Killing of Brian Thompson

Brian Thompson, the CEO of the American health insurance company UnitedHealthcare, was shot to death in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, on December 4, 2024. The shooting occurred early in the morning outside an entrance to the New York Hilton Midtown.

The perpetrator, initially described as a white man wearing a mask, fled the scene. The words "delay", "deny", and "depose" were inscribed on the cartridge cases used during the shooting. Thompson had previously faced criticism for the company's rejection of insurance claims, and his family reported that he had received death threats.

On December 9, 2024, authorities arrested 26-year-old Luigi Mangione in Altoona, Pennsylvania, and charged him in a Manhattan court with Thompson's killing. Authorities alleged that when Mangione was apprehended, he was carrying a 3D-printed pistol and a 3D-printed suppressor consistent with those used in the attack; a short handwritten letter criticizing the American healthcare system; an American passport; and multiple fraudulent IDs, including one with the same name used to check into a hostel on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. Authorities also said his fingerprints matched the partial smudged prints that investigators found near the New York shooting scene. Authorities believe Mangione was motivated by "what he perceives as a 'parasitic' health insurance company and industry as a whole, as well as broader objections to corporate greed and a concern for modern society".

Mangione was arraigned in Altoona on December 9, 2024. After waiving extradition in Pennsylvania, he appeared in a federal court in New York City on December 19. On December 23, he was arraigned in the New York Supreme Court and pleaded not guilty to New York state charges. Mangione has been indicted on eleven state charges and four federal charges; the charges include first degree murder, murder in furtherance of terrorism, criminal possession of a weapon, and stalking. His terrorism-related murder charges in the New York state's case were dismissed in September 2025; he still faces a charge of second-degree murder. In January 2026, a judge dismissed two federal charges, ruling that prosecutors could not seek the death penalty against Mangione. Pam Bondi, the United States attorney general, had previously directed the federal prosecutors to seek the death penalty in Mangione's federal case.

Thompson's death received widespread attention in the United States and led to polarized reactions. Several public officials expressed dismay and offered condolences to Thompson's family, while many used the event to call attention to the practices of the US health insurance industry. Opinion polls have shown that a majority of American adult respondents find the killing unacceptable, but with a plurality of younger respondents viewing the killing as acceptable, and a majority of Americans believing that denials of health care coverage and profits made by health insurance companies contributed to the UnitedHealthcare CEO's death. On social media, reactions to the killing included widespread contempt and mockery toward Thompson and UnitedHealth Group, sympathy and praise for Mangione, and broader criticism of the American healthcare system and health insurance industry – primarily regarding claim denial practices.

Brian Robert Thompson (July 10, 1974 – December 4, 2024) was the chief executive officer (CEO) of UnitedHealthcare, the insurance arm of UnitedHealth Group, from April 2021 until his death. He had worked for UnitedHealthcare since 2004. UnitedHealthcare insures 49 million Americans and generated $281 billion in revenue for the 2023 fiscal year. Under his leadership, UHC's profits increased from $12 billion in 2021 to $16 billion in 2023, and his total annual compensation was $10.2 million. At the time of Thompson's death, the company was the largest health insurer in the United States.

UnitedHealthcare had repeatedly faced criticism for its approach to handling claims. It and other insurers were named in an October 2024 report from the United States Senate Homeland Security Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations showing a surge in prior authorization denials for Medicare Advantage patients. Reports of increasing rates of prior authorization denials prompted investigations by ProPublica and the United States Senate, investigations which were described as a "stain" on Thompson's time of leadership by Fortune. According to Thompson's widow, he had been receiving threats related to a "lack of [insurance] coverage". In May 2024, a lawsuit was filed against Thompson along with Stephen Hemsley and two other senior executives for alleged fraud and insider trading due to failing to disclose an antitrust investigation into the company by the United States Department of Justice and by selling stock options before the probe was made public.

The suspect arrived in New York City on November 24, 2024, on a Greyhound bus. The bus route began in Atlanta, Georgia, but authorities do not know from which city or town he boarded. The day of his arrival, he checked into the HI New York City Hostel on the Upper West Side of Manhattan with a falsified New Jersey identification card; he paid for his stay in cash. He stayed at the hostel for all but one night of the 10 days he was in New York City, checking out on December 3.