United HealthCare CEO Killed in Targeted Attack in New York City

United HealthCare CEO Brian Thompson was killed in a targeted attack early Wednesday in Manhattan. That’s according to CNN.

Thompson was shot outside the New York Hilton Midtown at 6:44 a.m. While from Minnesota, he was in town for the company’s annual investor conference. He was named CEO in 2021.

Surveillance footage of the shooting showed that the gunman, shown above in an image released by the NYPD, specifically targeted Thompson and used a gun with a silencer. He fled the scene in an e-bike after the shooting.

Thompson was walking alone by himself at the time of the shooting. The suspect fired three shots.

The brazen attack could lead to questions for high-profile companies and whether CEOs and other C-suite level employees should have more protection.

According to the The New York Times, dozens of chief security officers from Fortune 500 companies convened in a video call on Wednesday afternoon to discuss the shooting.

The discussion focused on best practices and reviews of executive protection programs.

Eric Clay, current president of the International Association for Healthcare Security and Safety (IAHSS) discussed the shooting in a LinkedIn post:

While we don’t yet have a motive for this senseless act, the fact that it has been called targeted, suggests it could be related to the victims role as CEO of the insurance arm of the largest healthcare company in the world.

As healthcare security professionals, we know that many see healthcare as a target for their anger. Family members who have lost a loved one may feel as though a physician, healthcare facility, or insurer is responsible for that loss.

This, coupled with the fact that todays CEO’s and other executives have higher profiles than ever before, and internet searches make it far easier to gather information on them, requires a greater focus on personal security.

About the Author

Brent Dirks is senior editor for Security Today and Campus Security Today magazines.

Featured

Most   Popular

New Products

  • Luma x20

    Luma x20

    Snap One has announced its popular Luma x20 family of surveillance products now offers even greater security and privacy for home and business owners across the globe by giving them full control over integrators’ system access to view live and recorded video. According to Snap One Product Manager Derek Webb, the new “customer handoff” feature provides enhanced user control after initial installation, allowing the owners to have total privacy while also making it easy to reinstate integrator access when maintenance or assistance is required. This new feature is now available to all Luma x20 users globally. “The Luma x20 family of surveillance solutions provides excellent image and audio capture, and with the new customer handoff feature, it now offers absolute privacy for camera feeds and recordings,” Webb said. “With notifications and integrator access controlled through the powerful OvrC remote system management platform, it’s easy for integrators to give their clients full control of their footage and then to get temporary access from the client for any troubleshooting needs.”

  • Camden CV-7600 High Security Card Readers

    Camden CV-7600 High Security Card Readers

    Camden Door Controls has relaunched its CV-7600 card readers in response to growing market demand for a more secure alternative to standard proximity credentials that can be easily cloned. CV-7600 readers support MIFARE DESFire EV1 & EV2 encryption technology credentials, making them virtually clone-proof and highly secure.

  • ResponderLink

    ResponderLink

    Shooter Detection Systems (SDS), an Alarm.com company and a global leader in gunshot detection solutions, has introduced ResponderLink, a groundbreaking new 911 notification service for gunshot events. ResponderLink completes the circle from detection to 911 notification to first responder awareness, giving law enforcement enhanced situational intelligence they urgently need to save lives. Integrating SDS’s proven gunshot detection system with Noonlight’s SendPolice platform, ResponderLink is the first solution to automatically deliver real-time gunshot detection data to 911 call centers and first responders. When shots are detected, the 911 dispatching center, also known as the Public Safety Answering Point or PSAP, is contacted based on the gunfire location, enabling faster initiation of life-saving emergency protocols.