The shooting of Brian Thompson sparked two very separate reactions around his killer: a manhunt and admiration from certain parts of the internet, with the latter creating concern among security experts that this killing might inspire copy-cat events.
When a person is gunned down in broad daylight people do not usually have praise ready for the gunman, but the killing of the CEO of a health insurance company elicited less sympathy and more memes from certain members of the general public, including at least 90,000 people reacting to a tribute post to Thompson on Facebook with 'laughing' emojis.
This reaction led security professionals to tell Newsweek that the current environment is dangerous for CEOs and C-suite members.
Now that Thompson's alleged killer, Luigi Mangione, is in custody, the jokes and the praise have not stopped, with people online making up fake alibis for him, saying the police should "free him," and even review-bombing the McDonald's where he was apprehended by police as a show of support.
One Tiktok which currently has over 7 million views states that the only "safe" CEOs right now are the heads of Costco and Arizona Iced Tea. Both of these CEOs are known for refusing to raise the price of their mainstay items.
Chris Pierson, CEO of the security firm BlackCloak, told Newsweek: "Given the vitriol and extreme negativity expressed on social media and other forums, executive protection teams are bracing for the worst."
He said: "We are definitely concerned about the potential for copy-cat murders, as well as other acts of violence and intimidation that could be inspired by this CEO shooting.
"For the general public, this attack on the UHC CEO may seem like an exotic crime, but in the executive protection industry we are dealing with serious threats on a weekly basis," said Pierson. "The risks to executives are widespread and accelerating. Over the last four to five years, we've seen them increasing at an almost exponential rate."
Pierson said that a rise in social, political, and economic tensions are a "big factor" in increased threats against C-Suite executives, and that fears of more shootings are "definitely warranted," even if this shooting was "very well planned and organized, and won't be easy to replicate."
These sentiments were echoed by Brian Stephens, Senior Managing Director of Risk, Intelligence, and Resilience at security consulting firm, Teneo.
Stephens told Newsweek that although actual acts of extreme violence like this are very rare, given the number of threats that he sees on a daily basis he "wasn't entirely surprised" that this killing occurred.
Stephens told Newsweek that when it comes to the internet's reaction "social media plays a significant role in several areas. I do think it could inspire a copycat incident."
Stephens spoke to how he was "a little surprised and taken aback at the volume and level of support that was publicly stated for the attacker," online, and that he can see how people's "empathy to his point of view and to some of the frustrations with, in this case the healthcare industry," may lead to further acts of violence.
Pierson told Newsweek: "When people get angry at a company or industry, they tend to take it out on the most high-profile figure, which is usually the CEO. This attack should be a wake-up call to C-suites and boardrooms everywhere. Now is the time for them to prioritize their physical and digital safety."
The idea of a "wake-up call" was also discussed by Stephens who said that the CEOs he works with are usually focused on their public perception in terms of brand management, but are now also evaluating it in terms of their public safety, and fears of "'could that have been me?'"
Pierson spoke with Newsweek about how CEOs and other executives are boosting their security "as a result of the horrific incident last week."
CEOs are engaging in more risk assessment work, reducing their public profiles and public information, and also expanding their risk coverage to protect their families.
Stephens added that CEOs should absolutely be working on increasing their security and their online privacy, however he understands that to some CEOs this kind of privacy can feel like a "double edged sword," as a large portion of their job is being the front-facing person for their company.
Stephens told Newsweek that while he understands why CEOs are resistant to personal protection services, they should be employing strategies like limiting their online presence, and proactively monitoring threats.
He said it's easy for people to not take threats seriously, as they receive so many and very few result in actual harm, but that recent events and public sentiments show that CEOs do face a risk of real violence.
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