New York, man hunted who killed UnitedHealthcare CEO. Police: 'Premeditated attack'
Brian Thompson shot several times in downtown Manhattan. The gunman was wanted throughout the night. UnitedHealthcare is the largest health insurance company in the United States
from our correspondent in New York Luca Veronese
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The police hunt continued throughout the night in New York for the man who shot and killed in cold blood Brian Thompson, the CEO of US health insurance giant UnitedHealthcare. Thompson, 50, was killed in an ambush at seven o'clock in the morning in downtown Manhattan as he was walking to the Hilton Hotel to attend a meeting with investors. Shot in the back and legs by several shots from a handgun Thompson died after being transported to nearby Mt. Sinai Hospital.
Brian Thompson killed on Sixth Avenue in Manhattan
The killer after shooting fled, on an electric city bike, eastwards on Sixth Avenue, losing his tracks. The shocking images taken by the security cameras in the area, and released by the police to facilitate the search for the killer, show a white man, covered by a hood and wearing a black mask, with a backpack, who after lurking along the street approached Thompson and cold-cocked him from a few steps away.
The police, who are also sweeping the Central Park area, have offered a reward of $10,000 to anyone who provides information useful to the investigation. According to initial reconstructions and statements by the New York authorities, it was 'a premeditated, planned and targeted attack'.
It has not yet been clarified what drove him to kill, but the policies taken out by the company and the more serious disputes that have recently arisen with insured citizens, in a health system that remains very expensive, are also being investigated.
The victim's wife reported numerous threats received in the last period.
