The individual suspected of fatally shooting UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson has been identified as Luigi Nicholas Mangione, a 26-year-old Ivy League graduate with a strong anti-capitalist sentiment, according to law enforcement officials. Mangione, a Maryland native, was apprehended at a McDonald’s in Altoona, Pennsylvania, following a tip-off from an alert employee. He was subsequently detained without bail during his arraignment in a Pennsylvania court on Monday.
Upon his arrest, authorities discovered a ghost gun, a mask, and writings that linked him to the deadly attack outside a Midtown Manhattan hotel last week, which triggered an extensive manhunt spanning several days.
Mangione was born and raised in Towson, Maryland, into a prominent and affluent local family. His family owns and has developed several properties in the area, including the Turf Valley Resort in Ellicott City and the Hayfields Country Club in Cockeysville. They also reportedly operate Lorien Health Services nursing homes and the radio station WCBM-AM. Mangione has connections to San Francisco and his last known address was in Honolulu, Hawaii.
Mangione has been dealing with chronic back issues due to a misaligned spine and pinched nerve. A former high school classmate revealed that Mangione became distant from friends and family after undergoing back surgery. His back pain was so severe that it prevented him from dating or engaging in sexual activities, as per his former landlord.
In terms of education, Mangione graduated as valedictorian from Gilman School, an all-boys high school in Baltimore, Maryland, in 2016. He later attended the University of Pennsylvania, graduating cum laude with a Bachelor of Science in Engineering, Computer and Information Science in 2020. He was part of a group of Ivy League gamers who primarily played assassin games. He also completed a Master of Science in Engineering, Computer and Information Science at the University of Pennsylvania and currently works as a data engineer at a California-based car company.
Mangione’s political views, as expressed on social media, cover a wide spectrum. His posts range from advocating for a ban on sex toys in Japan, comparing modern America to the fall of Rome, and criticizing wokeism and DEI practices. He has expressed admiration for various authors, bloggers, thinkers, and revolutionaries, including Aldous Huxley, Tim Urban, Jonathan Haidt, and Ted Kzacinski. Law enforcement sources who have seen his manifesto say that Mangione saw the killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson as a symbolic takedown of the parasitic healthcare industry.
Mangione was apprehended around 9:15 a.m. after police received a tip that he was at a McDonald’s in Altoona, Pennsylvania. A vigilant employee recognized him from images released by the NYPD following last Wednesday’s shooting. When confronted by officers at the restaurant, Mangione produced a fake New Jersey ID under the name “Mark Rosario”, the same alias used by the suspected killer at a New York City hostel. He was also found in possession of a gun and a silencer, items consistent with those used in the murder, according to NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch.
While the exact motive for the shooting remains unclear, sources suggest it may be linked to the US healthcare industry’s treatment of a sick relative. Mangione is currently being held in Pennsylvania on gun charges as authorities continue to build their case against him in the murder. He will eventually be extradited to New York to face charges in connection with Thompson’s death.