Brian Thompson, 50, who served as the CEO of UnitedHealthcare, was the victim of an armed attack at the entrance of the NewYork Hilton Midtown hotel in Manhattan on the morning of December 4, 2024. He was in town that day to attend the annual investor meeting held by UnitedHealth Group's parent company. Thompson was known as an executive who was criticized for denying insurance claims on the grounds of non-coverage, and his family had previously reported receiving death threats. The bullets fired by the attacker had words such as "delay", "reject" and "remove" on their casings.
Following the incident, police identified the suspect, described as a masked white man, as 26-year-old Luigi Mangione. Mangione was arrested in Altoona, Pennsylvania, on December 9, 2024 and referred to Manhattan court to be tried. During interrogation, a 3D-printed gun used in the attack, a silencer, handwritten notes in the form of a manifesto, a fake US passport and several fake IDs were seized.
One of these fake identities was reportedly the same name the attacker used to check into a hostel on the Upper West Side; Additionally, fingerprints at the scene were found to belong to Mangione.
Polis stated that Mangione was inspired by Ted Kaczynski's work "Industrial Society and Its Future" and that his motivation stemmed from his personal views on the country's health insurance system. Mangione's history of injury was also considered as part of the investigation, but UnitedHealthcare was not a client of his.
Mangione faces eleven charges in state court and four charges in federal court, including first-degree murder, terroristic homicide, firearms offense and stalking.
Thompson's death had wide repercussions in the United States. While officials expressed their condolences to the family, public opinion polls showed that the majority of Americans viewed the incident negatively, while younger segments tended to show more support. On social media, sarcastic comments towards UnitedHealth Group and Thompson, as well as messages showing sympathy for Mangione and criticism of the health insurance system, intensified. This incident also led to increased security measures for senior executives.