December 4, the United States, Manhattan, a shocking shooting occurred in downtown New York. One of the chief executives of United Health Group, the country’s insurance giant, was gunned down in the street. Unlike the typical case of gun violence, the shooter was Duke Xiao of Qi, precise, well-trained and deliberate in his approach to a busy New York neighborhood, it was clearly a premeditated assassination. Although New York Police have launched an overnight manhunt, but so far the suspect is still at large. In the eyes of public opinion, the incident was a wake-up call for the safety of High-net-worth Americans, who hold financial assets worth more than $1M.
United Health Insurance CEO Brian Thompson (Vision China)
“Assassination attempt” in Manhattan
According to the scene video material and other evidence, the New York Times and other media to restore the case. As the CEO of unitedhealth, the Brian Thompson was scheduled to attend the parent company’s annual investor conference in the Hilton Hotels on Thursday morning. At about 6:44 a.m. , Thompson appeared alone near the hotel. The suspect, who was crouching by the road, followed him, pulled out a gun with a silencer, and fired at least three shots at the victim, hit him in the back and calf respectively. Thompson took only a few steps before falling head over heels. The killer slowly stepped forward to shoot him before fleeing the scene.
From the killer’s modus operandi and escape route, etc. , the New York police concluded that the shooting is no accident, but a“Clear target” ambush. “This is an assassination,” said representative Phillips. According to the police, the suspect was wearing a dark hoodie and his face was covered. While it was not immediately clear whether the man was a contract killer, investigators saw that he was skilled with a firearm. The New York Times revealed a detail: the suspect’s pistol jammed at the time of the crime, but he quickly fixed the malfunction and continued shooting.
The murderer is still at large
According to The Daily Telegraph, the gunman threw away his mobile phone and rode on a shared bike before police arrived at the scene, he had fled five blocks into New York’s Central Park, his last public appearance, and was still at large. New York Police launched a citywide manhunt and deployed dogs and drones. “NYPD is not going to rest until the real killer is caught,” said Jessyca, New York’s police commissioner, as a $10,000 reward was offered for information.
So far, the police have not yet mastered the motive of the murderer. But according to people familiar with the matter, several unitedhealth executives have been personally threatened. Thompson’s widow, Polette, also confirmed to the media that her husband had been threatened, but she did not know the details. The latest news from ABC (ABC) on the 5th said that the police found some lettering on the bullet casings left by the murderer, including“Defend”, “Dismiss” and“Refuse”, etc. , but it is not clear whether these clues are relevant to the case.
(CNN) — minnesota-based United Health is the nation’s largest insurer and the fourth-largest Fortune 500 CNN, according to CNN, it employs 440,000 people worldwide. Thompson, the 50-year-old who became chief executive of United Health in April 2021, earned $10.2 million last year. Walz, the Rudy Perpich, lambasted the “Shocking violence” and said Thompson’s death was “A great loss for the healthcare industry”.
High-net-worth people in Danger?
The ABC report said Thompson’s death was another wake-up call about the safety of American executives. In the eyes of the media, this incident is not isolated, it is the assassination of president-elect Donald Trump, Tesla leader Musk repeatedly received physical threats are the same type of incident, it has a lot to do with the current political environment in the United States. According to a 2021 survey of the private security industry, a whopping 58 percent of respondents said their executives were personally threatened for“Taking a political stand.”.
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, there were 524 workplace homicides in 2022, up 8.9 percent from the previous year. Buckner Thompson, CEO of an American security company, shouldn’t be traveling alone. On the day of the murder, 47 potential clients consulted the company, he said.