Words found on shell casings where UnitedHealthcare CEO was shot dead, senior law enforcement official says
www.nbcnews.com
Brian Thompson, 50, was killed in a “premeditated, preplanned targeted attack,” police said.

Summary

Brian Thompson, CEO of UnitedHealthcare, was fatally shot in a premeditated attack outside the New York Hilton Midtown before speaking at an investor conference.

The gunman, still at large, fired multiple times, leaving shell casings marked with the words “deny,” “defend,” and “depose.”

Authorities suggest Thompson was targeted but remain unclear on the motive. His wife confirmed prior threats against him.

Analysts speculate a possible vendetta tied to his company. The case raises questions about executive security, as Thompson lacked personal protection despite known risks.

  • walden@sub.wetshaving.social
    56·
    22 days ago

    People are interested in it (see Lemmy as an example), and news outlets publish stuff that gets clicks. What’s so hard to believe about that?

    • givesomefucks@lemmy.worldEnglish
      162·
      22 days ago

      The media is treating it like a national tragedy, Walz was giving his condolences for some reason, and so are lots of other politicians.

      It’s like when those billionaires all died in that submarine and the powerful people that run the media and politics treated it as some huge event and spent crazy money investigating.

      They acted like it’s was 9/11, because to them $'s are what matters, so when one person with the same amount of $ as 100,000 people, they act like 100,000 average people die.

      Do you not see that? The difference between how a wealthy person and a poor person are treated?

      America used to have wealth worship, people still to some extent go to the Biltmore mansion to marvel at how nice robber barons lived centuries ago, or binge watch Downtown Abbey. But nowadays the vast amount of people upon hearing something bad happened to a billionaire, will at best say they dont give a fuck.

      The contrast between what people are saying, and what they’re told by their leaders and the media isn’t jivving. And it’s obvious.

      Look at history…

      When societies are at the stage we are now, very very few bare any resemblance to that in just a decade or two. For better or worse, shit is likely to substantially change soon.

      Edit:

      To put it as simple as possible, the masses are told implicitly every day they don’t matter and only the wealthy do. Eventually people will start acting like their lives really don’t matter.

      Which is bad for everyone, and has been happening for a while now. We’re just approaching the tipping point where “crashing out” is the majority opinion

      • secretlyaddictedtolinux@lemmy.world
        5·
        22 days ago

        This post really rings true. This is the small rumbling before the big quake.

        The reason everyone is offering condolences and claiming this is bad is because the government is supposed to have a monopoly on violence, and that offers protection to the elite in society. Even on radical left lemmy, you can be banned for implying this is a good thing.

        This person was at the top of a pyramid that lied to and deceived millions of people and made life absolute hell for people undergoing medical problems. He was responsible for that misery. He created hell on earth for those people. He was not that different than a mass-murderer, knowing full well what his policies would do, only his actions were legal.

        His company delayed, denied, and defended, and the assailant had an answer to deny and an answer to defend but there was no delay, just a quick deposing of this guy. It was obviously symbolic.

        It’s funny because the founding fathers of the US had enough of the bullshit from England and so they decided to rebel and used violence to create a New Republic… but their violence made them patriots and heroes. It’s just interesting… I haven’t seen 1 person call the assailant a hero yet. It’s not like the Founding Fathers of the US used rhetoric and voting to persuade England to stop its brutality.

        I bet a lot of people are secretly thinking that assailant is a hero. (In accordance with lemmy’s policies, I am not saying he is a hero and instead am saying the assailant is very bad and violence is always bad.)

        But we’re in such gilded-age end-times right now that the corporate media always parrot the idea that violence is always bad… (with the implied part being the government, backing the elite oligarchy, is the exception) and the populace has internalized that thinking out of fear.

        We have democracy in this country and should vote in leaders that actually make legislation that is sensible, but it’s impossible because the bottom 40 percent of society are brain-washed by religious delusions that the elite thrust upon them in order to make them easier to control. The problems in society are caused by religion and it’s just impossible to make the stupidest bottom 40 percent of people stop believing in bullshit.

        The elite have given people a choice: gun rights and policies for the rich… or no guns and policies for the poor. There is no middle class pro-gun party and it’s by design. We need to have liberals start embracing the NRA because any gun regulation seems toxic to middle America, and for good reason. To anyone who say the Democrats are not an anti-gun party, you’re lying and everyone can see through it. Any gun regulation is a slow decent to zero guns for regular people, and working class middle America knows it, which is part of why we keep ending up with these horrible leaders allowing health care in the US to descend into an abyss.

        • btaf45@lemmy.world
          4·
          22 days ago

          Any gun regulation is a slow decent to zero guns for regular people

          It’s not. There is not chance of that happening in your lifetime.

          The elite have given people a choice: gun rights and policies for the rich… or no guns and policies for the poor.

          No they haven’t. There use to be lots of violent left-wing groups. Black Panthers, SLA, Japanese Red Army etc

          We need to have liberals start embracing the NRA because any gun regulation seems toxic to middle America, and for good reason

          Wrong. . The NRA is NOT protecting American’s right to buy a gun. The 2nd amendment does that. It would take 3/4 of the states to do end that right, and about 80% if the country would have to agree. There is no chance it would happen.

          What the NRA IS doing is opposing sensible gun restrictions what would reduce mass murders

      • walden@sub.wetshaving.social
        43·
        22 days ago

        The media is treating it like a national tragedy

        That’s my point. The media runs on clicks, and people are clicking.

        Do you not see that? The difference between how a wealthy person and a poor person are treated?

        How could I not see that? In your top comment you blame the media for this. We’re saying the same thing, but I’m just pointing out why the media acting like it is.

        We’re on the same page, but sometimes it’s easier to be defensive and downvote. I hope you’ll see what I’m saying.

        • givesomefucks@lemmy.worldEnglish
          21·
          22 days ago

          That’s my point. The media runs on clicks, and people are clicking

          People aren’t reading the articles…

          And media isnt run for profit anymore, billionaires all bought them up to control the narrative, I thought everyone was on the same page about this by now, it’s not 2015 anymore. It’s almost been a decade.

          but I’m just pointing out why the media acting like it is.

          No, you’re incorrectly assuming why they’re doing this but are 3-4 decades behind current motivations.

          We’re on the same page

          We’re not, but I’m trying to get us there.

          Do I need to explain why this guy:

          https://corporate.comcast.com/news-information/leadership-overview/cesar-conde-2

          Wants people to think killing a corrupt CEO matters more than millions dying for corporate profits?

      • btaf45@lemmy.world
        11·
        22 days ago

        The media is treating it like a national tragedy,

        LOL! This doesn’t surprise me. The media is totally clueless

      • kreskin@lemmy.world
        12·
        21 days ago

        Walz was giving his condolences

        Ouch. Walz pushing crocodile tears for a guy like that, when Walz’s day gig is arguably representing the will and good of all Americans. Or I thought that was the league he was trying to play in. Thats a real drag, I thought maybe he had some character and some sort of inherent dignity, but maybe I was just seeing what I wanted to see.

        Thats Disappointing, Walz, but I’m sure you’ll get some future campaign bribes out of it, which is what this is all about.

      • MCasq_qsaCJ_234@lemmy.zipEnglish
        14·
        22 days ago

        It is normal for politicians to offer condolences to a deceased person who was rich out of respect and not to tarnish his image.

        Now, with regard to the death of the CEO of that company, it does not affect much because those who made that decision were more people. It is like when a high-ranking government official dies, it does not change much.