NYC Mayor Adams Declares City Safe; UnitedHealthcare CEO’s Killer Will Be Captured

New York City Mayor Eric Adams expressed his confidence on Friday that the shooter of the UnitedHealthcare CEO will face “justice” and assured the public that his city remains safe, as the hunt for the suspect in the audacious attack enters its third day.

“There is a lot of fresh information that our detectives and law enforcement agencies have discovered through their diligent investigative work,” Adams remarked, noting that the case remains under investigation.

On Wednesday morning, authorities reported that a masked assailant approached CEO Brian Thompson from behind while he was heading toward a Midtown Manhattan Hilton hotel for a conference and shot him multiple times. The suspect then fled the scene on foot and subsequently on an electric bike, with the last sighting near Central Park’s Center Drive, as stated by NYPD officials in their latest news conference regarding the incident.

NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch, recently appointed by Adams to lead the expansive police department, described the shooting as a “brazen” and “targeted” attack against Thompson during the press briefing.

Two days after the shooting, the perpetrator remained at large, with no known motive for the killing. New York City police have indicated that evidence points toward the ambush being a targeted attack.

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The suspect’s identity remains unknown. Authorities have not disclosed the identity of a “person of interest” being sought in relation to the case, whose images were shared by the NYPD on its social media platforms.

During the CNBC interview, Adams attempted to alleviate the concerns of business leaders shaken by Thompson’s assassination, insisting that New York City is the “safest large city” in the United States.

“We will guarantee the safety” of the city through the presence of NYPD officers, he stated, emphasizing that he wouldn’t divulge additional information about the case to avoid “compromising” the investigation.

“We are making progress toward apprehending him,” he told Pix 11 TV separately on Friday morning.

Following the shooting on Wednesday, officers discovered Thompson lying on the ground with injuries to his back and right calf, according to Joseph Kenny, chief of detectives at the NYPD. The CEO was declared dead at a nearby hospital at 7:12 a.m.

Kenny reported that the shooter was wearing a black face mask, black-and-white sneakers, and carried a notable gray backpack. He arrived outside the hotel approximately five minutes before Thompson and waited, ignoring other pedestrians before he approached Thompson from behind.

As the shooter opened fire, his 9 mm pistol jammed, but he swiftly resolved the malfunction and continued firing, according to Kenny.

“Video evidence suggests he is proficient with firearms, being able to rectify the issues quickly,” Kenny noted.

The shooter fled into an alley adjacent to the hotel and later boarded an e-bike that he rode into Central Park. Initially, police indicated he used a bicycle from the CitiBike program, but a spokesperson for Lyft, the operator of that program, stated that police informed them later that the bike was not from the CitiBike fleet. Kenny indicated that a cellphone was discovered in the alley, though its ownership by the shooter remains uncertain.

Thompson had been the chief executive officer of UnitedHealthcare, the insurance division of UnitedHealth Group Inc., one of the largest corporations in the U.S. and recognized as the leading health insurance provider in the country.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.