# UnitedHealthcare CEO fatally shot in Manhattan \[breaking news: 2024-12-04\] **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Tags:** breaking-news\ **Created:** [December 4, 2024, 4:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unitedhealthcare-ceo-fatally-shot-in-manhattan-breaking-news-2024-12-04/1011159 "2024-12-04T16:11:53Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 22
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2024, 10:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unitedhealthcare-ceo-fatally-shot-in-manhattan-breaking-news-2024-12-04/1011159/423 "2024-12-08T22:33:05Z")
And the police wouldn’t have let random civilians “step over the body” even if they were somehow inclined to do so. Which strikes me as incredibly unlikely. ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2024, 10:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unitedhealthcare-ceo-fatally-shot-in-manhattan-breaking-news-2024-12-04/1011159/424 "2024-12-08T22:35:09Z")
And civilians wouldn’t be calmly walking about when there was potentially an active shooter nearby. Not even New Yorkers. ---
**Author:** ![Sherrerd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sherrerd/32/8_2.png) [@Sherrerd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sherrerd)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2024, 10:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unitedhealthcare-ceo-fatally-shot-in-manhattan-breaking-news-2024-12-04/1011159/425 "2024-12-08T22:44:03Z")
Yes, the story is too pointedly constructed to express ideas such as ‘investors are heartless’ and ‘everybody hates insurance-company CEOs.’ In re these companies removing the photos of their officers from their websites: I was just looking for any breaking news on this story, and the search “United HealthCare CEO” brought up, quite prominently, a photo of the UnitedHealthGroup CEO (the slain CEO was of UnitedHealthCare). I wonder if these companies will now bring suit against wikipedia, the source of the photo? [united healthcare ceo - Google Search](https://www.google.com/search?q=united+healthcare+ceo&lr=&sca_esv=face10566ce46e9f&as_qdr=all&ei=CxxWZ4XKK_6DkvQPqN2D0AM&oq=%22United+Heal&gs_lp=Egxnd3Mtd2l6LXNlcnAiDCJVbml0ZWQgSGVhbCoCCAAyDhAAGIAEGLEDGIMBGIoFMhMQLhiABBixAxjRAxiDARjHARgKMgQQABgDMgQQABgDMgsQABiABBixAxiDATILEAAYgAQYsQMYgwEyBBAAGAMyBRAAGIAEMgUQABiABDIGEAAYAxgKSLVaUPIEWPhKcAV4AZABAJgBnQGgAeAWqgEFMTIuMTa4AQHIAQD4AQGYAh-gAskZqAIUwgIKEAAYsAMY1gQYR8ICEBAAGIAEGJECGIoFGEYY-QHCAgsQABiABBiRAhiKBcICBhAAGBYYHsICKhAAGIAEGJECGIoFGEYY-QEYlwUYjAUY3QQYRhj5ARj0Axj1Axj2A9gBAcICChAAGIAEGEYY-QHCAiQQABiABBhGGPkBGJcFGIwFGN0EGEYY-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-QHCAgwQABiABBhDGIoFGArCAhEQLhiABBjHARiYBRiZBRivAcICLBAAGIAEGLEDGEMYigUYRhj5ARiXBRiMBRjdBBhGGPkBGPQDGPUDGPYD2AEBwgIgEC4YgAQYsQMYxwEYjgUYrwEYlwUY3AQY3gQY4ATYAQHCAhAQLhiABBixAxhDGIMBGIoFmAMU8QXISlfIsoXRWIgGAZAGCLoGBggBEAEYE7oGBAgCGAeSBwQ4LjIzoAez5QI&sclient=gws-wiz-serp) ---
**Author:** ![Leaper](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/4bbf92/32.png) [@Leaper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaper)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2024, 10:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unitedhealthcare-ceo-fatally-shot-in-manhattan-breaking-news-2024-12-04/1011159/426 "2024-12-08T22:50:42Z")
This reminds me of why I tilt my head at people who advocate going after the big bosses in general, at least on a practical level. In the pre-union days, you had angry workers burning down the boss’s house because he _had_ to live in the area to run things reasonably. Today, we just had _an entire four years_ packed with discussion about working remotely, sometimes even halfway across the world. You can fly in mercenaries that far too. I just don’t think the rich will let themselves face the guillotines in the modern world. This is also why I’m unsure about the long term staying power of this incident (although driving the 1% out of America could do something, I don’t know). ---
**Author:** ![hajario](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hajario/32/171_2.png) [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2024, 11:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unitedhealthcare-ceo-fatally-shot-in-manhattan-breaking-news-2024-12-04/1011159/427 "2024-12-08T23:11:08Z")
> [@Zyada](#): > > One thing I have heard is that the investors were stepping over the body, and continued with the meeting despite the death. Anyone have info re this? How could you begin to believe something so ridiculous? ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2024, 12:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unitedhealthcare-ceo-fatally-shot-in-manhattan-breaking-news-2024-12-04/1011159/428 "2024-12-09T00:33:02Z")
As to the shooter’s potential staying power in US folklore I’ll point out that this fellow lives on as a meme > **[Ted Kaczynski](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ted_Kaczynski)** > > Theodore John Kaczynski (/kəˈzɪnski/ ⓘ kə-ZIN-skee; May 22, 1942 – June 10, 2023), also known as the Unabomber (/ˈjuːnəbɒmər/ ⓘ YOO-nə-bom-ər), was an American mathematician and domestic terrorist. He was a mathematics prodigy, but abandoned his academic career in 1969 to pursue a reclusive primitive lifestyle. > Kaczynski murdered three people and injured 23 others between 1978 and 1995 in a nationwide mail bombing campaign against people he believed to be advancing modern technology and the... > **[Unabomber for President](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unabomber_for_President)** > > Unabomber for President was a political campaign with the aim of electing the "Unabomber" as a write-in candidate in the 1996 presidential election. The campaign's slogan was the Shermanesque statement "if elected, he will not serve." > The campaign was launched in Boston in September 1995 by Lydia Eccles – a Boston artist who had long harbored concerns about "totalitarian tendencies in technology" – and antinatalist Chris Korda. It took the overt form of a political action committee, Unabomber Po... ---
**Author:** ![ASL\_v2.0](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asl_v2.0/32/3525_2.png) [@ASL\_v2.0](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ASL_v2.0)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2024, 12:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unitedhealthcare-ceo-fatally-shot-in-manhattan-breaking-news-2024-12-04/1011159/429 "2024-12-09T00:45:01Z")
There’s actually a decent biopic about that one. Ted K, available to stream on Hulu. It’s actually not bad, and does a pretty good job of painting the man as someone who could be pitied if only, on top of being severely mentally ill, he weren’t a misogynistic loser who kills people. It really paints a portrait of a pathetic loser, and not some folk hero. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2024, 1:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unitedhealthcare-ceo-fatally-shot-in-manhattan-breaking-news-2024-12-04/1011159/430 "2024-12-09T01:06:25Z")
I don’t claim he is any sort of hero. Merely that his name and his story has more staying power than that of any of his victims. This shooter may be similar. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2024, 2:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unitedhealthcare-ceo-fatally-shot-in-manhattan-breaking-news-2024-12-04/1011159/431 "2024-12-09T02:50:20Z")
> [@puzzlegal](#): > > And the police wouldn’t have let random civilians “step over the body” even if they were somehow inclined to do so. Which strikes me as incredibly unlikely. Erm… I believe that was a metaphor. ---
**Author:** ![Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/q.q.switcheroo/32/5713_2.png) [@Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.Q.Switcheroo)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2024, 3:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unitedhealthcare-ceo-fatally-shot-in-manhattan-breaking-news-2024-12-04/1011159/432 "2024-12-09T03:26:06Z")
> Or I’ll be buried in the king’s highway, > Some way of common trade, where subjects’ feet > May hourly trample on their sovereign’s head; > For on my heart they tread now whilst I live; > And buried once, why not upon my head? — _Richard II_ ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2024, 3:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unitedhealthcare-ceo-fatally-shot-in-manhattan-breaking-news-2024-12-04/1011159/433 "2024-12-09T03:27:15Z")
> [@Q.Q.Switcheroo](#): > > — _Richard II_ Well, Richard III was found under a car park… ---
**Author:** ![nelliebly](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/nelliebly/32/5422_2.png) [@nelliebly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nelliebly)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2024, 3:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unitedhealthcare-ceo-fatally-shot-in-manhattan-breaking-news-2024-12-04/1011159/434 "2024-12-09T03:35:33Z")
> [@Spiderman](#): > > There is no wall at the Canadian border. I know places where it’s just a short trek thru a farmer’s field _if_ you have someone picking you up on the other side. I lived in northernmost Montana and can attest. Not that I knew any Canadians desperate to get into the US–quite the opposite, in fact. ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2024, 4:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unitedhealthcare-ceo-fatally-shot-in-manhattan-breaking-news-2024-12-04/1011159/435 "2024-12-09T04:01:00Z")
Moderating: > [@hajario](#): > > > [@Zyada](#): > > > > One thing I have heard is that the investors were stepping over the body, and continued with the meeting despite the death. Anyone have info re this? > > How could you begin to believe something so ridiculous? Please don’t attack other posters in MPSIMS. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2024, 4:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unitedhealthcare-ceo-fatally-shot-in-manhattan-breaking-news-2024-12-04/1011159/436 "2024-12-09T04:11:13Z")
> [@Spiderman](#): > > There is no wall at the Canadian border. I know places where it’s just a short trek thru a farmer’s field… The Canadian border is four miles away as the crow flies. I could kayak from Semiahmoo to Canada. I could walk across the border just about anywhere in Blaine. But I am _positive_ (though I don’t actually know) that there are many sensors of many types for many miles along the Washington-Canada border. I’m not sure getting away with just walking across the border is as easy as it seems. ---
**Author:** ![nelliebly](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/nelliebly/32/5422_2.png) [@nelliebly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nelliebly)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2024, 4:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unitedhealthcare-ceo-fatally-shot-in-manhattan-breaking-news-2024-12-04/1011159/437 "2024-12-09T04:59:16Z")
The road from where we lived in Havre, north central Montana (MT 232) to Alberta led to the checkpoint at Wild Horse. However, on either side are many barren miles of fields and scrub with no real obstacles between the US from Canada. It’s the northern plains, windswept scrub and wheat fields with very little shelter. If anyone was crossing the border illegally, we never heard about it. During Prohibition, Havre was a big bootlegging town because it was close to the border, and it was easy to sneak in hooch. In fact, the house we lived in had a secret storage room and a secret passageway leading to another storage area. It was built during Prohibition. I’ll shut up now. ---
**Author:** ![Velocity](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/velocity/32/18006_2.png) [@Velocity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velocity)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2024, 7:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unitedhealthcare-ceo-fatally-shot-in-manhattan-breaking-news-2024-12-04/1011159/438 "2024-12-09T07:38:14Z")
So, I have a legal question: I keep hearing people speculate that if the shooter is put on trial, he will pontificate at length in the eyes of all America about all the countless deaths and greed-caused suffering inflicted by the insurance companies and whatnot, which would make him more of a folk hero and make the companies/CEOs look even worse. But what prevents a judge from just banging the gavel and saying, “Only talk about things that are directly relevant to whether you are guilty or not, no going off-topic?” Does the defendant have some constitutional right to pontificate? Everyone has the right to speak in defense, but this could go off topic. ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2024, 8:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unitedhealthcare-ceo-fatally-shot-in-manhattan-breaking-news-2024-12-04/1011159/439 "2024-12-09T08:04:09Z")
IANAL, but my guess is that the prosecutor would object on grounds of irrelevance and the judge would sustain. That is, assuming the Adjuster even chooses to take the stand at his trial. ---
**Author:** ![Spoons](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spoons/32/3141_2.png) [@Spoons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoons)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2024, 8:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unitedhealthcare-ceo-fatally-shot-in-manhattan-breaking-news-2024-12-04/1011159/440 "2024-12-09T08:45:54Z")
> [@nelliebly](#): > > I lived in northernmost Montana and can attest. Not that I knew any Canadians desperate to get into the US–quite the opposite, in fact. Well said. I’m in southern Alberta, and I am quite happy to be here. No desire to move to the US. That being said, I will advise all our friends that all that separates us here between Alberta, Canada; and Montana, USA, is a pagewire fence. That is surveilled 24/7 by cameras, used by both sides. And on both sides, there is nothing but farmer’s fields, for as far as the eye can see. And every winter, we hear about people, usually East Indians, who have not been equipped for the winter, and who cross those vast tracts of farm fields, and who typically die trying to get to that pagewire fence. Mostly, they die. Or are caught, as they stick out so much. Either way, if they do manage to cross the border, they are stuck in yet more farmers’ fields, with a long way to go, like 60 miles, before they get anywhere near a town that can accomodate them. As I’ve so often said, Canada’s greatest defence is its geography and its climate. ---
**Author:** ![BlankSlate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blankslate/32/80_2.png) [@BlankSlate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BlankSlate)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2024, 12:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unitedhealthcare-ceo-fatally-shot-in-manhattan-breaking-news-2024-12-04/1011159/441 "2024-12-09T12:35:11Z")
Assuming he’s even inclined to state his case, there’s no need for a courtroom spectacle. They’ll be lining up to interview him and his story will be all over the place. Something about this feels personal, though. It wouldn’t surprise me if he’s not some social justice crusader. ---
**Author:** ![commasense](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/commasense/32/3017_2.png) [@commasense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/commasense)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2024, 12:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unitedhealthcare-ceo-fatally-shot-in-manhattan-breaking-news-2024-12-04/1011159/442 "2024-12-09T12:50:12Z")
> [@BlankSlate](#): > > It wouldn’t surprise me if he’s not some social justice crusader. Misguided “social justice” crusader. I trust we agree that _real_ social justice does not involve gunning down people in the streets. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unitedhealthcare-ceo-fatally-shot-in-manhattan-breaking-news-2024-12-04/1011159.md?page=21) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unitedhealthcare-ceo-fatally-shot-in-manhattan-breaking-news-2024-12-04/1011159.md?page=23)