Police in Michigan are searching for a motive after a manufacturing company president was stabbed by an employee during. staff meeting Tuesday morning.
Nathan Mahoney, 32, fled the scene but was soon arrested and charged with assault with intent to murder. He had worked for Anderseon Express Inc. in Fruitport Township for about two weeks.
Police said Mahoney got up and left the meeting Tuesday morning and returned minutes later, walked over to the company president, and stabbed him in the side.
The company president, identified as Eric Denslow on the company website, was in serious but stable condition after surgery.
Deputy Fruitport Township Police Chief Greg Poulson said investigators had not “ruled out copycat motive in regards to this,” apparently referring to the murder of a insurance giant UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson in New York earlier this month. Luigi Mangione has been charged in the murder. He was found with a “manifesto” that indicated he targeted Thompson because of the practices of the company he led.
“I think that comes to everyone’s mind in this time,” he said. “We’re going through all his social accounts, all his electronic media and trying to determine a motive for this act.”
“It seems to be the popular thing in this day and age,” Poulson said, without providing any evidence.
No other known attempts on the lives of company leaders have been made since that time, although CEOs of some large companies have increased security in the wake of the murder. Also, a Florida woman was arrested after she used the words “delay, deny, depose” during a phone call with her health insurer, who had reportedly denied a claim for her. Mangione reportedly wrote similar words on bullets he used to kill Thompson.
