Top executive shot dead outside New York hotel

NEW YORK: A masked gunman shot dead a top US health insurance executive outside a New York hotel Wednesday in an apparently targeted hit, before fleeing on a bicycle and triggering a citywide manhunt.

UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson was gunned down as he prepared to address investors with the gunman firing several times before using a rented bike to flee in the direction of Central Park, police said.

Police released security camera images showing the killer brandishing a handgun and wearing a hooded top. Detectives offered a $10,000 reward for the man’s capture.

Chief of Detectives Joseph Kenny said the shooter arrived on foot about five minutes before Thompson as pedestrians streamed past an access door to the Hilton.

Kenny said he approached Thompson from behind and opened fire, cleared a jam in the firearm, and fired again.