Suspect involved in fatal shooting of US insurance CEO arrested, charged for murder

A suspect believed to be behind the fatal attack on UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson has been arrested in Pennsylvania on Dec. 9.

Luigi Mangione, 26, was arrested at a McDonald's outlet in Altoona, Pennsylvania, after an employee saw that he resembled the gunman, and alerted police.

When police arrived at the scene and asked Mangione if he had been to New York recently, Mangione apparently went quiet and "started to shake", reported The Washington Post.

A firearm — which appeared to have been 3D printed — and a silencer consistent with the weapon used in the attack were found on Mangione when he was arrested, said police.

Clothing, a mask similar to that worn by the killer, a hand-written three-page manifesto and a fake New Jersey ID were also found in his possession, reported The Washington Post.

Mangione is believed to have worked alone, said police.

Police are conducting ballistics tests to determine if the gun was indeed the firearm used in the attack.

Mangione has been denied bail, reported NBC News. 

He has since been charged with murder, reported USA Today.

Ivy League graduate, valedictorian and engineer

Born and raised in Maryland, Mangione was a high-flyer.

Though authorities have yet to confirm it, a LinkedIn page believed to be Mangione's states that he is an alumnus of  the University of Pennsylvania, having earned a Bachelors and Masters' degree in Computer and Information Science.

It also showed that he worked for TrueCar, an online car marketplace company, and started doing so in 2020.

However, the company has since clarified that Manguine stopped working for the company "sometime last year", reported The Washington Post.

Stanford University has also confirmed that Mangione had worked for the university as a head counsellor under the Stanford Pre-Collegiate Studies program in 2019.

Mangione had also previously attended an all-boys school in Baltimore, where he graduated as the valedictorian in 2016.

Former classmates and teachers recalled Mangione as a "well-liked" and "optimistic student".

Mangione also appears to be a bookworm of sorts, and the internet has gone wild in analysing his taste in books.

Most notably, a review on the "Industrial Society and Its Future" apparently written by Mangione has made waves online, especially for a passage relating to the book which he cited as "interesting".

A line from the passage read: "When all other forms of communication fail, violence is necessary to survive".

The attack

Chief Executive Officer Brian Thompson, 50, was fatally shot on Dec. 4 where he was going to attend an investors' conference organised by his company in central New York.

Three pieces of ammunition were recovered at the scene, with each bullet bearing one of three words, "Deny", "Depose" and "Defend" written in marker ink, reported NBC News.

The words are believed to be a variation of a book titled "Delay, Deny, Defend" published by Jay Feinman in 2010, which is critical of the insurance industry.

The shooter's backpack had been found earlier on Dec. 6 disposed at Central Park containing a jacket and monopoly money, reported ABC News.

Mixed reactions from Americans

The attack has garnered mix reactions from Americans, with some commending his actions, and others condemning his attack on social media.

Authorities have coined the positive reactions to the killing as "deeply disturbing", and urge members of the public to "humanize" the victim instead, reported The Washington Post.

Pennsylvania governor Josh Shapiro added while he understood people's frustrations with the health-care system, Mangione is "no hero".

"Brian Thompson was a father to two. He was a husband, and he was a friend to many, and yes, he was the CEO of a health insurance company,” Shapiro said, according to NBC News.

“In America, we do not kill people in cold blood to resolve policy differences or express a viewpoint."

Top image from AFP, @PepMangione/X and @pop.basetv/X