NEW YORK -- Brian Thompson, the chief executive officer of US major health insurance company United HealthCare Service, Inc, was fatally shot in an apparent targeted attack in New York City on Wednesday morning, according to multiple media reports.

Thompson was shot in the chest in the early morning outside the New York Hilton Midtown, as he was on his way to attend an annual investor conference there organized by UnitedHealth Group, the parent company of UnitedHealthcare.

A gunman wearing a mask shot Thompson multiple times from 20 feet away and fled the scene.

Thompson, 50, was rushed to Mount Sinai West in critical condition and pronounced dead shortly afterwards, the reports said, citing the New York Police Department.

No arrests have been made and the investigation is ongoing, police said.

Thompson joined UnitedHealth Group in 2004, and was named UnitedHealthcare CEO in April 2021, according to the website of UnitedHealthcare.