UnitedHealth executive shot dead outside New York hotel

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

A senior executive of US healthcare giant UnitedHealth was shot dead on Wednesday in New York.

Brian Thompson, chief executive of the company’s insurance arm UnitedHealthcare, was pronounced dead at hospital after he was shot in central Manhattan, according to a person with knowledge of the matter.