This is a developing case. Seek updates through trusted sources.
A person-of-interest identified as Luigi Mangione was apprehended on Monday, December 8th, on a gun charge. He was eating at a McDonalds in Altoona, PA when an unidentified employee recognized him from the NYPD’s images and dialed 911. He was reportedly in possession of a ghost gun, a suppressor, multiple fraudulent IDs, and a 262-word manifesto criticizing the American healthcare system. According to NYPD Chief Detective Joseph Kenny, he was then held without bond in a Pennsylvania jail and will soon be extradited to NYC to face the murder charges.
Police have revealed some pieces of evidence they believe connect Mangione to the shooting. According to NYPD Chief of Detectives Joseph Kenny, for example, shell casings found at the scene of the shooting matched those found in the “ghost gun” Mangione possessed at the time of his arrest in Pennsylvania. In writings found in a notebook believed to belong to Mangione, he wrote about wanting to use a gun to target a big CEO. Mangione’s alleged writings contained, “What do you do? You wack the CEO at the annual parasitic bean-counter convention. It’s targeted, precise, and doesn’t risk innocents.” He also discussed potentially using a bomb, then denoted that option.
Interestingly, internet users uncovered a GoodReads account linked to Mangione that contained a logged review of the Unabomber Ted Kaczinsky’s ‘Industrial Society and Its Future.’ This revelation fueled the nationwide discussions surrounding theories of Mangione’s motive, as law enforcement sources told CBS News that in the notebook found on Mangione’s person, he considered using a bomb but decided against it as to not risk innocent people’s lives. Though, the police have not officially deduced Mangione’s motive.
As this case has developed over the past two weeks, the question pinned at the forefront of the headlines and the Internet is: Who is Luigi Mangione?
Luigi Nicholas Mangione was living a luxurious life. He earned degrees from the University of Pennsylvania, was valedictorian of an elite Baltimore prep school, The Gilman School, and was the grandson of a wealthy real estate developer. He was described by friends, at a co-living space he stayed in in Hawaii for several months, as a “great guy.” Social media pages linked to Mangione depict a smiling young man at beaches and parties. He had a job at TrueCar, a car-buying website, as a data engineer up until 2023, according to a TrueCar spokesperson. While enrolled at UPenn, he worked as a TA and founded a gaming club.
So what caused this dark turn? Why did Mangione turn to such a radical decision?
Mangione had been socially isolated for some time before his arrest. According to Kenny, Mangione’s last known address was in the Surfbreak co-living community in Honolulu, Hawaii. He left the community in April 2022 due to a worsening life-long back injury. According to a close friend Mangione had during his stay, he tended to be very social except for extreme back pain times. He was a ‘gentleman’ and ‘never complained’, only telling friend R. J. Martin about things he was going through after the fact. Martin iterated that, “the pain inhibited him from doing a lot of activities he wanted to.”
According to X posts, Mangione’s friends had been trying to get in contact with him in the months preceding his arrest. The suspect himself had stopped posting around June. On a Reddit page, Mangione stated that he had major spinal surgery in July 2023. In October of the same year, he wrote he “has taken zero pain meds” and “hadn’t had a bad day since the surgery.”
In a press release, Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg labeled the killing “premeditated,” and stated that the suspect can face life in prison without the chance of parole if convicted. At the time of writing, Mangione is being held under maximum security at a State Correctional Institution (SCI) Huntingdon in Huntingdon, Pennsylvania. Manhattan prosecutors announced on Dec. 17 that Mangione has been indicted on a charge of murder in the first degree in furtherance of terrorism. He has also been charged with two counts of murder in the second degree, one specifically denoting it as an act of terrorism, two counts of second-degree criminal possession of a weapon, and other criminal possession felony charges. An extradition proceeding was scheduled for Dec. 19 for Mangione to face shooting charges in NYC. Karen Agnifilo, veteran of the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office, has been retained to represent Mangione.
This case rocked the nation like no other. There was a polarizing difference between the mainstream media’s reaction and the general public’s. As stated in the last article, millions across the country sympathized and sided with the alleged shooter. This sympathy has been noted by many as a strange, yet common sensationalism of a murder.
For example, thirst traps and edits of Luigi Mangione proliferated TikTok and X. Brianna Boston, a 42-year-old mother of three, was charged with threats to conduct a mass shooting or act of terrorism after threatening health insurance company Blue Cross Blue Shield saying, “Delay, deny, depose, you people are next” while on the phone with a representative about a denied insurance claim. These words emulate the words engraved on bullet casings found at the scene of the murder of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thomspon. Posters depicting images of executives with “WANTED” written at the tops in big, red letters referencing the ‘3 bullets’ of the CEO shooting and the engraved words on said bullets appeared across NYC. Viral social media posts circulated these even further. A confidential NYPD bulletin explains that police are worried that Mangione will be seen as a martyr or inspire copycat incidents. In Seattle, a message reading “ONE LESS CEO” and “MANY MORE TO GO” was displayed on a busy highway.
According to the Seattle Department of Transportation secretary, the sign did not belong to any government body. It belongs to a private construction contractor. Upon dispatching a crew to investigate, SDOT found the sign to be removed. According to Variety Magazine, multiple documentaries about Luigi Mangionne are in the works. ABC News will be the first, airing a special edition of 20/20 about the shooting on Dec. 17.
Interestingly, NewsNation correspondents Ashleigh Banfield and Alex Caprariello communicated exclusively with prison inmates through the fence of the State Correctional Institution Huntingdon in PA through flashing lights and shouts from windows. The inmates expressed the conditions of fellow inmate Luigi Mangione. The way these interviewers humanized the inmates, giving voices to whom have often been shushed and denied, was refreshing.
This is a developing case, yet, in the span of 2 weeks, the tone of the country has shifted. Conversations about censorship, free speech, capitalism, industry, greed, and humanity have been sparked or reignited by this shooting. Stay tuned for updates.