Featured Image Credit: United Health Group / Getty Images/Spencer Platt
Topics: Luigi Mangione, New York, Crime
Joe Yates
Topics: Luigi Mangione, New York, Crime
A help desk may be set up in New York City for CEOs to dial following the assassination of UnitedHealthcare boss Brian Thompson.
State Governor Kathy Hochul is exploring setting up a 'CEO threats hotline' with a large majority of the public seemingly having sided with the 50-year-old's suspected shooter, Luigi Mangione.
The 26-year-old has since been arrested and charged with the first-degree murder of the father-of-two, as well as two counts of second-degree murder - one of which listed the killing as an act of 'terrorism'. He also faces forgery and weapons charges.
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Mangione denies all charges placed against him and has entered a plea of not guilty.
Speaking about the crime, New York District Attorney Alvin Bragg claimed the University of Pennsylvania graduate - who received a bachelor's and master's degree in computer science - carried out the shooting with 'the intent to sow terror'.
Meanwhile, New York Police Department Commissioner Jessica Tisch has slammed the public for praising the son of a wealthy family in Maryland, for allegedly fatally shooting Thompson from behind while the businessman walked to an insurance conference in New York City shortly before 7am on December 4.
"In the nearly two weeks since Mr Thompson's killing, we have seen a shocking and appalling celebration of cold-blooded murder," Tisch said.
"We don't celebrate murders and we don't lionize the killing of anyone."
Mangione, who was arrested on December 9 while sitting reading his laptop in a McDonald's in Altoona, Pennsylvania, is currently incarcerated in a prison in the state awaiting a court hearing scheduled to take place tomorrow (December 19) which will determine whether he will be extradited to New York to face the charges held against him.
While there are no current threats to company heads, the state is looking to take proactive measures to ensure the safety of CEOs if they receive threats, with Hochul set to meet with 175 corporate representatives, as well as Homeland Security and counterterrorism bosses.
The meeting's main objective will be to discuss sharing information about any threats with corporate security.
CEO of the Partnership for New York City Kathy Wylde said per Baller Alert: “She wants to make sure that the state resources, specifically the domestic counterterrorism resources, are focused on being supportive, sharing information.”
Adding: "Demonization of corporate executives is not new. It was part of the rhetoric in the financial crisis of 2008/09.”
Over in Florida, a mom-of-three called health insurance company Blue Cross Blue Shield in an angry rant after being denied a claim, telling them: "You people are next."