Key things to know about the fatal attack on the UnitedHealthcare CEO in NYC

The chief executive of UnitedHealthcare, one of the nation's largest insurers, was killed Wednesday in midtown Manhattan in what police described as a targeted attack by a shooter outside a hotel where the company was holding a conference.

The shooter fled on foot into an alleyway and was last seen on an e-bike heading into Central Park. New York City police said the attack on Brian Thompson was planned, but the motive was unclear.

Here's what to know:

Police said Thompson was heading to the company's annual investor conference at the New York Hilton Midtown around 6:45 a.m. when a person walked up behind him and shot him multiple times.

Thompson was alone at the time and did not have a security detail, police said.

Officers found Thompson on the ground outside the hotel with gunshot wounds to his back and right calf, according to Joseph Kenny, the police department’s chief of detectives. He was pronounced dead at a nearby hospital at 7:12 a.m.

Kenny said the shooter appeared to be a man who was wearing a black face mask, black and white sneakers and a “very distinctive” gray backpack.

He arrived outside the hotel about five minutes before Thompson got there, waiting near the building and ignoring others before he approached Thompson from behind.

After the assailant began to fire at Thompson, the gun malfunctioned, but he was able to quickly fix the issue and continue firing, Kenny said.

“From watching the video, it does seem that he’s proficient in the use of firearms as he was able to clear the malfunctions pretty quickly," Kenny said.

The shooter ran into an alleyway near the hotel and later got on the e-bike that he took into Central Park.

Kenny said police found a cellphone in the alleyway, but it was unclear if it belonged to the shooter.

Thompson was the chief executive of UnitedHealthcare, the insurance wing of parent company UnitedHealth Group Inc.

He had worked at the Minnetonka, Minnesota-based company for two decades and led its insurance division since 2021. He was one of the company's highest-paid executives, with a $10.2 million annual compensation package.

Thompson kept a low profile, with UnitedHealth Group Inc.'s CEO Andrew Witty taking on a more public-facing role that included testifying before Congress.

Thompson started his career as a certified public accountant and graduated from the University of Iowa. He lived in the Minneapolis suburb of Maple Grove and was the father of two high school students.

His wife, Paulette Thompson, told NBC News that her husband said some people had been threatening him. She did not have details, but suggested they may have involved issues with insurance coverage.

Maple Grove Police Chief Eric Werner said his department had not received any reports of threats against the executive.

New York City Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch, accompanied by Chief of Detectives Joseph Kenny, speaks during a news conference at police headquarters, Wednesday Dec. 4, 2024, concerning the shooting death of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson outside a New York hotel. (AP Photo/Ted Shaffrey)

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)

This image 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)

This undated photo provided by UnitedHealth Group shows UnitedHealthcare chief executive officer Brian Thompson. (AP Photo/UnitedHealth Group via AP)

Members of the New York police crime scene unit pick up cups marking the spots where bullets lie as they investigate the scene outside the Hilton Hotel in midtown Manhattan where Brian Thompson, the CEO of UnitedHealthcare, was fatally shot Wednesday, Dec. 4, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Stefan Jeremiah)

LUQUE, Paraguay (AP) — Sake is perhaps more Japanese than the world-famous sushi. It's brewed in centuries-old mountaintop warehouses, savored in the country’s pub-like izakayas, poured during weddings and served slightly chilled for special toasts.

The smooth rice wine that plays a crucial role in Japan's culinary traditions was enshrined on Wednesday by UNESCO on its list of the “intangible cultural heritage of humanity."

At a meeting in Luque, Paraguay, members of UNESCO’s committee for safeguarding humanity's cultural heritage voted to recognize 45 cultural practices and products around the world, including Brazilian white cheese, Caribbean cassava bread and Palestinian olive oil soap.

Unlike UNESCO’s World Heritage List, which includes sites considered important to humanity like the Pyramids of Giza in Egypt, the Intangible Cultural Heritage designation names products and practices of different cultures that are deserving of recognition.

A Japanese delegation welcomed the announcement in Luque.

“Sake is considered a divine gift and is essential for social and cultural events in Japan,” Kano Takehiro, the Japanese ambassador to UNESCO, told The Associated Press.

The basic ingredients of sake are few: rice, water, yeast and koji, a rice mold, which breaks down the starches into fermentable sugars like malting does in beer production. The whole two-monthlong process of steaming, stirring, fermenting and pressing can be grueling.

The rice — which wields tremendous marketing power as part of Japan's broader cultural identity — is key to the alcoholic brew.

For a product to be categorized Japanese sake, the rice must be Japanese.

The UNESCO recognition, the delegation said, captured more than the craft knowledge of making high-quality sake. It also honored a tradition dating back some 1,000 years — sake makes a cameo in Japan’s famous 11th century novel, “The Tale of Genji,” as the drink of choice in the refined Heian court.

Now, officials hope to restore sake's image as Japan's premier alcoholic drink even as the younger drinkers in the country switch to imported wine or domestic beer and whiskey.

“It means a lot to Japan and to the Japanese,” Takehiro said of the UNESCO designation. "This will help to renew interest in traditional sake elaboration.”

Also, Japanese breweries have expressed hope that the listing could give a little lift to the country's export economy as the popularity of sake booms around the world and in the United States amid heightened interest in Japanese cuisine.

Sake exports, mostly to the U.S. and China, now rake in over $265 million a year, according to the Japan Sake and Shochu Makers Association, a trade group.

Japan's delegation appeared ready to celebrate on Wednesday — in classic Japanese style.

After the announcement, Takehiro raised a cypress box full of sake to toast the alcoholic brew and cultural rite.

Japanese sake, that is listed as a nominee for Intangible Cultural Heritage, are displayed on Japan's delegation table, during an UNESCO World Heritage Convention, in Asuncion, Paraguay, Wednesday, Dec. 4, 2024. (AP Photo/Marta Escurra)

Part of Japan's delegation from left to right; Shuntaro Yoshino, Takehiro Kano, and Hidetaka Kinami, attend a UNESCO World Heritage Convention, where the traditional Japanese brewing of sake is listed as a nominee for Intangible Cultural Heritage, in Asuncion, Paraguay, Wednesday, Dec. 4, 2024. (AP Photo/Marta Escurra)

Japan's Takehiro Kano, ambassador to UNESCO, reacts after the traditional Japanese brewing of sake was named Intangible Cultural Heritage during an UNESCO World Heritage Convention in Asuncion, Paraguay, Wednesday, Dec. 4, 2024. (AP Photo/Marta Escurra)

Japan's Takehiro Kano, ambassador to UNESCO, reacts the traditional Japanese brewing of sake was named Intangible Cultural Heritage during a UNESCO World Heritage Convention in Asuncion, Paraguay, Wednesday, Dec. 4, 2024. (AP Photo/Marta Escurra)