CCTV footage shows UnitedHealth Group CEO Brian Thompson walking when a masked man with a gun in hand and dressed all in black shoots several times at the 50-year-old executive, who collapses.
The New York police are still actively searching on Thursday, December 5 for the suspect who shot dead the boss of the first health insurer in the United States the day before, in the heart of the Manhattan business district, and are investigating an assassination “target”. It was around 6:45 a.m. Wednesday when Brian Thompson was shot dead outside the Hilton Hotel in Midtown, the heart of the financial capital of the world.
At the crime scene, investigators found the words «retarder» et “refuse” inscribed on sockets, according to the New York Times which could echo practices in the insurance world for rejecting claims. Questioned by AFP, the New York police, the NYPD, did not confirm this information. “Everything indicates that it was a premeditated, planned, targeted attack”Police Chief Jessica Tisch explained Wednesday.
CCTV footage shows Brian Thompson walking on the sidewalk near the Hilton Hotel at dawn when a masked man, gun in hand and dressed all in black, shoots several times at the 50-year-old executive, who is collapses. Police said the suspect appeared to be waiting for them. He first fled on foot, then by electric bike and allegedly passed through Central Park. The NYPD is combing through this vast green lung of Manhattan, supported in its searches by dogs and drones, AFP reporters noted.
$10,000 for information
“We will use all the means at our disposal”said an NYPD spokesperson. “The motive for this murder is not known”said New York Police Chief Inspector Joseph Kenny on Wednesday. The leader's wife, Paulette Thompson, who spoke on television NBC News confided that her husband would have been the subject of “threats people”. “What do I know about poor (health) coverage?”she asked herself.
In the absence of an arrest, speculation is rife that the shooter sought revenge for the insurer's refusal to cover medical expenses. Police are offering a $10,000 reward for information about the murder. She did not confirm the use of a pistol with a silencer, nor gave details of a cell phone found at the crime scene.
NYPD News / REUTERS
$371 billion in annual revenue
Brian Thompson had been part of parent company UnitedHealth Group for 20 years and had led its health branch since 2021. It insures 51 million people and works with government programs such as Medicare, the health insurance system for seniors. UnitedHealth Group, one of the largest insurers on the planet, has 440,000 employees and $371 billion in annual revenue.
According to figures from the US government, 216.5 million residents in the United States were covered by private health insurance in 2023 (out of approximately 340 million inhabitants). This lucrative sector also manages public insurance Medicare and Medicaid, under government mandate. From the same source, residents on American soil spent $1,290 billion on private health insurance in 2022, or $6,067 per insured per year.
