The CEO of UnitedHealthcare was shot yesterday outside of a high-end hotel in Midtown Manhattan in what police have described as a “brazen, targeted attack.”
Brian Thompson was just leaving the Hilton Hotel at around 6:45 am ahead of a conference when he was shot in the back and right calf. The 50-year-old was rushed to the hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
The murder was captured on surveillance camera, with a masked man in a black hooded sweater with a backpack walking up behind Thompson as he left his hotel and raising a gun with a silencer and shooting him. Police believe the shooter was very experienced, possibly trained by the military or law enforcement given how well he handled the gun apparently jamming multiple times as he fired off several shots. He fled on foot and then used a bike to disappear in Central Park.
The bullet casings at the scene each had a word written on them that may be related to the strategies used by insurance companies when they try to avoid paying a claim, including “defend”, “depose”, and “deny”.
Police also have surveillance images of the man without a mask on, which they are hoping can be used to help identify him. A water bottle and a cell phone found at the scene may have been dropped by the shooter, and investigators are checking them for fingerprints.
Crime analysis contributor Paul Mauro told Fox News that he believes the case will be solved quickly.
"Facial recognition and other technologies have come a long way, and my understanding is that the police have been making progress on other fronts in this case. It is truer than ever that you can’t get away with murder these days. The detectives will get whoever is behind this, and soon,” he said.
Police investigators have reportedly visited a Manhattan hostel where some think the shooter may have stayed, although he may have checked in using false ID.
CEO was being investigated by Department of Justice for insider trading
Thompson worked for the UnitedHealth Group, which ranks fourth in the Fortune 500 and employs more than 100,000 people, for two decades and was named CEO in 2021. He was one of several senior UnitedHealth executives being investigated by the Department of Justice for insider trading.
Thompson exercised stock options and sold off shares worth more than $15 million in February, just weeks before the news of a federal antitrust probe was made public. This caused their stock price to drop dramatically. The DoJ's investigation was focused on whether the firm made acquisitions to cement its market position that violated antitrust laws. His net worth was $43 million.
His wife told the media that her husband mentioned he had been receiving threats over “lack of coverage” before being killed. The couple lived separately and shared two children.
The company was also a victim of one of the biggest healthcare data breaches in American history earlier this year, with around a third of Americans’ private data compromised by ransomware. The company paid the hackers a ransom of $22 billion.
It is not known why Thompson's security team was not present when the shooting occurred, especially if he had been receiving threats, but other healthcare providers have started increasing the security around their top executives in the wake of the shooting.
It appears there are multiple potential motives here, although the writing on the bullet casing and Thompson’s wife’s comments about the threats he received point to someone potentially unhappy about being denied coverage.
Unfortunately, as more people lose faith in the justice system, we could see more of this type of scary behavior moving forward.
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