Brian Thompson, the U.S. Health Insurance CEO who was shot dead in an apparent targeted attack in Manhattan on Wednesday, had received threats related to medical “insurance,” according to his widow.

“There were some threats,” Paulette Thompson told NBC. “Basically I don’t know, a lack of (medical) coverage? I don’t know the details.”

“All I know is that he said there were some people who threatened him.”

Mr. Thompson, who worked at UnitedHealth for several decades before rising to CEO, was shot in the back by an unknown assailant who is now the target of a police manhunt.

The suspect used a silencer attached to a handgun when he arrived at a midtown Manhattan hotel to speak at an insurance conference.

Police have neither identified the killer nor revealed a suspected motive. The killer fled to Central Park after the attack and is still at large.

Family and colleagues mourned Mr. Thompson’s death.

“We are devastated to hear of the senseless murder of our beloved Brian,” his sister-in-law said in a statement on behalf of the family.

“Brian was an incredibly loving, generous and talented man who truly lived life to the fullest and touched so many lives,” she said.

She also added that he was “an incredibly loving father” to the couple’s two sons.

UnitedHealth Group said it was “deeply saddened and shocked” by his death.

“Brian was a valued colleague and friend to everyone who worked with him,” the company said in a statement.

“We are working closely with the NYPD and ask for your patience and understanding during this difficult time. Our condolences go out to Brian’s family and everyone who was close to him.”

Mr. Thompson, who lived in a suburb of Minneapolis, Minnesota, was named CEO of UnitedHealth in April 2021.

Last year he earned $10.2 million (£8 million) from the company. In 2022, he earned $9.8 million and in 2021, he earned $9.6 million.

He started with the health insurer in 2004 and has held several leadership positions, including CEO of the company’s government programs division.

UnitedHealth is the largest private insurer in the United States.

Before joining UnitedHealth, Mr. Thompson was a manager at PwC for several years, according to his LinkedIn account.

He graduated from the University of Iowa in 1997 with a bachelor’s degree in business administration, it said.

Mr. Thompson faced insider trading allegations.

A class action lawsuit filed in May 2024 by a pension fund alleged that Mr. Thompson sold $15 million of his UnitedHealth shares when he knew the company was under investigation by the U.S. Department of Justice.

Officials were investigating whether the company violated U.S. antitrust law, according to an investigation published in a Wall Street Journal report in February.

The BBC has contacted UnitedHealth for comment.

UnitedHealth is a massive company with interests in insurance, healthcare providers, pharmacy services and health data. In 2023, the company had sales of more than $371 billion.

According to court documents, the company has acquired more than 35 health care companies in the last 10 years. Justice Department investigators have been investigating whether the company used its market power to restrict competition, thereby harming customers and employees.

The Wall Street Journal reported that officials interviewed health care industry representatives and asked questions about “the potential impact of the company’s acquisition of the doctors’ group on competitors and consumers.”

The City of Hollywood Fire Department Pension Fund filed a complaint against Mr. Thompson and other executives, accusing them of failing to inform investors of the investigation before selling company stock totaling more than $117 million.

As long-term investors who buy large amounts of stocks, pension funds often act on behalf of shareholders and have proposed a class action lawsuit against UnitedHealth.

The lawsuit remains active.

The company also faces legal action over its planned acquisition of a rival healthcare company.

UnitedHealth offered to buy Amedisys, a provider of home health care and hospice services, for $3.3 billion (£2.6 billion).

But on November 12th, the Justice Department got in touch sued to prevent the mergerand claimed it would eliminate competition and “harm patients who use home health and hospice services, insurers who contract with home health services, and nurses who provide home health and hospice services.”

UnitedHealth replied that the merger would “promote competition and innovation and lead to better patient outcomes and greater access to quality care.” The Justice Department’s lawsuit was called an “overbroad interpretation of antitrust laws.”

Under President Joe Biden’s administration, the Justice Department has stepped up enforcement of U.S. antitrust laws aimed at preventing industrial monopolies and promoting competition among companies.