Minnesota-based UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson was fatally shot outside a hotel in midtown Manhattan on Wednesday.

Brian Thompson

Here’s what we know so far about this breaking news:

The shooting

The 50-year-old executive was shot around 6:45 a.m. on Wednesday as he walked alone to the New York Hilton Midtown from a nearby hotel, police said.

Thompson was struck at least once in the back and once in the calf, authorities said. He was taken to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

The suspect

The gunman appeared to be “lying in wait for several minutes” before approaching Thompson from behind and opening fire, New York City Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch said.

The suspect, dressed in a hooded sweatshirt and carrying a distinct gray backpack, then fled on foot down an alleyway before pedaling an e-bike into Central Park a few blocks away.

The shooter was still at large as of Wednesday afternoon, sparking a search that included police drones, helicopters and dogs.

This combination of images provided by the New York City Police Department shows the suspect sought in the the killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson outside a Manhattan hotel where the health insurer was holding an investor conference, Wednesday, Dec. 4, 2024. (New York City Police Department via AP)

Police issued a poster showing a surveillance image of the suspect pointing what appeared to be a gun and another image that appeared to show the same person on a bicycle. Police offered a reward of up to $10,000 for information leading to an arrest and conviction.

Unknown motive

Police have not yet established a motive.

“Many people passed the suspect, but he appeared to wait for his intended target,” Commissioner Tisch said, adding that the shooting “does not appear to be a random act of violence.”

The hotel

The Hilton is in a bustling part of Manhattan, a short walk from tourist sites such as the Museum of Modern Art and Rockefeller Center, and often dense with tourists and office workers on weekday mornings.

Part of the block where the shooting took place was cordoned off with police tape, with a large contingent of police officers at the scene. Many security cameras are nearby.

Shaken

The killing happened about four blocks from where tens of thousands of people are set to gather Wednesday night for the annual Rockefeller Center Christmas tree lighting.

Police sought to reassure New Yorkers and promised extra security for the tree lighting, which will go on as scheduled.

“We’re encouraging New Yorkers to go about their daily lives and their daily business but to be alert,” NYPD Chief of Department Jeffrey Maddrey said.

Thompson’s widow

Thompson’s wife, Paulette Thompson, told NBC News that he had been receiving threats.

“There had been some threats,” she said in a phone call to NBC News. “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.”

When reached by phone, his mother-in-law, Paulette Reveiz, told the New York Daily News that his family was stunned.

“The only thing I can say is he’s a good man. I can’t say anything else,” said Reveiz. “We’re still in shock.”

UnitedHealth Group Inc.

UnitedHealthcare is the insurance arm of the health care giant UnitedHealth Group Inc., which is based in Minnetonka.

United is the largest provider of Medicare Advantage plans, the privately run versions of the U.S. government’s Medicare program for people age 65 and older.

The company also sells individual insurance and administers health insurance coverage for thousands of employers and state-and federally funded Medicaid programs.

Annual meeting

The Minnesota-based company was scheduled to have its annual meeting with investors in New York City to update Wall Street on the company’s direction and expectations for the coming year, according to a company media advisory.

The company ended the conference early in the wake of Thompson’s death.

“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,” a company official told attendees, according to a transcript. “And as a result, I’m afraid we’re going to have to bring to a close the event today. … I’m sure you’ll understand.”

A Minnesota family

Thompson lived with his family in Minnesota.

According to his LinkedIn profile, Thompson graduated as valedictorian from the University of Iowa in 1997 with a bachelor’s degree in business administration and accounting, and worked at accounting firm Pricewaterhouse Coopers from 1997 to 2004.

A long tenure

Thompson had run the insurance arm of health care giant UnitedHealth Group Inc. since 2021 and had worked at the company for two decades.

Thompson began at the company in 2004, the New York Daily News reports, working on mergers and acquisitions.

He went on to become chief financial officer for UnitedHealthcare Employer & Individual, Community & State and Medicare & Retirement, then chief executive officer of the Medicare & Retirement division.

Just before becoming CEO, the Daily News reports, Thompson was chief executive officer of the company’s government programs. That division included Medicare and state programs designed to provide care to the uninsured.

The portfolio Thompson managed generated $74 billion in revenue in the most recent quarter, making it the largest subsidiary of UnitedHealth Group. His $10.2 million annual compensation package, including salary, bonus and stock options awards, made him one of the company’s highest-paid executives.

Still, Thompson had little name recognition beyond the industry.

Even to investors who own its stock, the Associated Press reports that the public face of the parent company belonged to CEO Andrew Witty, a knighted British triathlete who has testified before Congress.

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Condolences

Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz tweeted that the state is “sending our prayers to Brian’s family and the UnitedHealthcare team.”

“This is horrifying news and a terrible loss for the business and health care community in Minnesota,” the Democrat wrote.

Company statement

“We are deeply saddened and shocked at the passing of our dear friend and colleague Brian Thompson, the CEO of UnitedHealthcare,” the insurer’s parent company, UnitedHealth Group, said in a statement.

“Brian was a highly respected colleague and friend to all who worked with him,” the company said. “We are working closely with the New York Police Department and ask for your patience and understanding during this difficult time.”

A grieving family and community

KARE-11 reports that Thompson leaves behind his wife, Paulette, and two sons who attended Wayzata High School; one is a current student while the other is a 2024 graduate, the station reports.

“School officials say the Wayzata H.S. community is heartbroken, and promised support for both students and staff members impacted by the ‘devastating event,’ KARE reports.

By CHRISTOPHER RUGABER, Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) — Chair Jerome Powell said Wednesday that the Federal Reserve’s ability to set interest rates free of political interference is necessary for it to make decisions to serve “all Americans” rather than a political party or a specific outcome.

Speaking at at New York Times’ DealBook summit, Powell spoke in response to a question about President-elect Donald Trump’s numerous public criticisms of the Fed and of Powell himself.

“We’re supposed to achieve maximum employment and price stability for the benefit of all Americans and keep out of politics completely,” Powell said.

The Fed chair said he was confident of widespread support in Congress for maintaining the central bank’s independence.

“I’m not concerned,” he said, “that there’s some risk that that we would lose our statutory independence.”

On the topic of interest rates, Powell said the Fed can afford to cut its benchmark rate cautiously, because the economy remains sturdy and inflation has tumbled from its peak of two years ago.

The Fed has been aiming to deliver a “soft landing” for the economy, whereby the central bank’s interest rate hikes manage to help reduce inflation to its 2% target without causing a recession. History has shown it’s a rare and difficult feat.

Yet the economy appears largely on track for such an outcome. The job market has slowed. And inflation is down sharply, though in recent months it has remained stuck modestly above the Fed’s target, which could make the policymakers reluctant to cut rates much further.

Several other Fed officials have said this week that they expect to cut rates further, without committing to a reduction at their next meeting later this month.

On Monday, Christopher Waller, an influential member of the Fed’s Board of Directors, said he was “leaning” toward a rate cut when the central bank meets in two weeks. Waller added, though, that if forthcoming data on inflation or hiring appears worse than the Fed expects, he might favor keeping rates unchanged.

On Tuesday, Mary Daly, president of the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco, said she supported further lowering rates, without commenting specifically on a timetable.

“Whether it’ll be in December or some time later, that’s a question we’ll have a chance to debate and discuss at our next meeting,” Daly said in an interview on Fox Business News. “But the point is, we have to keep policy moving down to accommodate the economy because we want a durable expansion with low inflation.”

By MARIA CHENG and MARIA VERZA

MEXICO CITY (AP) — It’s been called the closest the world has ever come to a vaccine against the AIDS virus.

The twice-yearly shot was 100% effective in preventing HIV infections in a study of women, and results published Wednesday show it worked nearly as well in men.

Drugmaker Gilead said it will allow cheap, generic versions to be sold in 120 poor countries with high HIV rates — mostly in Africa, Southeast Asia and the Caribbean. But it has excluded nearly all of Latin America, where rates are far lower but increasing, sparking concern the world is missing a critical opportunity to stop the disease.

“This is so far superior to any other prevention method we have, that it’s unprecedented,” said Winnie Byanyima, executive director of UNAIDS. She credited Gilead for developing the drug, but said the world’s ability to stop AIDS hinges on its use in at-risk countries.

In a report issued to mark World AIDS Day on Sunday, UNAIDS said that the number of AIDS death last year — an estimated 630,000 — was at its lowest since peaking in 2004, suggesting the world is now at “a historic crossroads” and has a chance to end the epidemic.

The drug called lenacapavir is already sold under the brand name Sunlenca to treat HIV infections in the U.S., Canada, Europe and elsewhere. The company plans to seek authorization soon for the drug to be used for HIV prevention.

While there are other ways to guard against infection, like condoms, daily pills, vaginal rings and bi-monthly shots, experts say the Gilead twice-yearly shots would be particularly useful for marginalized people often fearful of seeking care, including gay men, sex workers and young women.

“It would be a miracle for these groups because it means they just have to show up twice a year at a clinic and then they’re protected,” said UNAIDS’ Byanyima.

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Such was the case for Luis Ruvalcaba, a 32-year-old man in Guadalajara, Mexico, who participated in the latest published study. He said he was afraid to ask for the daily prevention pills provided by the government, fearing he would be discriminated against as a gay man. Because he took part in the study, he’ll continue to receive the shots for at least another year.

“In Latin American countries, there is still a lot of stigma, patients are ashamed to ask for the pills,” said Dr. Alma Minerva Pérez, who recruited and enrolled a dozen study volunteers at a private research center in Guadalajara.

How widely available the shots will be in Mexico through the country’s health care system isn’t yet known. Health officials declined to comment on any plans to buy them for its citizens; daily pills to prevent HIV were made freely available via the country’s public health system in 2021.

“If the possibility of using generics has opened, I have faith that Mexico can join,” said Pérez.

Byanyima said other countries besides Mexico that took part in the research were also excluded from the generics deal, including Brazil, Peru and Argentina. “To now deny them that drug is unconscionable.” she said.

In a statement, Gilead said it has “an ongoing commitment to helping enable access to HIV prevention and treatment options where the need is the greatest.” Among the 120 countries eligible for generic version are 18 mostly African countries that comprise 70% of the world’s HIV burden.

The drugmaker said it is also working on establishing “fast, efficient pathways to reach all people who need or want lenacapavir for HIV prevention.”

On Thursday, 15 advocacy groups in Peru, Argentina, Ecuador, Chile, Guatemala and Colombia wrote to Gilead, asking for the generic version to be made available in Latin America, citing the “alarming” inequity in access to new HIV prevention tools while infection rates were rising.

While countries including Norway, France, Spain and the U.S. have paid more than $40,000 per year for Sunlenca, experts have calculated it could be produced for as little as $40 per treatment once generic production expands to cover 10 million people.

Dr. Chris Beyrer, director of the Global Health Institute at Duke University, said it will be enormously useful to have the Gilead shots available in the hardest-hit countries in Africa and Asia. But he said the rising HIV rates among groups including gay men and transgender populations constituted “a public health emergency” in Latin America.

Hannya Danielle Torres, a 30-year-old trans woman and artist who was also in the study in Mexico, said she hoped the government would find a way to provide the shots. “Mexico may have some of the richest people in the world but it also has some of the most vulnerable people living in extreme poverty and violence,” Torres said.

Another drugmaker, Viiv Healthcare, also left out most of Latin America when it allowed generics of its HIV prevention shot in about 90 countries. Sold as Apretude, the bi-monthly shots are about 80% to 90% effective in preventing HIV. They cost about $1,500 a year in middle-income countries, beyond what most can afford to pay.

Asia Russell, executive director of the advocacy group Health Gap, said that with more than 1 million new HIV infections globally every year, established prevention methods are not enough. She urged countries like Brazil and Mexico to issue “compulsory licenses,” a mechanism where countries suspend patents in a health crisis.

It’s a strategy some countries embraced for previous HIV treatments, including in the late 1990s and 2000s when AIDS drugs were first discovered. More recently, Colombia issued its first-ever compulsory license for the key HIV treatment Tivicay in April, without permission from its drugmaker, Viiv.

Dr. Salim Abdool Karim, an AIDS expert at South Africa’s University of KwaZulu-Natal, said he had never seen a drug that appeared to be as effective as the Gilead shot in preventing HIV.

“The missing piece in the puzzle now is how we get it to everyone who needs it,” he said.

Cheng reported from London.

The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Science and Educational Media Group. The AP is solely responsible for all content.