Reporter Criticized For Asking About Christmas Tree Lighting During NYPD Press Conference On Murder Of UnitedHealthcare CEO

Priorities, right? A shocking situation unfolded in Manhattan this morning when the CEO of UnitedHealthcare was shot and killed in what police are calling a targeted attack. The 50-year old CEO, Brian Thompson, was in New York City for an investors meeting when he was shot in the chest and leg while exiting the Hilton Hotel near West 54th Street and 6th Avenue. The gunman fled on foot and then reportedly hopped on a bike to flee the scene, with his last known location being in Central Park. So far, no suspects have been publicly identified and a $10,000 reward has been offered for information regarding the shooting. Just now, the NYPD held a press conference on the shooting to provide further details to the public. Authorities described the gunman as a "light-skinned male" wearing "a light brown or cream colored jacket, a black face mask, black and white sneakers and a very distinctive gray backpack." And they said that he appeared to use a silencer on his handgun during the attack.

These are images of the individual sought in connection to this investigation. If anyone has information as to the identity or location of this individual please contact @NYPDTips at 1(800)577-TIPS. pic.twitter.com/sm2GuEOYk1

— NYPD NEWS (@NYPDnews) December 4, 2024

Obviously there are still a lot of unanswered questions surrounding the suspect and the shooting, but during the press conference one reporter had another burning question: What about the Christmas tree lighting? NYC is scheduled to hold their annual lighting of the Rockefeller Center Christmas tree tonight at 8pm, a ceremony that will be televised on NBC and Peacock for their "Christmas in Rockefeller Center" special hosted by Kelly Clarkson. So one reporter asked whether the tree lighting would be impacted by the shooting. And honestly, I guess it's a fair question, considering there's an unknown gunman on the loose in the city. But many thought that a press conference about a targeted murder was an odd time to ask about a Christmas tree lighting: https://twitter.com/_ohitsAlycia/status/1864353043707244795 https://twitter.com/61dodge/status/1864353882438291968 https://twitter.com/SMILEB4YOU/status/1864354252098842635 https://twitter.com/Ekim79450521/status/1864354286953459883 https://twitter.com/Ripleysdad11/status/1864353054620778875 Well the good news (I guess?) for New Yorkers is that officials confirmed the tree lighting would go on as planned: "This incident will not affect the tree lighting... We will have a massive police presence out there around Rockefeller Center... We will have plainclothes out there, a plainclothes detail out there. We will have our CRC assets, our strategic response group assets. We will have intel division out there. A lot of assets out there to make sure people can come out and have a good time... This is a terrible event but we're going to go on and people are going to enjoy the tree lighting tonight." Well that's a relief. I guess the one benefit to a place like NYC is that they have surveillance covering pretty much everywhere, so there's no doubt police should be able to piece together this guy's movements after the shooting. Officials also revealed that he took off on a city e-bike, which is equipped with GPS tracking, and that they were working with the bicycle company to get that information. Assuming it was a targeted attack as it appears to be, doesn't seem like there's really any reason to cancel the tree lighting. But man, what an awkward time to ask about it... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=00murwi6_uk