(Reuters) -Brian Thompson, the CEO of UnitedHealth's ( UNH ) insurance unit, was fatally shot in the chest on Wednesday morning outside the Hilton hotel in midtown Manhattan, several media outlets reported, citing police officials.

The New York Police Department said a man was shot in front of the Hilton's address around 6:40 a.m. ET (1140 GMT) and was pronounced dead at a nearby hospital, but did not confirm the victim's identity.

Investigators told CNN that the gunman was waiting in the area for some time before Thompson's arrival, and the New York Times reported that police view the attack as targeted.

Police were still searching for the suspect, who fled on foot wearing a black face mask and a gray backpack, the Times reported.

UnitedHealth Group ( UNH ) was hosting a scheduled investor event at the Hilton on Wednesday, but Chief Executive Andrew Witty took the stage about one hour after its start to announce it was cancelling the remainder of the program.

"We're dealing with a very serious medical situation with one of our team members, and as a result, I'm afraid we're going to have to bring to a close the event today," UnitedHealth ( UNH ) CEO Andrew Witty said.

UnitedHealth ( UNH ) did not respond to a request for comment.

Thompson was named UnitedHealthcare CEO in April 2021 after working at the company since 2004 in several departments, according to the company's web site.

UnitedHealthcare is a unit of UnitedHealth Group ( UNH ).

(Reporting by Manas Mishra and Leroy Leo in Bengaluru and Amina Niasse in New York; Editing by Arun Koyyur, Anil D'Silva and Nick Zieminski)