Person of interest nabbed in fatal shooting of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson outside NYC hotel
A person of interest has been nabbed in the fatal shooting of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, who was coldly executed in a targeted attack in front of a Manhattan hotel this week, The Post has learned.
The man was picked up in Altoona, Pa., using a fake ID, sources said.
The bust came amid a massive manhunt for the masked shooter who laid in wait outside the Hilton on Sixth Avenue where Thompson, 50, was set to speak at an investor’s conference Wednesday morning.
The chillingly efficient gunman snuck behind Thompson on the sidewalk, pulled out what appeared to be a handgun with a silencer and calmly unloaded multiple shots at the CEO’s back, shocking surveillance footage showed.
Thompson dropped to the ground after he was hit in the back and right calf, with the gunman quickly running off before grabbing an e-bike and riding away.
Thompson was rushed to Mount Sinai Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
The execution prompted a massive manhunt and a steady drip of sometimes bizarre clues and revelations.
The shooter’s bullets found at the scene appeared to have the words “deny,” “depose” and “defend” written on them — a potential message from the killer that echoed the title of a book condemning the health-care insurance industry’s practice of not paying claims.
Video uncovered during the investigation also revealed the suspected killer’s smiling face, as well as his potential connection to an Upper West Side hostel, where he is believed to have stayed before the murder.
A motive wasn’t immediately known.
NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch has told reporters that the shooter intentionally targeted Thompson — a father of two sons, whose wife said had been the target of recent threats over his job — as witnesses milled around the hotel.
“Many people passed the suspect, but he appeared to wait for his intended target,” she said.
It is not immediately clear if anyone has claimed the $10,000 reward offered by the NYPD and CrimeStoppers.
Thompson’s wife, Paulette “Pauley” Thompson, 51, said that before the shooting, the family had received threats relating to her husband’s job leading America’s largest private insurer, NBC News reports.
“There had been some threats,” she said, according to NBC. “Basically, I don’t know, a lack of coverage? I don’t know details. I just know that he said there were some people that had been threatening him.”
Law-enforcement sources confirmed to The Post that UnitedHealthcare had told investigators about threats made against Thompson.
Thompson was promoted to CEO of UnitedHealthcare in 2021, where he earned nearly $10 million the next year, according to the Economic Research Institute.
The shooting sent the investors’ conference, which Thompson was due to speak, into a panic, with witnesses saying the attendees left in shock and tears.
The UnitedHealth Group released a statement expressing shock at Thompson’s death.
“Brian was a highly respected colleague and friend to all who worked with him,” the statement reads.
Flags at the company’s corporate headquarters in Minnetonka, Minn., were flown at half-mast on Wednesday.
“This is horrifying news and a terrible loss for the business and health care community in Minnesota.” Gov. Tim Walz said in a statement. “Minnesota is sending our prayers to Brian’s family and the UnitedHealthcare team.”
