Luigi Mangione studied computer science at the University of Pennsylvania, one of the most prestigious universities in America
In 2016, Luigi Mangione took to the stage to deliver his high school valedictorian speech.
“The world needs thinkers, leaders, and doers,” he told his classmates at the $40,000-a-year Gilman School in Baltimore. “Let’s be all three.”
He received a standing ovation.
Now, less than a decade later, Mr Mangione has been charged as a suspect in the high-profile killing of a UnitedHealth executive in New York City – a brazen shooting that set off a tense five-day manhunt that culminated in his capture on Monday morning.
Luigi Mangione’s booking photo – HANDOUT
The 26-year-old was eating in McDonald’s in Altoona, Pennsylvania, when a staff member recognised him and tipped off the authorities.
He was found with a three-page manifesto, a ghost gun – a homemade firearm – and a silencer. He also had his passport and the fake ID the suspect used to check in at a hostel on Manhattan’s Upper West Side.
He was wearing clothing that matched the suspect. His manifesto showed he had “ill will towards corporate America” and is said to have listed grievances with the healthcare industry.
Luigi Mangione was carrying a weapon and ‘multiple fraudulent IDs’, say police – UNPIXS
Jessica Tisch, New York police department commissioner, said Mr Mangione is believed to be “our person of interest”.
What remains unclear is how Mr Mangione’s life of privilege led him to be accused of the cold-eyed murder of Brian Thompson, the chief executive of UnitedHealthcare.
Mr Mangione grew up in Maryland and comes from a prominent family whose businesses include a country club and nursing homes, it has been reported.
The branch of McDonald’s where Mr Mangione was arrested – CAMERON CROSTON/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock
They also owned a conservative radio station, while a cousin, Nino Mangione, is an elected member of the Maryland House of Delegates.
His family’s business interests, as well as its charity work, make it a well-known name in Baltimore, according to The New York Times.
As a high-achieving mathematical talent with family connections, Mr Mangione appeared set to make his mark on the world.
In one social media post, he said he used to get “bummed out” in maths class because “all the low-hanging fruit has been solved before I was born”.
Fox News
He added he was now grateful for his “21st-century education” and he would focus on issues including “evolutionary psychology, primitive neuroscience, and information networks”.
After becoming valedictorian, Mr Mangione went on to study computer science at the University of Pennsylvania, one of the most prestigious universities in America.
A friend at the school described him as being a “super normal” and “smart person”.
The university said a person named Luigi Mangione graduated in 2020 with a master of science in engineering, majoring in computer and information science.
Social Media | X/@CollinRugg
Stanford University also said a person by the same name was employed as a head counsellor under the Stanford Pre-Collegiate Studies programme between May and September of 2019.
Mr Mangione went on to work as a data engineer for TrueCar living in California and later Honolulu, Hawaii, according to his LinkedIn.
His online persona shows him as an outgoing young man. He’s seen posing shirtless on a beach, hanging out with friends and family, or kicking back in his sunglasses – often smiling broadly for the camera.
But dig deeper, and his online activity paints another picture.
Mr Mangione is a high-achieving mathematical talent with family connections
Social media photos paint a picture of a happy and sociable man
According to his Goodreads account, Mr Mangione was sympathetic towards Ted Kaczynski, the Unabomber, who he described as a “mathematical prodigy”.
In his review of Industrial Society and Its Future, also known as the Unabomber Manifesto, Mr Mangione wrote: “It’s easy to quickly and thoughtless[ly] 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.
“He was a violent individual – rightfully imprisoned – who maimed innocent people. While these actions tend to be characterised as those of a crazy Luddite, however, they are more accurately seen as those of an extreme political revolutionary.”
Mr Mangione went on to share an online take he said was “interesting”, which read: “When all other forms of communication fail, violence is necessary to survive. You may not like his methods, but to see things from his perspective, it’s not terrorism, it’s war and revolution.”
Mr Mangione, seen here in a police cell following his arrest, was sympathetic towards Unabomber Ted Kaczynski
It went on to criticise fossil fuel companies, adding: “They have zero qualms about burning down the planet for a buck, so why should we have any qualms about burning them down to survive?
“We’re animals just like everything else on this planet, except we’ve forgotten the law of the jungle and bend over for our overlords when any other animal would recognise the threat and fight to the death for their survival. ‘Violence never solved anything’ is a statement uttered by cowards and predators.”
Mr Mangione’s social media accounts are filled with comments about the state of society and mental health.
In one post on X, formerly Twitter, he shared an analysis of the declining birth rate in Japan, criticising sex toys which he described as “custom pornstar pocket p—–” and maid cafes where “lonely salarymen pay young girls to dress as anime characters and perform anime dances for them”.
Mr Mangione reposted comments about a book titled The Anxious Generation and the impact of “seasonal and circadian rhythms” on mental health.
It has been reported that Mr Mangione’s family owns businesses including a country club and nursing homes
X posts from two years ago include critiques of artificial intelligence, reposts of commentaries against diversity, equity and inclusion programs, and remarks on how smartphones harm children and the damage caused by commercial agriculture.
A 2022 post discusses his senior high school speech on topics ranging from AI to human immortality. The posts seem to question some of the technology Mr Mangione appeared in awe of in high school.
A banner on Mr Mangione’s X page, which says he lives in Honolulu, includes an X-ray image of what appears to be screws and plates inserted into someone’s lower back.
It is still unclear what led to the assassination of health insurance boss Brian Thompson
Grievances with the healthcare industry is one key line of inquiry on account of the victim of the shooting being a prominent health insurance executive.
But it is still unclear what set Mr Mangione on the path that led to his arrest on Monday.
The New York Times reports that he inexplicably stopped communicating with his friends and family six months ago. Friends, the publication reports, said he had been suffering from a painful back injury before going dark.
Those six months will likely form a key part of the investigation as police try and piece together a motive for his alleged crime.