'Wanted' posters appear in New York for healthcare CEOs after Brian Thompson shooting

'Wanted' posts put up across Manhattan after the killing of UnitedHealthcare boss Brian Thompson last week show the faces of top healthcare CEOs as online posts warn of a 'hitlist'

Terrifying "wanted" posters showing the faces of top healthcare CEOs have appeared in the New York City after the assassination of UnitedHealthcare boss Brian Thompson a week ago.

Signs plastered across traffic control boxes in Manhattan featured pictures of Mr Thompson, who was killed on December 4 as he walked alone to a Hilton hotel for an investor conference, as well as those of other CEOs that The Mirror has chosen not to name. It's unclear who put the posts up on Canal Street, one of the busiest highways in Manhattan.

In addition to the photos, the posters had red and black words on them reading: "Wanted. Denying medical care for corporate profit. Health care CEOs should not feel safe." They also included three words - "deny, defend, depose" - that suspected shooter Luigi Mangione allegedly wrote on the bullets found at the scene where Mr Thompson was shot dead.

In addition to the posters, viral posts online also listed the names and salaries of eight health insurance executives, which prompted the New York Police Department to issue a bulletin on Tuesday to emphasise the heightened risk for healthcare executives. The bulletin also wants that users online might see Mangione as a "martyr" who could inspire extremists to action, ABC News reported.

"Both prior to and after the suspected perpetrator's identification and arrest, some online users across social media platforms reacted positively to the killing, encouraged future targeting of similar executives, and shared conspiracy theories regarding the shooting," it said. According to the bulletin, some online users shared a social media post warning that the list of CEOs is a "hitlist" and they "should be afraid."

The NYPD also included some examples of people expressing their belief that Mr Thompson deserved to be killed because of his role in the insurance industry, including a woman who wrote: "My mom was denied chemo multiple times and suffered tremendously they missed her cancer for two years because she was constantly denied… she will have life altering damage because of it. F*** him may he rest in piss."

The bulletin also cited a Reddit post that read: "The politicians are compromised and the corporations are suffocating us - all CEO's should be considered. Sucks when your government is bought by these CEO's who immediately impact the masses."

It comes after Mangione was arrested at a McDonald's in Altoona, Pennyslvania, after a five-day search on Monday. In his first public words since he was caught, the 26-year-old Ivy League graduate from a prominent Maryland real estate family emerged from a patrol car shouting about an "insult to the intelligence of the American people" while deputies pushed him inside a courthouse.

A law enforcement bulletin obtained by AP said that at the time of his arrest, Mangione was carrying a handwritten document expressing anger with what he called "parasitic" health insurance companies and a disdain for corporate greed and power. He wrote that the US has the most expensive healthcare system in the world and that profits of major corporations continue to rise while "our life expectancy" does not, according to the bulletin.

Mangione remained jailed in Pennsylvania, where he was initially charged with possession of an unlicensed firearm, forgery and providing false identification to police. He was then charged with murder too. Manhattan prosecutors were beginning to take steps to bring Mangione to New York, but at a brief hearing Tuesday, defence lawyer Thomas Dickey said his client will not waive extradition and instead wants a hearing on the issue. Mangione was denied bail after prosecutors said he was too dangerous to be released.