021.
Officers who responded to the 911 call reporting the shooting found Thompson unconscious and unresponsive when they arrived, the New York City Police Department said. Emergency medical services personnel transported him to Mount Sinai West, which is close by, but Thompson succumbed to his injuries. He was pronounced dead at the hospital, according to NYPD.
Suspect fled into Central Park
After the shooting, the suspect fled on foot into an alleyway and got on a bike, which he rode into Central Park, police said at a press conference Wednesday. A cellphone was recovered in the alleyway, and authorities are processing it forensically to see if it is connected to the shooter.
Police have not identified suspect
The suspect remained at large as of midday Wednesday. Police sources described him as a white male, wearing a tan-colored jacket, a black face mask and black-and-white sneakers. He also carried a grey backpack.
Police sources said several hours after the shooting took place that officers were continuing to parse surveillance images and canvass the area for additional video in efforts to track down the gunman. Investigators and security at UnitedHealthcare were also reviewing files for any previous threats, or records of disgruntled or recently fired workers, as they tried to piece together a possible motive, a law enforcement source said.
A witness said he was inside of his car when he heard the gunshot, CBS News New York reported. The witness recalled seeing a man running away with a gun in his hand, according to the station.
“I was looking at my phone and I hear the shot,” the witness told CBS News New York “I was shocked, it’s the first time I’ve ever seen a crime right in front of me. Now I fear he could shoot me too.”
Anyone with information about the shooting has been asked to contact the NYPD through its Crime Stoppers hotline. They can also report tips anonymously online.
New York City Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch, Chief of Department Jeffrey Maddrey and Chief of Detectives Joseph Kenny will share updates on their investigation into the shooting at 11:30 a.m. Wednesday, the police department said.
Pat Milton and John Doyle contributed to this article.
President-elect Donald Trump announced Wednesday that he intends to nominate cryptocurrency advocate Paul Atkins to chair the Securities and Exchange Commission.
Trump said Atkins, the CEO of Patomak Partners and a former SEC commissioner, was a “proven leader for common sense regulations.” In the years since leaving the SEC, Atkins has made the case against too much market regulation.
“He believes in the promise of robust, innovative capital markets that are responsive to the needs of Investors, & that provide capital to make our Economy the best in the World. He also recognizes that digital assets & other innovations are crucial to Making America Greater than Ever Before,” Trump wrote on Truth Social.
The commission oversees U.S. securities markets and investments and is currently led by Gary Gensler, who has been leading the U.S. government’s crackdown on the crypto industry. Gensler, who was nominated by President Joe Biden, announced last month that he would be stepping down from his post on the day that Trump is inaugurated — Jan. 20, 2025.
Trump, once a crypto skeptic, had pledged to make the U.S. “the crypto capital of the planet” and create a “strategic reserve” of bitcoin. Money has poured into crypto assets since he won. Bitcoin, the largest cryptocurrency, is now above $95,000. And shares in crypto platform Coinbase have surged more than 70% since the election.
Paul Grewal, chief legal officer of Coinbase, congratulated Atkins in a post on X.
“We appreciate his commitment to balance in regulating U.S. securities markets and look forward to his fresh leadership at (the SEC),” Grewal wrote. “It’s sorely needed and cannot come a day too soon.”
Congressman Brad Sherman, a California Democrat and a senior member of the House Financial Services Committee, said he worries Atkins would not sufficiently regulate cryptocurrencies as SEC chair.
“He’d probably take the position that no cryptocurrency is a security, and hence no exchange that deals with crypto is a securities exchange,” Sherman said. “The opportunity to defraud investors would be there in a very significant way.”
Atkins began his career as a lawyer and has a long history working in the financial markets sector, both in government and private practice. In the 1990s, he worked on the staffs of two former SEC chairmen, Richard C. Breeden and Arthur Levitt.
His work as an SEC commissioner started in 2002, a time when the fallout from corporate scandals at Enron and WorldCom had turned up the heat on Wall Street and its government regulators.
Atkins was widely considered the most conservative member of the SEC during his tenure at the agency and was known to have a strong free-market bent. As a commissioner, he called for greater transparency in and analysis of the costs and benefits of new SEC rules.
He also emphasized investor education and increased enforcement efforts against those who steal from investors over the internet, manipulate markets, engage in Ponzi schemes and other types of fraud.
At the same time, Atkins objected to stiff penalties imposed on companies accused of fraudulent conduct, contending that they did not deter crime. He caused a stir in the summer of 2006 when he said the practice of granting stock options to executives before the disclosure of news that was certain to increase the share price did not constitute insider trading.
U.S. Rep. Patrick McHenry, a North Carolina Republican and chairman of the House Financial Services Committee, said Atkins has the experience needed to “restore faith in the SEC.”
“I’m confident his leadership will lead to clarity for the digital asset ecosystem and ensure U.S. capital markets remain the envy of the world,” McHenry posted on X.
Atkins already has some experience working for Trump. During Trump’s first term, Atkins was a member of the President’s Strategic and Policy Forum, an advisory group of more than a dozen CEOs and business leaders who offered input on how to create jobs and speed economic growth.
In 2017, Atkins joined the Token Alliance, a cryptocurrency advocacy organization.
Crypto industry players welcomed Trump’s victory in the hopes that he would push through legislative and regulatory changes that they’ve long lobbied for.
Trump himself has launched World Liberty Financial, a new venture with family members to trade cryptocurrencies.
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