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Journalism of Courage
The New York police have named Luigi Mangione, a 26-year-old Ivy League graduate, as the suspect in last week’s killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson.
A customer in a McDonald’s outlet in Pennsylvania spotted Mangione on Monday, recognising him from the mugshots released by law enforcement agencies. The 26-year-old has been charged with murder. Police also recovered a “ghost gun” from his person. A ghost gun is made by assembling different parts. Since these parts don’t have serial numbers, the gun is difficult to trace.
Family and early life
Citing the New York Police Department’s Chief of Detectives, news agency AP reported that Mangione was born and raised in Maryland. He has ties to San Francisco and is believed to have last stayed in Honolulu. His cousin is a Republican lawmaker in Maryland, Nino Mangione.
In a post on social media platform X, Nino said, “Our family is shocked and devastated by Luigi’s arrest.” Saying that the family cannot comment on the reports on Luigi Mangione, the statement added, “We offer our prayers to the family of Brian Thompson and we ask people to pray for all involved.”
According to The New York Times (NYT), Mangione belongs to an “influential” real estate family in Baltimore. His family owns the Turf Valley Country Club in Ellicott City, the Hayfields Country Club in Hunt Valley, a nursing home company Lorien Health Services, and a radio station WCBM-AM.
Mangione reportedly attended the elite all-boys Gilman School in Baltimore. He graduated as the valedictorian in 2016. He also earned his undergraduate and postgraduate in computer science from the University of Pennsylvania. An avid gamer, Mangione co-founded UPGRADE, the University’s first video game development club.
Work and career
Mangione reportedly worked at several tech companies. He was an intern at Firaxis Games and worked on the widely popular computer game Civilization, the NYT reported.
According to Reuters, he was working at TrueCar until 2023.
Back injury and ‘disappearance’
According to testaments from his family and acquaintances, Mangione suffered from debilitating back pain. The banner photograph of the purported X profile of Mangione also shows an X-ray with screws in the lower back.
The suspect underwent back surgery in 2023 and seemingly went off-grid afterwards. Friends and acquaintances had reportedly failed to get in touch with him in recent times.
While his Facebook profile is no longer visible on the platform, his X page shows activity only till June this year.
Law enforcement officials reportedly found a three-page manifesto on Mangione when he was arrested. The handwritten manifesto condemned companies for profiting by ‘abusing’ the American public. Mangione has noted that UnitedHealthcare continued to grow while America’s life expectancy did not.
Citing officials, NYT reported that Mangione appeared to have taken responsibility for the CEO’s murder in the manifesto. “To save you a lengthy investigation, I state plainly that I wasn’t working with anyone,” the NYT quoted the manifesto as saying.
A prominent figure in the healthcare insurance industry, Thompson’s murder on December 4 shocked the entire country. His death also divided Americans as many vented their anger against the broken healthcare system in the United States and others evoked sympathy for the CEO.
