UNDER GUARD
Terrified millionaire CEOs desperately hiring security after Brian Thompson murder with ‘ghost’ assassin still on loose
Chilling CCTV footage shows the moment the gunman shot down Mr Thompson
TERRIFIED millionaire CEOs are desperately ramping up their security after UnitedHealthcare's boss Brian Thompson was shot to death.
The killer calmly waited for the health insurance executive, 50, to arrive for an investor conference in Midtown Manhattan before opening fire early Wednesday morning.
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Chilling CCTV footage shows the moment the gunman shot down Mr Thompson.
Officers are currently on the hunt for the suspected "assassin", who vanished like a ghost after riding an electric bike into Central Park.
Cops have not yet offered a motive for the crime.
But the horror shooting has given enough reason for fellow CEOs to be terrified for their safety.
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Executives at Allied Universal, which supplies security services to 80 per cent of Fortune 500 businesses, said on Wednesday that their phones were "ringing off the hook" with potential clients.
Allied offers a wide range of services, including as putting security officers outside workplaces, driving executives, monitoring their residences, and following their families.
According to Glen Kucera, who oversees Allied's enhanced protection services, it costs about $250,000 annually to fully cover a chief executive, reports.
Chris Pierson, CEO of digital executive protection company BlackCloak, explained targeted attacks against executives and their families have increased significantly over the past five years, both online and offline.
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Executives in the pharmaceutical, biomedical, and health care sectors are typically targeted more frequently than those in other businesses.
While social media has fuelled the anger aimed at these business titans, digital platforms have made it simpler to find out the identities and locations of CEOs.
Chilling three-word message found engraved on BULLETS used in the assassination of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson
Companies have been spending more money on security, with some of America's largest companies doubling their expenditure from 2021 to 2023, according to Equilar, an executive compensation research firm.
Mr Pierson explained that companies and security firms spend a crucial amount of time and effort categorizing the frequent and relentless threats circulating online.
They are usually sorted by the severity of the threatened harm, the likelihood of an attack and the capacity of the individual making the threat.
It comes as the "assassin" of CEO Brian Thompson pulled down his mask and revealed his face while flirting with a hotel receptionist.
FLIRTY 'KILLER'
Cops released a new image of the alleged shooter smiling at a desk clerk in the HI New York City Hostel before the brazen execution in Midtown Manhattan.
Officers are hunting the suspected gunman, whose face was carefully masked in almost every shot captured on CCTV.
But the suspect slipped up and pulled down the covering as he "flirted" with the receptionist, police sources told the .
It's one of a number of images released by police from the hostel the suspect stayed at and a Starbucks he visited prior to the shooting as they desperately try to track him down.
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NYPD and FBI agents searched the hostel on Amsterdam Avenue and found the major clue captured by cameras when he checked in on November 30.
Police believe he first checked in on November 24 and then left on the 29th, before returning on the 30th.
The suspect used a fake New Jersey driver's licence as he sought to hide his identity.
The fresh CCTV snap shows the suspect wearing a similar coat to that worn by the shooter.
He can be seen beaming at the staff member, with a woman working at the hostel telling officers the pair were flirting at the time.
Cops tracked him to the hostel after they found other CCTV footage of him in the area at 5am on Wednesday - just an hour before he's believed to have shot the UnitedHealthcare CEO.
A search of the hostel room he slept in at about 6.30pm on Wednesday revealed nothing of note, sources said.
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He is believed to have stayed in the multi-person room with up to half a dozen other men and wore a mask for most of his stay.
The hostel says it is fully cooperating with the probe.
Brian Thompson received 'threats'
by Forrest McFarland, Senior News Reporter
BRIAN Thompson led the largest private healthcare provider in the US, and his wife Paulette feared this may have put him in danger.
"There had been some threats," she told .
"Basically, I don't know, a lack of coverage?
"I don't know details. I just know that he said there were some people that had been threatening him."
Thompson traveled from his home in Minnesota to meet with investors for an 8 am conference at the hotel.
He walked across the street from the hotel where he was staying without security detail to show up early and prepare when he was attacked.
The meeting went on for about an hour until attendees became distracted by the growing police presence outside, reported.
Eventually, Andrew Witty, CEO of parent company UnitedHealth Group, told attendees they were dealing with a "very serious medical situation" and dismissed the crowd.
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