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'It's getting tough' on UnitedHealthcare CEO murder suspect, NYC mayor says | Crime News

New York Mayor Eric Adams says the suspect in the murder of Brian Thompson will face the law.

Police are arresting a suspect in the murder of UnitedHealthcare executive Brian Thompson outside a New York hotel, the city's mayor said.

The mayor of New York, Eric Adams, said on Sunday that “the net is tightening” on the suspected gunman, who is believed by authorities to have left the city after the killing.

“The way they are able to follow in his footsteps, to find evidence – some known, some unknown – but the net is getting stronger. And we're going to take this person to court,” Adams told reporters.

Asked if authorities have confirmed the name of the suspect, Adams declined to comment on his identity.

“We don't want to raise him at all. Let him continue to believe that he can hide with a mask,” he said.

The New York Police Department (NYPD) released several images of the suspect, including CCTV footage of the man at the hostel with his face barely visible.

Thompson, 50, was shot and killed early Wednesday morning outside the New York Hilton Midtown hotel while on his way to an investor conference for his company.

In surveillance footage, a man wearing a hooded jacket is shown getting out of the back of a car and shooting Thompson multiple times before fleeing the scene.

Police described the killing as a “planned” and “targeted” attack.

Shells left at the scene were marked with the words “deny,” “defend” and “depose,” an apparent reference to the title of a 2010 book about tactics used by insurance companies to avoid paying claims.

Although the police have not yet announced the reason for Thompson's murder, his wife told American media that “there have been threats” against her husband.

Thompson's killing sent shockwaves through corporate circles and drew attention to widespread public anger over the US health insurance industry's treatment of people in need of medical care.

Since Thompson's murder, thousands of people have taken to social media to celebrate the killing or express sympathy for the killer.

Many of those who expressed joy over the killings have recounted incidents of insurance refusing to pay for themselves or their family members.

In a Senate committee report released in October, US lawmakers accused UnitedHealthcare of using artificial intelligence to increase its post-hospital care denial rate from 10.9 percent in 2020 to 22.7 percent in 2022.

UnitedHealthcare is one of the largest health insurance companies in the US, providing health care to more than 49 million Americans.

The company had revenue of $371.6bn in 2023, up nearly 15 percent from the previous year.

Thompson, who joined the insurer in 2004 and served as CEO from 2021, earned $10.2m in compensation that same year.


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