News Reader.info

A private security firm used by several Fortune 500 companies says its phones were “ringing off the hook” with potential clients following the execution of UnitedHealth Group CEO Brian

Thompson in Manhattan — as top business leaders fear for their lives.

Allied Universal, which provides private security services to 80% of Fortune 500 companies, was flooded with frantic inquiries after the shocking Midtown assassination on Wednesday, Glen

Kucera, who runs Allied’s enhanced protection services, told the New York Times.

Kucera said the company offers a wide range of security services, including stationing guards outside offices and chauffeuring executives — but it comes at a high cost.

A company will have to dish out about $250,000 a year to protect a chief executive full-time, he said.

The vast increase in calls to the firm comes as dozens of Fortune 1000 chiefs will descend on Manhattan to attend a summit at Midtown’s Ziegfeld on 54th Street, not far from where Thompson

was gunned down by a masked gunman outside the Hilton hotel.

The murder, a suspected targeted hit, has led many health care leaders to question why Thompson was walking the streets solo the morning he was killed.

The head of a private security firm who previously provided bodyguards to Thompson was perplexed by the 50-year-old’s lack of security while walking through Manhattan.

“I assure you, that company does have an internal security team and staff,” Philip Klein, the head of Klein Investigations, told The Post Thursday.

“I know they do, they get a lot of threats from people who have been turned down, a lot of threats due to the cost of health care.”

Follow along with The Post’s live updates on the news surrounding Brian Thompson’s murder.

Thompson was heading toward the Hilton hotel Wednesday morning to prepare for an investors’ conference when the masked, hooded gunman snuck up behind him and fired multiple times. 

Thompson was hit in the back and right calf as he stumbled and collapsed in the middle of the sidewalk.  

The gunman fled into an alleyway and hopped on an e-bike, disappearing into Central Park, with police continuing to search for him. 

The still-at-large killer is believed to have come to New York last month by a bus originating from Atlanta.

He was captured on security camera flashing a smile as he “flirted” with a receptionist at an Upper West Side youth hostel days before the shooting.

In an updated statement released by UnitedHealth Thursday, the group said its “hearts are broken” but it is working to help Thompson’s family and protect its employees.

“Our priorities are, first and foremost, supporting Brian’s family; ensuring the safety of our employees; and working with law enforcement to bring the perpetrator to justice,” the company

said.