UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson was shot and killed Wednesday morning in what police said was a “brazen, targeted attack” outside a Manhattan hotel where the health insurer was holding an investor conference.

The 50-year-old executive was shot around 6:45 a.m. as he walked alone to the New York Hilton Midtown from a nearby hotel, police said. The gunman appeared to be “lying in wait for several minutes” before approaching Thompson from behind and opening fire.

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

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 at large, sparking a search that included police drones, helicopters and dogs.

The killing shook a part of New York City that’s normally quiet at that hour, happening 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.

Investigators recovered several 9 mm shell casings from outside the hotel and a cellphone from the alleyway through which the suspect fled. They were also searching Thompson’s hotel room and interviewing his UnitedHealthcare colleagues, Chief of Detectives Joseph Kenny said.

Thompson’s wife, Paulette Thompson, told NBC News that the executive told her “there were some people that had been threatening him.” She said she didn’t have details, but suggested they may have involved issues with insurance coverage.

UnitedHealthcare is the insurance arm of the health care giant UnitedHealth Group Inc.

The Minnetonka, 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.

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