Luigi Mangione: Who is the suspect in the shooting of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson?

The scion of a distinguished Maryland household who got here prime of his class at an elite non-public college earlier than graduating from an Ivy League school, Luigi Mangione appeared to have all the pieces going for him, in response to pals.

They have been left shocked by the 26-year-old’s arrest for the homicide of UnitedHealthcare’s chief govt Brian Thompson, who was fatally shot final week in New York City. Mr Mangione will plead not responsible, his lawyer says.

According to a regulation enforcement bulletin seen by US media, Mr Mangione was allegedly motivated by resentment at what he known as “parasitic” medical insurance corporations.

He had frolicked in a browsing group in Hawaii, however left owing to debilitating again ache, say those that keep in mind him. It is unclear, nonetheless, to what extent his personal well being troubles formed his views of the medical trade.

He was arrested on Monday at a McDonald’s in Altoona, Pennsylvania, and was allegedly in possession of a gun, bullets, a number of pretend IDs and money.

Mr Mangione additionally had a handwritten doc that expressed “ill will” in the direction of company America and included passages comparable to “frankly, these parasites had it coming”, in response to police.

Investigators say the phrases “deny”, “defend” and “depose” had been written on shell casings discovered on the scene of Mr Thompson’s homicide.

Critics of healthcare insurers name these the “three Ds of insurance” – techniques utilized by corporations to reject cost claims by sufferers.

Mr Mangione comes from a distinguished household within the Baltimore space who’re recognized for companies together with nation golf equipment, nursing properties and a radio station in response to native media.

The suspect’s paternal grandparents, Nicholas and Mary Mangione, had been actual property builders who bought the Turf Valley Country Club in 1978 and Hayfields Country Club in Hunt Valley in 1986.

Shortly after Mr Mangione was charged, his cousin, Republican state lawmaker Nino Mangione, launched a press release saying the household was “shocked and devastated”.

“We offer our prayers to the family of Brian Thompson and we ask people to pray for all involved”, the assertion learn.

Thomas Maronick, a defence legal professional who is aware of family members, advised the BBC of his shock on the expenses.

“You wouldn’t think someone of privilege or means from a family that’s known for doing so much for the community would do something like this.”

Mr Mangione attended a personal, all-boys highschool in Baltimore, known as the Gilman School, the place he was valedictorian, an accolade often bestowed on the scholar with the best tutorial achievements in a category.

Speaking to the BBC’s US associate, CBS News, one in all his classmates stated Mr Mangione “didn’t have any enemies” and was a “valedictorian for a reason”.

Mr Mangione went on to graduate from the University of Pennsylvania, the place he obtained a bachelor’s and grasp’s diploma in pc science, in response to the college, and based a online game improvement membership.

A buddy who attended the Ivy League school similtaneously Mr Mangione described him as a “super normal” and “smart person”.

Mr Mangione was employed as an information engineer for TrueCar, a digital retailing web site for brand spanking new and used automobiles, in response to his social media profiles. An organization spokesman advised the BBC he had not labored there since 2023.

He additionally frolicked in a co-living browsing group in Hawaii known as Surfbreak. Sarah Nehemiah, who knew him then, advised CBS he left resulting from his again damage which had worsened from browsing and climbing.

Friends have advised US media he had surgical procedure on his again. The background picture on an X account believed to belong to Mr Mangione exhibits an x-ray of a backbone with {hardware} in it.

A former roommate, RJ Martin, advised the BBC that whereas Mr Mangione “never complained”, his again ache at occasions “prohibited him” from doing “many normal things”, comparable to browsing or taking part in volleyball.

Mr Martin – who finally misplaced contact with Mr Mangione – stated that he believed his former buddy “would have never conceived of hurting someone else”.

“There’s no making sense of it,” he added.

An individual matching his title and photograph had an account on Goodreads, a user-generated e-book assessment website, the place he learn two books about again ache in 2022, one in all them known as Crooked: Outwitting the Back Pain Industry.

He additionally gave 4 stars to a textual content known as Industrial Society and Its Future by Theodore Kaczynski – often known as the Unabomber manifesto.

Starting in 1978, Kaczynski carried out a bombing marketing campaign that killed three folks and injured dozens of others, till he was arrested in 1996.

In his assessment, Mr Mangione acknowledged Kaczynski was a violent particular person, but in addition described him as a political revolutionary.

According to native media reviews, Mr Mangione’s mom had reported him lacking final month to San Francisco authorities, telling them she had not heard from her son since July.