Health insurance companies have started removing images of their leadership teams from their websites following the assassination of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson.
The 50-year-old was murdered on Wednesday morning when a masked gunman unloaded several rounds outside of the Hilton Hotel in Midtown, Manhattan.
Thompson was named UnitedHealthcare CEO in 2021 and earned a reported $10 million a year, and for several years prior he ran the Medicare business within UnitedHealthcare.
His company took down his image and other executives’ photos on Wednesday, while CVS Health removed pictures of all of their top executives on Thursday.
Robert D’Amico, founder of Sierra One Consulting who has previously worked for the FBI, said the removal showed they had been listening to security experts.
D’Amico said: ‘These companies are hearing what experts like me have been saying about how easy it is to identify and then find their executives.’
Glen Kucera, president of Enhanced Protection Services at security firm Allied Universal, added: ‘I think there’s going to be a lot of executives that are going to say, “Hey, you know, this could happen to me and we should really consider our security protocol going forward.”‘
The 50-year-old was murdered on Wednesday morning with a masked gunman unloading several rounds into the executive outside of the Hilton Hotel in Midtown
D’Amico said he expects corporate boards of directors to reassess their security plans for executives.
That would include asking for assessments on how big a security detail to deploy while weighing the cost. He said people like Elon Musk have 20 people around them every day.
Robert D’Amico, founder of Sierra One Consulting who has previously worked for the FBI, said the removal showed they had been listening to security experts like him
D’Amico pointed to social media posts which appeared to show people verbally attacking insurance companies and employees in the immediate aftermath of Thompson’s murder.
‘I think the healthcare companies are going to see that and realize that there’s more hate out there for them and their executives,’ D’Amico said.
Thompson’s wife Paulette, from whom he was separated, revealed he had recently been dealing with threats which referenced a ‘lack of coverage’.
UnitedHealthcare had hired security for their top executives with Thompson having his own security detail for the event who were absent when he was gunned down.
As news of his assassination circulated on Wednesday morning, many major healthcare providers beefed up their personal protection for their top execs, according to CNN.
His schedule was widely known, and witnesses have said the suspected gunman even knew which door Thompson was going to emerge from before opening fire.
A new image obtained by CNN shows the killer walking along West 55th Street while heading to the Hilton Hotel on the morning of the shooting
The assassin is seen grinning in new surveillance footage images released by the NYPD
Still, the investor conference reportedly began without interruption at 8am on the second floor of the Hilton until news of the shooting began to circulate.
Without realizing it was Thompson who had been struck, one attendee told the group that ‘someone got shot outside.’
CEO of parent company United Healthgroup Andrew Witty halted the meeting at the hotel just after 8am upon hearing of the tragedy.
He told attendees: ‘We’re dealing with a very serious medical situation with one of our team members. As a result, I’m afraid, we’re going to have to bring to a close the event.’
D’Amico told DailyMail.com on Thursday that his killer had made crucial errors which had marked him out as an amateur.
He warned that the ‘brazen’ assassination could trigger copycat killings, as he speculated that it was the work of someone with a ‘personal vendetta’ against Thompson’s company.
The security expert reviewed footage of the killing and noted that while D’Amico’s first shot was on target, his subsequent hits were more erratic.
‘His first shot was well aimed. The second one though, he somehow hits him in the leg. He took a longer shot than you would expect if it was professional,’ he said.
He pointed out that the although the shooter used a silencer, the weapon jammed after his first round.
D’Amico, who founded his security consultancy firm Sierra One, said it was surprising that Thompson was without any protection given the recent threats against him.
Detectives investigating the murder also found shell casings with the words ‘deny’, ‘defend’ and ‘depose’ inscribed on them
Bullets lie on the sidewalk at the scene outside the Hilton Hotel in midtown Manhattan where Thompson was fatally shot
He warned that such threats will likely rise in the wake of the killing and that it could push others already contemplating such crimes into similar actions.
Police are still hunting for Thompson’s killer Friday morning following the early morning incident on Wednesday.
Police sources told CNN on Thursday that they believe the shooter arrived on a bus from Atlanta into New York City on November 24.
He is said to have arrived into the Port Authority bus terminal in Manhattan following the 20 hour bus trip from the southern city.
Sources told the outlet that he then appeared to move around the city after checking into the Hi New York City hostel in Manhattan’s Upper West Side.
The outlet said that he checked out of the hostel on November 29 and then checked back in the next day.
He had checked into the hostel using a fake New Jersey driver’s license and had paid in cash for his stay.
Authorities hunting for the masked gunman where handed bombshell evidence by the hostel after a flirty moment with a member of staff saw him pull his facemask down.
After complying, surveillance cameras inside the hostel managed to grab a clearer picture of the smiling suspect that the NYPD later circulated as part of their ongoing manhunt.
A new image obtained by CNN also shows the killer walking along West 55th Street while heading to the Hilton Hotel on the morning of the shooting.
Sources told The New York Post that detectives are focusing their efforts on a Connecticut gun store they believe sold the B&T VP9 gun
He is thought to have stayed in the shared room facility, seen here, checked in with a fake ID from New Jersey
Officers had appeared at the hostel on Thursday as part of their ongoing search and had also raided a Long Island Rail Road train on Wednesday.
The weapon used in the shooting is also now believed to have been a modern version of a rare World War II gun.
Sources told The New York Post that detectives are focusing their efforts on a Connecticut gun store they believe sold the B&T VP9 gun.
Detectives investigating the murder also found shell casings with the words ‘deny’, ‘defend’ and ‘depose’ inscribed on them.
Images of him with his face covered had emerged on Wednesday of him inside a Starbucks near the hotel prior to the shooting.
Inside a nearby trash can, officers found a water bottle and protein bar wrapper that they say the gunman purchased from the coffee chain minutes before the shooting.
The gunman had escaped on foot before making his way to an electric bike and disappearing into central park.
