
On December 4th, the CEO (Chief Executive Officer) of United Healthcare, Brian Thompson, was killed outside the New York Hilton Midtown in Manhattan. With stunning video evidence readily available, a manhunt for the killer began that continues as this article goes to press. Calling the killing a “premeditated attack” (meaning, “assassination“), many “experts” quickly weighed in on aspects of the killing…but, in the wider world, something very interesting began to happen:
While there was certainly sympathy directed towards Thompson’s survivors (who were at their home in Minnesota at the time), there was virtually no sympathy directed towards Thompson himself. And, given that the shooter apparently inscribed the words “Delay”, “Deny” and “Defend” – believed to be a reference to a recent book about how to fight back against insurance companies denying insurance claims, it would seem that a broad cross-section of public opinion has now openly turned against corporate leadership, at least in the United States.
There are two parts to this story, at present: the technical aspects, and the wider controversy over corporate leaders. We will start with the technical side.
Much has been made of the shooter’s supposed skills, especially his use of a suppressor on his weapon (insert pithy quip about how well gun control seems to be working in New York, State and City); you can view the video of the incident here if you choose to do so, to make your own decision.
The first aspect one would normally examine is the shooter’s motive. As that person is not yet in custody – and the police’s supposed knowledge of the shooter’s identity may well not be who they think it is – judging their motives and mindset is problematic, at best. That said, it is clear that the shooter acted very calmly as he executed his attack. While that could be attributed to drugs used to calm his system, his subsequent actions would tend to argue that he was a calm, collected and focused actor.
However calm he may have been, however, his technical shooting skills were terrible.
The shooter did manage to approach from behind Thompson, having apparently been lying in wait for his target to walk out of the hotel; this would seem to indicate that there may have been someone inside the hotel observing Thompson walking towards the entrance, who could have been talking to the shooter, advising him of Thompson’s movements.
When the shooting starts, a number of things come immediately to into focus. While the shooter’s aim seemed to be reasonably good, definitely striking Thompson in the back, the shooter clearly did not know very much about suppressed weapons, as his weapon clearly jams on every shot, as it is not matched at all to the weapon he is using. Despite some pundits commenting in an attempt to show their “deep” knowledge of firearms, the pistol was neither a Welrod, nor a VP-9. Unlike in the movies, jams with handguns fitted with suppressors are extremely common unless the pistol, suppressor and ammunition are all carefully balanced.

Next are the apparent “messages” left on the shell casings ejected onto the sidewalk. There are two ways to look at this: either the shooter was personally disgruntled at Thompson – for whatever reason – and wanted to “send a message” or, conversely, was trying to offer a distraction to police; neither is the hallmark of a “professional hitman“, as it offers too much evidence on the casings through handling.
Finally, is the shooter’s escape plan. After mortally wounding Thompson, the shooter fled across the street in front of the hotel, where he retrieved an e-bike, and was last seen entering Central Park, and while the e-bike was quickly located, there was no sign of the shooter, again as this article goes to press.
This, despite breathless claims, is no sign of “professionalism” – it’s just common sense, as there are few cameras in Central Park, allowing the shooter to dump the e-bike and very likely much of his incriminating gear before disappearing. And, being blunt, attacks like this rarely result in arrest.
Overall, whatever the shooter’s motives were, he is no “professional hitman“, even allowing for the possibility of working with a co-conspirator. At best, he is a “movie pro” – someone who has watched a lot of movies and YouTube videos, and maybe even read a couple of books, and probably visited a shooting range once or twice.
At best.
But the deeper part of this story is in the public reaction to this killing.
Normally, when some prominent figure meets a sudden end, even if that figure is strongly disliked – even hated – there is usually some sympathy from the wider public, even if they wished that person to have survived in order to face prison. But not here.
The general reaction to Thompson’s assassination – based on comments on various platforms and news sites – while usually not exactly “gleeful” in nature, certainly offer him no sympathy, and precious little for his family, which is rather extraordinary, in itself. This related directly to the company he headed, and his actions as its head.
Thompson was in New York City to speak at a shareholder meeting which was expected to get very ugly, as it appears that Thompson and other United Healthcare executives had concealed an insider trading investigation being conducted by the US Federal Department of Justice (DOJ). The allegations centered around Thompson and other executives dumping company stocks at a profit before word of the investigation got out, causing UHC’s stock to lose a good deal of its value.
But things like this happen a lot; one need only recall the ENRON scandal of 2001. Running a stock scam at a major corporation isn’t usually going to generate enough hatred to actually kill people, especially when the stock hasn’t yet tanked completely. This hatred of insurance companies in general, and particularly of United Healthcare, has been building for a long time.
The words inscribed on the spent shell casings appear to refer to a book published in 2010, “Delay, Deny, Defend: Why Insurance Companies Don’t Pay Claims and What You Can Do About It“, by Jay M. Feinman, detailing the tactics insurance companies use to avoid paying claims against the insurance policies that they issue.
In fact, United Healthcare is well-known in the medical insurance industry as having one of the highest denial rates of all insurers; this author speaks from personal experience, as I used to work for a company that helped hospitals dispute medical insurance claim denials. UHC was the company I dealt with the most.
Given the insurance actions surrounding the COVID pandemic alone, being denied – or having a loved one being denied – on a desperately needed healthcare claim would be more than enough to send someone over an edge sufficient to want to make a very loud and targeted statement…like assassinating a healthcare insurance CEO in public.
Businesses exist to make money. We all get that – well, at least the rational people get it. And making money often involves cutting costs, including expenditures. We get that, too. But, there is limit to how deep those cost cuttings need to go – and healthcare is only the most visible industry where overly aggressive “economy measures” are generally seen.
Corporate board members throughout the business community in general, should take note of this situation. The 21st Century is turning out to be a very tumultuous time, and their customers are becoming increasingly fed up with the normal corporate antics.
This article is no “clarion call” for people to act out against business leader – quite the opposite, in fact. It is intended to point out that the best way to keep these things from happening is not bodyguards and ineffectual laws to limit access to guns, but to try and not give desperate people the idea that actions like this are their only way to gain relief…or at least revenge.
