United Healthcare CEO Brian Thompson killed in assassination in New York.

 

Surveillance photos of the assassin. AP. 

The CEO of United Healthcare, Brian Thompson, was assassinated by a gunman in New York City in a crime that has shocked the nation. AP. United Healthcare provides health insurance for 49 million Americans. Thompson generally kept a low profile but had a few moments of note, including an attempt to switch doctors to prevent illness instead of just treating it and a controversy about not covering certain emergency room visits. He was in New York for a meeting and lived in Minnesota. The gun man approached Thompson and shot him in the back. The suspect is still at large and the motive is unknown. 

My Comment:

There are two things that make this crime notable. The first is that the victim was a CEO at a huge health care company and that was always going to make it political. The murder may have absolutely nothing to do with that, we have no clue about the motive, but it's pretty rare that CEO millionaires get shot in the back on a city street in New York. 

But what is really getting people to talk about this is the fact that this looks like a professional, or at least well planned amateur, hit. The assassin used a suppressor and hid his face, making him hard to identify. And so far he has gotten away with it... 

⚠️ Graphic Video

United Healthcare CEO is assassinated in front of a hotel in Manhattan. pic.twitter.com/P3I0poQ4qZ

— National File (@NationalFile) December 5, 2024

So was this a professional hit? I have no idea. The video makes me question it. The first thing that happens after he fires his first shot is that his gun jams. And he takes a lot of time to recharge the pistol. Folks are speculating that this is because he used subsonic ammo, which is a lot quieter, but often causes issues with the pistol cycling. Regardless, I think a professional would have had his gun cleared a lot quicker than that. 

I also think that professional would not have shot someone right in front of a witness and would have been more likely to use a revolver instead of a suppressed pistol so he wouldn't leave a shell casing behind. 

Though I also don't think there are actually that many professional assassins out there. There are very few hitmen out there and the ones that are tend to be low level street thugs. There probably a few real ones out there but who would hire them to kill this CEO? 

Still, this does seem like someone that was very bound and determined to kill Brian Thompson. You don't buy a suppressed pistol for anything other than a planned attack. It is possible that this was a random crime, but that would be very surprising as you would think that the witness seen in the video would have been shot too, though perhaps the jammed weapon prevented that? Either way, this wasn't a spur of the moment attack. If Thompson was the target it would have required quite a bit of intelligence to pull off, how did the assassin know he was going to be there? 

So what could the motive possibly be? It's totally unclear at this point. Thompson was a public figure but barely and I don't think he is well known enough for him to be targeted by random crazies. It could have been revenge for a perceived or real wrong he committed against someone but who knows what that could be? It could even be a state level actor. Without more information everything is speculation.

What I do know is that every CEO in the country is probably considering private security. Thompson didn't have any though I don't know what a bodyguard or two would have been able to do in this case. But it does show that even the head of huge healthcare company can be assassinated fairly easily.