New York City police are investigating so-called "wanted posters" posted on the streets of Manhattan targeting business executives. On these "wanted posters", in addition to the insurance giant United Health Group Inc. who was shot and killed in the street last Wednesday. Senior figure Brian Thompson, as well as portraits of senior executives of financial companies. Thompson's photo was marked with a red cross.
Some of the posters that were destroyed featured UnitedHealth Group's Brian Thompson.
It's the latest in a series of incidents that have sparked anxiety among business leaders since Thompson was shot. In addition to these notices, there has been a surge in online threats against corporate executives, an NYPD spokesman said.
Luigi Mangione, the 26-year-old man charged with Thompson's murder, was arrested with a manifesto condemning profiteering in the medical industry, saying "these parasites are purely self-inflicted."
According to a law enforcement agency document, the New York Police Department said it was highly alert to "the risk that extremists of all colors may view Mangione as a martyr and follow a role model." “These rhetoric may signal heightened threats to executives in the near term,” the document said.
Senator Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts made it clear that "violence is never the answer." But the Democrat also sought to explain why Mangione has received so much support online.
“The knee-jerk reactions of people across the country when they feel they have been cheated, ripped off and threatened by insurance companies’ despicable practices should be a warning to everyone in the health care system,” she said.