We know the suspect in the killing of the United healthcare CEO
Luigi Mangione, the alleged murderer of a New York gunman, is being investigated by the New York Police Department
As praise poured in for the act of violent vigilantism, some companies removed the biographical information and photos of their executive leadership from their websites.
The person was believed to have fled New York after the shooting, and officials searched the city for a suspect for days. Luigi Mangione was arrested Monday in Pennsylvania.
Police say he was found with a ghost gun believed to have been used in the killing, as well as a fake ID and a handwritten, three-page document indicating his motivation. NYPD Chief Detective Joseph Kenny said the document in Mangione’s possession indicated some “ill will toward corporate America.”
During the press conference featuring the NYPD police chief and Mayor Eric Adams, they said an employee at a Mcdonald’s in Pennsylvania recognized Mangione from photos made public by police.
The shooting took place in public but police have been looking for Thompson’s murderer for nearly a week. The current search has been limited to a few blurry images of a man whose face is largely obscured by a mask and hoodie. Investigators have reportedly been looking for more surveillance images of the suspect to load into facial recognition software.
Luigi Mangione: The Founder and CEO of the Unabomber: The Case of Thompson’s Anti-Technology Essay
Social media pages appearing to belong to Mangione paint a complicated picture of an Ivy League-educated data engineer with an interest in philosophy and high-minded literature.
In one online review by “Luigi Mangione” of the book Industrial Society and Its Future, the anti-technology essay penned by the “Unabomber,” Ted Kaczynski, the reviewer wrote: “It’s easy to quickly and thoughtless write this off as the manifesto of a lunatic, in order to avoid facing some of the uncomfortable problems it identifies. But it’s simply impossible to ignore how prescient many of his predictions about modern society turned out.”
The shooting caused a national uproar about the role that for-profit companies like Thompson’s play in the U.S. health system. But Mangione, who appears to come from a wealthy and privileged background, would be less likely than many Americans to be at the economic mercy of that system.
The face of a modern-day folk hero who took action against a system that many felt was rife with corruption was created by the images of the suspected shooter on social media.
Police were led to Mangione via a “combination of old-school detective work and new age technology,” Tisch said. “We deployed drones, K9 units, and scuba divers. We leveraged the domain awareness system, argos cameras, and conducted aviation canvases.”
Investigation of the Shooting-Induced Delay, Deny, Defend: A Representative of Theodore Kaczynski and the UnitedHealth Group CEO Brian Thompson
The three bullets recovered from the scene of the shooting, two police officials told the Associated Press last week. Police later clarified that one of the bullets had “delay” written on it, not “defend.” The words are reminiscent of Delay, Deny, Defend: What Insurance Companies Don’t Pay Claims and What You Can Do About It, the title of a 2010 book by Rutgers Law professor Jay M. Feinman.
He was, according to his social media accounts, an Ivy League-educated tech worker who was interested in philosophy, wellness and the masculinity-focused self-help advice of gurus including Andrew Huberman, a controversial podcaster.
Mangione grew up in a wealthy Baltimore family, which owned two country clubs and also owned a private all-boys school where he was the valedictoryorian.
Mangione most recently worked as a data engineer at TrueCar, according to his LinkedIn page. Mangione has not worked for the company in the last 3 years, according to the company’s email.
A Goodreads account in his name left a positive review for the writings of Theodore Kaczynski, also known as the Unabomber, whose targets included a president of United Airlines.
Authorities arrested a man in Pennsylvania on Monday who police say is connected to the shooting death of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson in New York City last week.
UnitedHealthcare did not immediately respond to a request for comment from WIRED. In a statement provided to other media outlets, a company spokesperson said: “Our hope is that today’s apprehension brings some relief to Brian’s family, friends, colleagues and the many others affected by this unspeakable tragedy. We would like to thank the law enforcement for their work on this investigation. Everyone is asked to respect the family’s privacy as they mourn.
Thompson had been at UnitedHealth Group since 2004, but was CEO of UnitedHealthcare from 2001 to 2021, despite not being a doctor.
