Ex-bodyguard of late UnitedHealthcare CEO calls fatal shooting 'just baffling'

A former bodyguard of the late UnitedHealthcare CEO was dumbfounded by the lack of security for Brian Thompson after he was killed in a fatal shooting, sparking a manhunt in New York City.

“It was baffling, to be honest with you. You know, you get at somebody in the No. 1 health care organization in the United States of America, who is a corporate executive, a high-ranking one, as a matter of fact, just sitting on the board of directors, and he has no protection around him, that is just baffling,” Philip Klein said during his Thursday night appearance on CNN’s “Laura Coates Live.” 

“I don't understand it. We still don't understand it,” he added. 

Thompson was killed right before 7 a.m. local time Wednesday outside of New York Hilton Midtown, where he was supposed to speak with investors at an annual meeting. 

The health care executive was shot in the right calf and in the back, New York Police Chief of Detectives Joseph Kenny said. He was declared dead 30 minutes later in what law enforcement called a “targeted” shooting. 

Police are still looking for the suspect who is on the run as the manhunt reached its third day. The gunman’s photos have been released since the homicide took place. Police are testing for fingerprints and collected DNA on a protein bar wrapper and bottle found near the shooting site. 

Police believe the suspect left New York City on a bus.

Klein, who is the CEO of Klein Investigations, told CNN host Laura Coates that there could be two reasons why Thompson did not have security detail around him. 

“One, it could have been a personal choice. He may have not liked living in the bubble,” Klein said Thursday, adding that instead UnitedHealthcare may have chosen to not provide security for Thompson.

The longtime investigator stressed that he does not know the answer, but that the circumstances are “highly unusual.” 

"It is highly unusual for the CEO of a multibillion-dollar corporation not to have people around him. It's just — again, it's baffling,” he said.