Brian Thompson, the chief executive of United Healthcare, was killed last week in a shooting. In the wake of his death, a profile emerged of the suspected gunman, who absconded via bike into Central Park. He was at large, and per CBS News, authorities had described the suspect as a White male, sporting a tan-colored jacket, a black ski mask, and black and white shoes.
Images of the alleged gunman are circulating online, where he can be seen smiling with his hood up and his facemask lowered. In the wake of the incident, a video has emerged online of a TikToker, seemingly impersonating the alleged gunman. The two look alike, and he can be seen smiling as the suspect does.
The video has since drawn varied reactions from users online. Here's what one user said:
"He's paying homage to a hero!"
The comments didn't end there, as many more weighed in:
"Hello mom don’t you know that man’s a hero," one user stated.
"😮😮YOOOO… Jake is unhinged..😂😂," someone else declared.
"I am soooo screaming 😂," a third person shared.
Scores more found the video hilarious, while others found it insensitive:
"He looks more like the real guy than the man they have in custody," one user pointed out.
"So this is where we're at as a country now? Celebrating murdering someone because you didn't like their business dealings? I hated everything about UHC as much as the next person, but treating this shooter like a hero? I thought we'd already hit a low here, but i guess I was wrong. This is disgusting," another user asserted.
The comments didn't end there, as some even began calling him the "United Healthcare Hero."
All we know about Brian Thompson's seemingly premeditated slaying
On Monday, December 9, Luigi Mangione was arrested in connection with the murder of Brian Thompson. He was spotted at a McDonald's in Altoona, Pennsylvania at the time, in possession of a ghost gun, a firearm that had no markings, and a handwritten document of three pages that pointed to "motivation and mindset", officials said per BBC. Mangione was hit with charges relating to murder, firearms, and more.
As for the act itself, reportedly, officials say the act was deliberate. The assassin was seen on his phone moments before the slaying, and evidence points to an execution, the New York Post has reported. Furthermore, the suspect was seen on 54th Street, located near the Hilton Hotel in Manhattan in the early hours of the day on Wednesday.
He arrived at the Hilton hotel, where Brian Thompson was expected, five minutes before the shooting. He then shot at the chief executive several times at about 6:46 a.m. Reportedly, he was visibly skilled and used a silencer on his gun. At one point, his gun jammed, and he instinctively resolved it. Brian Thompson took shots to his back and right calf.
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Brian Thompson has, in the past, been held accountable for allegedly declining to cover the UnitedHealthcare insurance recipient's costs, triggering protests in Minnesota just this summer.
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