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.