On Dec. 5, Brian Thompson, the CEO of UnitedHealthcare, the nation’s largest health insurance company, was fatally shot in Manhattan on his way to work.

Police believe the gunman arrived in New York City 10 days before the shooting, leading law enforcement to believe it was premeditated. He arrived at the Port Authority bus terminal in Manhattan and then went to his hostel. After that, he appeared to move around the city, circling Thompson’s place of work.

The police suspect that the gunman used cash for the hostel he stayed at and possibly checked in under a fake ID.

At 6:44 in the morning, Thompson walked down the street in a suit, heading to the entrance of the Hilton Hotel, the site of many press events and celebrity galas. UnitedHealthcare happened to be hosting their annual investors day at the Hilton when the gunman jumped out from behind a car and fired a silenced pistol at Thompson, striking him in the calf and back. The killer walked closer to him then appeared to fire his gun once more before slowly walking away, only breaking into a run after crossing the street. After that, the shooter quickly fled the scene on an e-bike, and the police didn’t yet know where he obtained it.

By night, a sprawling manhunt ensued with police officers, dogs, and drones. Law enforcement also quickly accessed surveillance footage and were able to get images of the killer’s outfit. They have also been bearing down on cellphone and Citi Bike data in search of the killer.

While the shooter’s whereabouts were still unknown, the hunt continued. Law enforcement is currently investigating Thompson’s background and multiple threats he’s received recently. Chief executive officers of healthcare companies often receive threats because of the kind of work they participate in.

With more than 50 million customers, UnitedHealthcare has continuously battled complaints regarding its denial of medical claims. These practices are currently facing harsher scrutiny after the bullets the gunman used to kill Thompson had the words “deny” and “delay” written on them.

The shooter’s motive and identity have still yet to be revealed and there’s no evidence to the killer being a UnitedHealthcare customer. However, there’s speculation from law enforcement and employees of United that the words “deny” and “delay” are a reference to the tactics that health insurers use to avoid paying for claims.

The words are also linked to those practices that were criticized in a 2010 book titled, “Delay, Deny, Defend: Why Insurance Companies Don’t Pay Claims and What You Can Do About It.”

“An insurance company’s greatest expense is what it pays out in claims,” the book’s author, Jay Feinman, wrote. “If it pays out less in claims, it keeps more in profits.”

There is no data on how often private insurers deny claims because there is no requirement for those companies to publish that information. It has been shown that people who bought insurance under the Affordable Care Act, a government-funded plan, had their claims denied 17% of the time. Some surveys conducted by the government suggest that the denial percentage of private insurers is much higher than government-operated insurance.

An investigation earlier this year by a Senate committee found that UnitedHealthcare, along with other privately-owned insurance businesses, was intentionally denying healthcare claims to stroke patients to increase the company’s profits.

With complaints and investigations of insurance companies ever-increasing, the chief executives are starting to worry about their safety. The targeted killing of Brian Thompson is acting as a wake-up call to increase security of their top executives for both large and small companies.

“In this threat environment with the increased attacks on public officials, it’s surprising that a CEO of a major corporation would walk around with no security at all,” Don Mihalek, a retired senior special agent for the U.S. Secret Service said in an interview with ABC News.

Law enforcement has apprehended the alleged gunman, Luigi Mangione, on Dec. 9 after a four day-long search. The 26-year-old was previously identified as a person of interest and was arrested in Pennsylvania on firearms charges. Police have currently matched Mangione’s fingerprints to a water bottle and protein bar wrapper found near the site of Thompson’s death. Investigators also matched a gun found on Mangione at the time of his arrest with the three bullet casings found on the sidewalk outside of Hilton Hotel. Mangione is currently awaiting his trial.

Article by Jada Jones