UnitedHealth Group’s investor day turned from an ordinary corporate meeting in a midtown Manhattan hotel to a scene of stunned grief quicker than the health insurer could even react.

“It was mid-presentation when everyone began to get the headlines,” said Michael Ha, a health-care analyst at Baird who sat among roughly 275 attendees at the Wednesday event when news alerts started pinging attendees’ mobile phones. “We were all looking around, we were all shocked and confused.”

Fifty-year-old Brian Thompson, who led the company’s UnitedHealthcare insurance division, had been fatally shot on the sidewalk as he approached the hotel around 6:45 a.m. Blood stained the concrete. And the suspect was still at large.

Details are still emerging of a grisly scene in which Thompson, in a blue suit, was shot multiple times on his way to the New York Hilton Midtown early Wednesday morning. But a haunting question remains: Why would someone want to kill Thompson?

Read more: UnitedHealth Executive Fatally Shot in NYC on Investor Day

“We’re looking into everything,” Joseph Kenny, chief of detectives in the New York Police Department, said in a press conference. “We’re looking at his social media, we’re interviewing employees, we’re interviewing family members, we will be speaking to law enforcement in Minnesota.”

Police said it appears that Thompson was targeted. A manhunt involving dogs, drones and an extensive police presence has been deployed to find the suspect, last seen in Central Park.

A man in a facemask approached Thompson from behind at around 6:45 a.m. and began shooting him in the back, according to a video released by the New York Police Department. Even though the gun malfunctioned, the shooter cleared it, continuing to fire 9-millimeter rounds at him. With Thompson slumped on the ground, the shooter walked past him and then fled on a Citi Bike. Thompson was taken to Mount Sinai West in critical condition, where he was pronounced dead at 7:12 a.m.

Kenny responded to questions about the shooter, including whether he used a silencer, which the police couldn’t confirm. “It does seem he’s proficient in the use of firearms as he was able to clear the malfunctions pretty quickly,” he said.

Prior to the killing, the shooter purchased some items in a nearby Starbucks, including a water bottle that he left in the alley as he fled, a person familiar with the investigation said. The police are hoping to pull DNA from a water bottle as well as the ammunition he ejected from the gun, the person said.

UnitedHealthcare had received threats against Thompson in the past, the person said.

Thompson’s wife, Paulette Thompson, told NBC that he had received threats, suggesting they were related to potential insurance denials. She couldn’t immediately be reached for comment. “Basically, I don’t know, a lack of coverage? I don’t know details,” she said in a phone call with NBC. “I just know that he said there were some people that had been threatening him.”

The police said they didn’t know the motive. They haven’t said whether the shooting was related to Thompson’s personal or professional life. UnitedHealth has faced a series of crises in the last year. The Department of Justice is investigating the company for potential antitrust violations. A cyberattack earlier this year against its Change Healthcare subsidiary knocked out crucial networks, disrupting billions of dollars in payments.

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Any Other Day

UnitedHealth’s investor day kicked off a few minutes behind schedule. Chief Executive Officer Andrew Witty welcomed the crowd with opening remarks on problem solving and delivering on investor expectations. “We’re committed to making sure that we’re always playing chess and never playing checkers,” he said.

They played videos. Another executive took the stage.

Shortly before 9 a.m., headlines about Thompson’s shooting death rippled through the room. “Everyone was looking at” the news, Ha said. He and others left the room to try and figure out what was going on. Ha wasn’t sure when the attack had happened.

People in the lobby were “shocked, confused, sad, scared,” Ha said. Some were crying. Attendees worried for their own safety as they tried to piece together the scant details. “We didn’t know if there was a shooter even in the actual building. So the atmosphere was definitely very dark.”

By about 9:10 a.m., after waiting for Optum CEO Heather Cianfrocco to finish giving her presentation, Witty cut the meeting short.

“Thanks, Heather. I’m afraid that we — some of you may know we’re dealing with a very serious medical situation with one of our team members,” Witty said, nearly two-and-a-half hours after the shooting occurred. “And as a result, I’m afraid we’re going to have to bring to a close the event today, which I apologize for. I’m sure you’ll understand.”

He told the audience, many of whom were watching a webcast, that “we’re going to go offline now” and find a different way to update investors on the business.

As attendees filtered out of the room, a couple staying at the hotel said they heard a helicopter early in the morning, but had no idea what was going on until they spoke with reporters. It’s a large hotel that spans nearly two thirds of a Manhattan block.

On the floor below the UnitedHealth event, hundreds of people were attending a different conference. One attendee, Gillian Schiller, said “I saw the ambulance but I had no idea what had happened.”

It’s unclear when the health insurance behemoth became aware of the shooting. “We are deeply saddened and shocked at the passing of our dear friend and colleague,” UnitedHealth said in a statement. “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.”

Photograph: New York Police Department (NYPD) officers outside the New York Hilton Midtown on Wednesday, Dec. 4, 2024 after Brian Thompson, a UnitedHealth Group Inc. executive, was fatally shot in midtown Manhattan in what authorities described as a targeted attack. Photo credit: Yuki Iwamura/Bloomberg