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United Healthcare CEO Brian Thompson, 50, was fatally shot around 6:45 a.m. this Wednesday morning outside the Hilton Midtown hotel on Sixth Avenue near West 54th Street in New York City, NYPD sources said.

Thompson was not a guest at the Hilton, according to NYPD sources. He was staying at another hotel and was walking to the Hilton for a company conference.

The gunman has not been identified. New York Police Department sources described him as a white man wearing a jacket, black face mask, black and white sneakers and a grey colored backpack.

"It appears the suspect was lying in wait for several minutes, and as the victim was walking to the conference hotel, the suspect approached from behind and fired several rounds, striking the victim at least once in the back and at least once in the right calf," NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch said at a press conference. "Many people passed the suspect, but he appeared to wait for his intended target. The suspect fled first on foot, then on an e-bike, and was last seen in Central Park on Center Drive."

Though the following video still of the shooter is too grainy to say for sure, it appears that his pistol is equipped with a silencer.

All of the above circumstances indicate that the murder was an organized, professional hit. The gunman likely knew that Thompson was not staying at the Hilton but would be walking into the Hilton between 6:30 and 7:00 a.m. Note that this is fairly precise intelligence.

Thompson was appointed CEO of UnitedHealthcare, UnitedHealth Group's insurance division, in April 2021. He started working for the UnitedHealth Group (headquartered in Minneapolis) in 2004. Prior to his latest position, he was CEO of the company's government programs, including Medicare and retiree coverage, and community and state programs providing Medicaid and other types of coverage to millions of individuals.

If I were an NYP homicide detective, I would consider the working hypothesis that Thompson was planning to disclose information or make an announcement at the conference that someone with power wished to remain concealed. The brazen and extremely high risk nature of the attack in Manhattan suggests a great and immediate urgency to eliminate the target. This suggests the motive to eliminate Thompson arose shortly before he attended the conference. If the assassin were motivated by jealousy or a desire for revenge for a personal injury, it seems unlikely he would have committed the murder in an environment with so many witnesses.

Though it may be just a coincidence, I noticed that UnitedHealth has, this year, been under a Department of Justice investigation (per antitrust law) for its relationship with the physician network Optum and for its recent $3.3 billion acquisition of rival home health and hospice services provider Amedisys Inc.

I wonder what the many people who passed the gunman thought about the fact that he was wearing a black face mask. Did they mistake him for one of those hyper-neurotic people who still wear masks in the fall out of fear of contracting COVID-19?

It strikes me as likely that his grey backpack contained a change of clothes. If so, I wonder where he changed after fleeing from the scene.



https://rumble.com/v5w038w-mom...uspect-at-close.html

This message has been edited. Last edited by: wcb6092,

Yeah, suppressor, and running ammo that wouldn’t cycle the gun, so he had to cycle it manually. He didn’t seem surprised about it, either, he knew he would have to and just went to work. So, subsonic ammo and no supersonic crack. Intentional hit, and a shooter trying to keep his signature minimal. Damn.

Disgruntled employee, customer/insured who was denied coverage for himself, family member. The responses are brutal from people saying he got what he deserved due to problems with UHC's denial of claims.

We need to get back to health "insurance" and away from this pre-paid we'll tell you what you can and can't do system.

Usually the worst consequences CEOs face for their actions and decisions is a golden parachute worth millions. Perhaps not this time.

quote:

Originally posted by P220 Smudge:
Yeah, suppressor, and running ammo that wouldn’t cycle the gun, so he had to cycle it manually. He didn’t seem surprised about it, either, he knew he would have to and just went to work. So, subsonic ammo and no supersonic crack. Intentional hit, and a shooter trying to keep his signature minimal. Damn.

My take as well. The media is saying the gun jams and he clears it, but it looks like he racks the slide for each shot, and was expecting to rack it. Calm, business-like, had a clear getaway plan. This is not a crazed street guy.

And United Healthcare is in the top 10 of Fortune 500 companies in the world.

I know there is no way to tell from the video but I do wonder if the shooter was using a centerfire pistol or a rimfire. It looks like the first shot caused the CEO to stagger and fall to the ground so I wonder if the shooter was using a centerfire pistol.

It's already been reported that several fired and live 9mm rounds were recovered at the scene.

This thing is getting crazy

UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson was facing a DoJ investigation

He was obviously manually cycling the slide for each shot, but it does appear about :06 or so in the video that he had a malfunction that interrupted things and he had to clear as well. If live rounds were recovered, that may have been a consequence of clearing the malfunction.

This is like something straight up out of a movie. Bonkers!

Notice how quickly he releases the slide, he knows that is important for the next round to be fully in the chamber. So probably not an angry customer. He is very calm, so I suspect he was paid to do this. Could of been some sort of inside job, or paid for by a UHC customer.

From the Daily Mall link above:
"He was slated to speak at an investor meeting at the Hilton Hotel soon after the shooting. According to a release from United Healthcare on Tuesday, he would announce the company's hugely profitable 2025 financial outlook, including expected revenues upwards of $450 billion."

I can see how pissed off customer would have him killed, if a wife or loved one was denied care and died.

I saw mention in a NYPD briefing that a cell phone had been recovered, evidently in the area. It would be hugely ironic if it belonged to the shooter and he could be identified that way.

Reminds me of a rape case in which the victim fought with her attacker and he dropped his wallet during the struggle. After the assault he demanded she help find the wallet in the dark area where it occurred. She did, slipped it into her blouse without his noticing, and when I asked, “Do you know who it was?” “I didn’t know him, but I have his ID here.” That’s what you call a clue.

quote:

Originally posted by PASig:
This thing is getting crazy

UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson was facing a DoJ investigation

Yeah, the stock price dropped a couple of weeks after Thompson sold and the DOJ investigation became public, but it returned to what Thompson sold for within 90 days. If he had held onto the stock for 150 days, he would have had an additional $2 million. It's up even more now. That DM article writer (not even bothering to call her a reporter or journalist) didn't bother to note the stock price AFTER he sold.

I probably met Thompson once or twice when I was at United, and I worked occasionally with leadership at The Hartford. I'm not sure about the top leadership at UNH, but I know leaders at The Hartford would roll with armed executive protection during significant events. I'm not sure why Thompson did not have security as he headed to a public UNH stockholder event this morning. Sure, 99.9% of the public would not know a Fortune 10 leader if they were in the same elevator, but there are people with big grudges who will track those folks down.

There are no-it-alls out there claiming UNH's profit is or will be $550 billion this year, and people believe them. (I'm not kidding ... revenue vs profit seems to be lost on many.) Sure, they make a profit, and my stock holdings from shares I received during my time there have performed well. But the amount of hate is off the charts. If you exclusively blame insurance companies for crappy healthcare, I think you're misdirecting your blame.

I can not imagine what his wife and kids are going through today.

Initial trading today was up another 2-3%, still holding at +1%. That's when you know that you, individually, weren't really the key to the company.

quote:

Originally posted by steve495:

I can not imagine what his wife and kids are going through today.

It's natural to assume this was business related, but you can't rule out other motivations yet. The guy made millions. A disgruntled wife would certainly have the means to finance a hit.

quote:

That’s what you call a clue.

!!!

quote:

Originally posted by Georgeair:
Initial trading today was up another 2-3%, still holding at +1%. That's when you know that you, individually, weren't really the key to the company.

Or that you being dead is enough to save the stock price.

quote:

Originally posted by HRK:
Disgruntled employee, customer/insured who was denied coverage for himself, family member. The responses are brutal from people saying he got what he deserved due to problems with UHC's denial of claims.

I doubt a customer whose claim was denied would have the resources to pull off a hit like this. If they did, they wouldn’t have been worried about their claim being denied.

This is a wild one for sure. Lots left to unfold…