The suspect in the shocking murder of UnitedHealthcare's CEO was a highly educated and well-liked student-athlete who graduated at the top of his high school class. Luigi Mangione, 26, was arrested in Altoona, Pennsylvania, 280 miles west of the Hilton hotel in Midtown Manhattan, where healthcare executive Brian Thompson was shot and killed on December 4.
Mangione was arrested at a McDonald's in Altoona, about 98 miles east of Pittsburgh, on Monday. At the time, he was found carrying a silencer, a 9mm ghost gun, and multiple fake IDs. The arrest occurred without any resistance but Mangione has so far remained silent and refused to speak with investigators, authorities said.
Brilliant Student Turned Killer
The suspect, born and raised in Maryland, graduated as valedictorian from the Gilman School in Baltimore in 2016. A former classmate from the prestigious all-boys private school who, which charges $40,000 annually, described Mangione as a "popular" student who had a "big circle of friends."
"We went to the same school but didn't really have the same friends. I'm really shocked by this whole thing," the former student, who asked not to be identified, told The U.S. Sun.
"I think he played soccer, it was an all-boys school, so being a good athlete got you social currency for sure."
The former classmate told the outlet that Mangione was not the type of person one would describe as a "weird shut in, incel type."
Instead, he noted that Mangione received "fantastic education", saying, "For all the money it cost, it ought to have been, honestly.
"It's not uncommon that people have their gripes with CEOs, especially with CEOs of healthcare in this country, but to assassinate someone?"
"That sounds very, very insane to me. The world is a crazy a** place."
Mangione earned a Bachelor of Science in Engineering, Computer, and Information Science from the University of Pennsylvania in 2020, as stated on his LinkedIn profile.
His great-grandfather, Nicholas Mangione, was a first-generation American who created a real estate empire in Maryland, which included the Turf Valley Resort, Hayfields Country Club, and the radio station WCBM-AM.
Nicholas also founded Lorien Health Services, a chain of nursing homes where Mangione volunteered in 2014, according to his LinkedIn.
Mangione is also a cousin of Nino Mangione, a Republican member of the Maryland House of Delegates, as reported by The Baltimore Sun.
Motive Still Unclear
Authorities were tipped off by an employee at a McDonald's in Altoona who recognized Mangione as resembling the man featured in wanted posters distributed nationwide after the CEO's murder.
New York Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch said at a press conference following the arrest that Mangione was acting suspiciously when confronted by Altoona police. Mangione gave a fake New Jersey ID, which investigators believe was the same one used by the killer to check into a Manhattan hostel before the shooting, according to NBC News.
The firearm recovered from Mangione was identified as a 9mm ghost gun, reportedly matching the firing capabilities of the weapon used in the assassination, said NYPD Chief of Detectives Joseph Kenny. Authorities suspect the gun may have been made using a 3-D printer.
Police also found a three-page handwritten manifesto in Mangione's possession, slamming healthcare companies for prioritizing profits over patient care, as reported by The New York Times. Tisch said that the document shed light on Mangione's "motivation and mindset."
The manifesto began with quotes such as, "These parasites had it coming," and included an apology for "any strife and trauma," while claiming, "but it had to be done," according to CNN.
