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Safety was ramped up for the annual lighting of the Rockefeller Middle’s iconic Christmas tree Wednesday night, hours after a masked gunman shot and killed UnitedHealthcare’s CEO exterior a midtown Manhattan lodge just some blocks away.
Chief of Division Jeffrey B. Maddrey stated there can be a “large presence” of police, together with further officers within the subway.
A cut up picture of the gunman who killed UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson and the Rockefeller Christmas tree. (AP Photographs)
“This can be a horrible occasion, however persons are going to go on and benefit from the tree lighting tonight,” he stated.
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UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson was shot and killed at shut vary exterior the Hilton Lodge Wednesday morning.
This undated picture supplied by UnitedHealth Group exhibits UnitedHealthcare chief govt officer Brian Thompson. (AP Picture/UnitedHealth Group )
Within the chilling video obtained by Fox Information Digital, Thompson is seen strolling down a New York Metropolis sidewalk when a masked man carrying a black hooded jacket and a backpack fatally shoots Thompson earlier than fleeing the scene on a motorcycle, disappearing into Central Park.
The suspect was nonetheless at giant as of Thursday morning.
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The violence didn’t cease crowds from attending New York Metropolis’s annual custom later within the night. Fifty-thousand multicolored lights illuminated the long-lasting tree to cheers from the gathering crowds.
A New York police officer retains watch at Rockefeller Middle earlier than the beginning of the Rockefeller Middle tree lighting ceremony, Wednesday, Dec. 4, 2024, in New York. (AP Picture/Julia Nikhinson)
The enormous Norway spruce, which this yr hails from a tiny Massachusetts city, can also be topped with a Swarovski star crown that includes 3 million crystals.
The 74-foot-high tree was lower down final month in West Stockbridge and trucked to Rockefeller Plaza. Wednesday evening’s ceremony marked the end result of the tree’s lengthy journey to New York, which started in 2020 when the middle’s head gardener noticed the tree and requested its homeowners in the event that they’d think about donating it.
A pedestrian stops for a safety test on 51st Avenue upon arriving at Rockefeller Middle for the Christmas tree lighting ceremony, Wednesday, Dec. 4, 2024, in New York. (AP Picture/Julia Nikhinson)
The well-known vacation attraction, situated above the Rockefeller Middle ice skating rink, will probably be on view by means of mid-January. On Christmas Day, the tree will probably be lit for twenty-four hours.
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As soon as the vacation season is over, the tree will probably be used for lumber for Habitat for Humanity.
Fox Information Digital’s Greg Wehner and The Related Press contributed to this report.
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