# 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:** 3
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2024, 8:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unitedhealthcare-ceo-fatally-shot-in-manhattan-breaking-news-2024-12-04/1011159/41 "2024-12-04T20:03:19Z")
Disgruntled former employee? Heck I used to both work for and be a policy holder of Blue Cross and Blue Shield. AND had access to where various higher-ups would be at times. But, seriously, if UHC is holding a Big Conference is it really _that_ hard to guess the CEO would make an appearance? And a CEO isn’t likely to use the door to the back alley. Most people go in and/or out the front door of their hotel at some point. ---
**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 4, 2024, 8:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unitedhealthcare-ceo-fatally-shot-in-manhattan-breaking-news-2024-12-04/1011159/42 "2024-12-04T20:04:45Z")
> [@Broomstick](#): > > So… it could be a disgruntled policy holder with police or military or gang experience. I mean, all of those folks use health care too, just like everybody else. Or have loved ones needing/needed care. > … > Or maybe he was a professional hitman hired to take this guy out by a business rival. It’s _possible_… but my money is on a health coverage issue. Ditto. Even an avid hunter may have the experience to pull this off. There are literally millions of Americans with the training to do it. And all those people use healthcare. And healthcare is very personal and can lead to strong feelings. ---
**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 4, 2024, 8:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unitedhealthcare-ceo-fatally-shot-in-manhattan-breaking-news-2024-12-04/1011159/43 "2024-12-04T20:05:57Z")
> [@Broomstick](#): > > f UHC is holding a Big Conference is it really _that_ hard to guess the CEO would make an appearance? And a CEO isn’t likely to use the door to the back alley. Most people go in and/or out the front door of their hotel at some point. ~~And apparently Thompson was a smoker—which wouldn’t have been top-secret information. Smokers often have a predictable habit of going out for a smoke at regular intervals.~~ ETA: I’m not seeing confirmation of this online. It may have been speculation in the television coverage. ---
**Author:** ![ZonexandScout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zonexandscout/32/544_2.png) [@ZonexandScout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZonexandScout)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2024, 8:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unitedhealthcare-ceo-fatally-shot-in-manhattan-breaking-news-2024-12-04/1011159/44 "2024-12-04T20:13:29Z")
Yes, subsonic rounds would be an advantage in reducing the sound level. But larger caliber pistols use barrels that move slightly when the round is fired. (There are quite a few methods of locking a semiauto pistol barrel to the slide for a short distance, but that’s a big subject to tackle.) Screwing a suppressor to the barrel substantially changes the overall mass of the barrel. Compensating for this might require changing the recoil spring(s), using special ammunition, or taking other steps to ensure proper cycling. But, as other people have stated, if the pistol doesn’t cycle, you have to work the action. And that’s often done twice, resulting in one empty case being ejected and one unfired cartridge being ejected. ---
**Author:** ![DavidNRockies](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/davidnrockies/32/6279_2.png) [@DavidNRockies](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DavidNRockies)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2024, 8:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unitedhealthcare-ceo-fatally-shot-in-manhattan-breaking-news-2024-12-04/1011159/45 "2024-12-04T20:17:34Z")
Couple points from [**this article**](https://www.cnbc.com/2024/12/04/unitedhealth-cancels-investor-day-after-reports-of-executive-shot-in-manhattan.html): > [@](#): > > The suspect in the shooting was described as using a firearm with a silencer, a person familiar with the matter told CNBC. > > Kenny said the NYPD is unable to determine yet whether the suspect used a silencer. The department will investigate that further, he said. [So, that clears that up ;-)] > The NYPD recovered three live 9 mm rounds and three discharged 9 mm shell casings at the scene, Kenny said. He added that they recovered a cellphone. ---
**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 4, 2024, 8:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unitedhealthcare-ceo-fatally-shot-in-manhattan-breaking-news-2024-12-04/1011159/46 "2024-12-04T20:22:44Z")
9mm is kinda wimpy these days. and would be doubly so if custom-loaded lightly to be subsonic. _If_ any of that silencer story turns out to verify. ---
**Author:** ![Kolak\_of\_Twilo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kolak_of_twilo/32/73_2.png) [@Kolak\_of\_Twilo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kolak_of_Twilo)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2024, 8:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unitedhealthcare-ceo-fatally-shot-in-manhattan-breaking-news-2024-12-04/1011159/47 "2024-12-04T20:25:43Z")
There is security video that has been released of the moments before the shooting. Thompson is outside the hotel entrance but he isn’t shown smoking. The gunman comes up behind him and points the gun at his back. The video stops at that point. It is pretty clear there is a suppressor of some type on the gun. ---
**Author:** ![DavidNRockies](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/davidnrockies/32/6279_2.png) [@DavidNRockies](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DavidNRockies)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2024, 8:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unitedhealthcare-ceo-fatally-shot-in-manhattan-breaking-news-2024-12-04/1011159/48 "2024-12-04T20:32:08Z")
> [@Broomstick](#): > > But, seriously, if UHC is holding a Big Conference is it really _that_ hard to guess the CEO would make an appearance? And a CEO isn’t likely to use the door to the back alley. Most people go in and/or out the front door of their hotel at some point. So far, it doesn’t sound that simple. He was shot outside of the Midtown Hilton. It’s a _big_ property, likely with many entrances. The Hilton was to be the site of the company’s shareholder meeting, but Thompson – according to early reporting – was walking “from his hotel,” meaning that he was _staying_ somewhere else. When we had big corporate meetings at my jobs, we stayed where the meetings were … absent a compelling reason not to. Not knowing, at this point, where his hotel was, there may well have been any number of entrances that were more convenient than other entrances. So, either Thompson had been in town a few days, giving the murderer a chance to watch for patterns of behavior, or … maybe the assassin had an insider somewhere in the whole picture – lookouts, a hotel employee, a company insider … that kind of thing. As to him being a smoker … I presumed that was a joke. The only reference I can find to that is upthread 😉 ---
**Author:** ![CairoCarol](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cairocarol/32/3825_2.png) [@CairoCarol](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CairoCarol)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2024, 8:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unitedhealthcare-ceo-fatally-shot-in-manhattan-breaking-news-2024-12-04/1011159/49 "2024-12-04T20:41:06Z")
> [@DavidNRockies](#): > > As to him being a smoker … I presumed that was a joke. It feels kind of odd that the CEO of a firm with “Healthcare” in the title would be a smoker, but who knows. And the photos of him make it appear he was a bit overweight. Maybe his plan didn’t cover Wegovy/Manjounjaro/Ozempic? ---
**Author:** ![Spiderman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spiderman/32/230_2.png) [@Spiderman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spiderman)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2024, 8:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unitedhealthcare-ceo-fatally-shot-in-manhattan-breaking-news-2024-12-04/1011159/50 "2024-12-04T20:42:54Z")
> [@gnoitall](#): > > Assassination is a symbolic act, not a functional one. He’s pretty much non-functional now. > [@Sherrerd](#): > > Not to mention that the shooter was cool enough to have made sure a bicycle was at hand (one of the Citi Bike share-system ones) and to use it. More importantly, he went into Central Park & had a backpack; that’s a good place to change outfits that doesn’t have cameras. Perfect place to go for a presto-chango getaway & come out a different entrance wearing something else, maybe even on foot after ditching the bike, or if he’s really a hitman, getting into a car in the park & then effectively never coming out. ---
**Author:** ![JRDelirious](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jrdelirious/32/9531_2.png) [@JRDelirious](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JRDelirious)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2024, 8:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unitedhealthcare-ceo-fatally-shot-in-manhattan-breaking-news-2024-12-04/1011159/51 "2024-12-04T20:45:28Z")
> [@aceplace57](#): > > His policy expired. Puts on sunglasses, Roger Daltrey yells in background. ---
**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 4, 2024, 8:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unitedhealthcare-ceo-fatally-shot-in-manhattan-breaking-news-2024-12-04/1011159/52 "2024-12-04T20:48:44Z")
I’m pretty ignorant about guns. Why have a silencer if you’re using the weapon out in the open like that. ---
**Author:** ![Kolak\_of\_Twilo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kolak_of_twilo/32/73_2.png) [@Kolak\_of\_Twilo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kolak_of_Twilo)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2024, 8:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unitedhealthcare-ceo-fatally-shot-in-manhattan-breaking-news-2024-12-04/1011159/53 "2024-12-04T20:49:08Z")
I was thinking the same but I keep seeing reference to all the security cameras in Manhattan. I’m curious how many are in Central Park or if there are any. ---
**Author:** ![OldOlds](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/a3d4f5/32.png) [@OldOlds](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OldOlds)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2024, 8:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unitedhealthcare-ceo-fatally-shot-in-manhattan-breaking-news-2024-12-04/1011159/54 "2024-12-04T20:49:16Z")
I’m in pharmaceuticals, and these days smokers are pariahs. I’m not saying it’s impossible he was a smoker, but if so I’d bet almost anything that he was very much a closet smoker. And FWIW, I know a few closet smokers who work very hard to avoid being seen. In a field based around health and medicine it’s just not looked upon kindly. ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2024, 8:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unitedhealthcare-ceo-fatally-shot-in-manhattan-breaking-news-2024-12-04/1011159/55 "2024-12-04T20:52:58Z")
> [@CairoCarol](#): > > It feels kind of odd that the CEO of a firm with “Healthcare” in the title would be a smoker, but who knows. And the photos of him make it appear he was a bit overweight. Maybe his plan didn’t cover Wegovy/Manjounjaro/Ozempic? As I said, I used to work for a Major Health Insurer. Plenty of overweight smokers there, even if it wasn’t a universal thing and they tried to hide the smoking (hard to hide being fat). Nicotine is notoriously hard to give up, and being an executive might make hiring a private personal trainer or chef easier but it doesn’t stop people from overeating if they snack a lot. Executives are just people with a fancy title and a high salary, they aren’t any less full of vice and weakness than the rest of us. ---
**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 4, 2024, 8:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unitedhealthcare-ceo-fatally-shot-in-manhattan-breaking-news-2024-12-04/1011159/56 "2024-12-04T20:53:58Z")
I first brought up the smoking. I saw an eyewitness interview where they made that claim and he may have been mistaken ---
**Author:** ![scabpicker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scabpicker/32/8268_2.png) [@scabpicker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scabpicker)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2024, 8:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unitedhealthcare-ceo-fatally-shot-in-manhattan-breaking-news-2024-12-04/1011159/57 "2024-12-04T20:54:36Z")
Well, if you’re going to kill someone on the street in the open, it would be best to attract as little attention as possible from the persons in the area. If you’re lucky, no one even sees it happen. People are far more likely to notice a person running or riding a bike quickly away from where they just heard gunfire than they would be to notice and remember the same person leaving what sounds like someone dropped a couple of books. ---
**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 4, 2024, 9:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unitedhealthcare-ceo-fatally-shot-in-manhattan-breaking-news-2024-12-04/1011159/58 "2024-12-04T21:04:06Z")
> [@JoePockets](#): > > I’m but sorry but thoughts and prayers require prior authorization Bullet wounds are a pre-existing condition. Denied. ---
**Author:** ![Spiderman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spiderman/32/230_2.png) [@Spiderman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spiderman)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2024, 9:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unitedhealthcare-ceo-fatally-shot-in-manhattan-breaking-news-2024-12-04/1011159/59 "2024-12-04T21:27:04Z")
> [@hajario](#): > > I’m pretty ignorant about guns. Why have a silencer if you’re using the weapon out in the open like that. A few witnesses are better than many witnesses. The quieter it is the less people will look up to see what caused it. > [@Kolak\_of\_Twilo](#): > > I was thinking the same but I keep seeing reference to all the security cameras in Manhattan. I’m curious how many are in Central Park or if there are any. I don’t know for certain but I bet few, if any & I’d suspect any that are there are protecting assets in the park, like buildings, not trees. Possibly something on the Loop, but almost certainly nothing near a bunch of bushes. ---
**Author:** ![Slithy\_Tove](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slithy_tove/32/18248_2.png) [@Slithy\_Tove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slithy_Tove)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2024, 9:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unitedhealthcare-ceo-fatally-shot-in-manhattan-breaking-news-2024-12-04/1011159/60 "2024-12-04T21:27:15Z")
> [@hajario](#): > > I’m pretty ignorant about guns. Why have a silencer if you’re using the weapon out in the open like that. NYC has a gunshot alert system, [although it’s no great shakes](https://comptroller.nyc.gov/newsroom/nypds-shotspotter-gunshot-detection-system-overwhelmingly-sends-officers-to-locations-where-no-confirmed-shooting-occurred-new-audit-uncovers/) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unitedhealthcare-ceo-fatally-shot-in-manhattan-breaking-news-2024-12-04/1011159.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unitedhealthcare-ceo-fatally-shot-in-manhattan-breaking-news-2024-12-04/1011159.md?page=4)