Brian Thompson, the CEO of the American health insurance company UnitedHealthcare, was shot and killed in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, on Dec. 4, 2024. 26-year-old Luigi Mangione has been charged with stalking Thompson and his murder.
Thompson, who lived in Maple Grove, Minnesota, became CEO of UnitedHealthcare in April of 2021. He spent over 20 years at the company, which employs about 140,000 people. Under his leadership, the company’s initial profits rose to over $16 billion in 2023 from $12 billion.
Mangione, on the other hand, was born and raised in Maryland and has most recently lived in Honolulu. He graduated from the University of Pennsylvania in 2020 with a master’s degree in engineering. According to posts from 2023 on Mangione’s Reddit account, he has suffered a long series of life-altering health problems; this includes struggling with “brain fog” as well as back pain that worsened until his surgery in the same year.
Mangione appears to have arrived in Manhattan 10 days before the shooting, on Nov. 24. The shooting occurred early, around 6:45 A.M., on Dec. 4 as Thompson arrived at a Hilton hotel on West 54th Street to prepare for a UnitedHealthcare investors’ day gathering.
The killer, according to images released by the police and security camera footage, appeared to be a man wearing a dark hooded jacket, a gray backpack, and a mask covering the bottom of his face.
Knowing which door Thompson planned to use, the shooter arrived outside the hotel about 10 minutes before Thompson, where he lay in wait. As Thompson walked toward the hotel entrance, the gunman approached him from behind and fired at least three shots with a pistol that appeared to be fitted with a silencer.
Struck by the bullets, Thompson took several steps, turned to face his assailant, and then collapsed on the sidewalk. With his victim crumpled against a wall, the attacker walked toward him slowly. He seemed to point the gun at Thompson one more time, then walked away. He began to run only as he was crossing the street. The suspect got on a bicycle, rode into Central Park, exited the park, and hailed a taxi on the Upper West Side, NYPD said.
Mangione was captured on Dec. 9 after a tip from an employee at a McDonald’s in Altoona, Pennsylvania, who was alerted by a customer who recognized him as the suspect. Mangione was heard yelling to the press about “an insult to the intelligence of the American people,” as he was physically dragged into a Pennsylvania courthouse.
The reaction to Thompson’s death and Mangione’s arrest have captivated America. Many people across the internet have polarized thoughts and opinions. According to Emerson College Polling, 41 percent of people aged 18-29 view the CEO killing as “acceptable,” while people 65 and older view Mangione as unfavorable 15-to-1. The Emerson poll also found a partisan split and a small gender gap among respondents: “22 percent of Democrats found the killer’s actions acceptable, while 59 percent found them unacceptable. Among Republicans, 12 percent found the actions acceptable while 16 percent of independents said the same.” In an interesting gender-related statistic, “men (19 percent) found the killer’s actions slightly more acceptable than women (14 percent).”
After Thompson’s death, social media users (mainly from TikTok, Instagram, X, and Reddit) “raged against health insurers, with posters lashing out over coverage denials and other business practices,” as Axios reports. Online storefronts began selling merchandise written with “deny,” “defend,” and “depose,” industry parlance found on shell casings at the crime scene.
The only thing to be done now is what Americans across the country are already doing: waiting until Feb. 21, 2025, when his next appearance in state court is scheduled.
Works Cited
Daher, Natalie. “41% of Young Voters Say UnitedHealthcare CEO Killing ‘Acceptable’: Poll.” Axios, 17 Dec. 2024, www.axios.com/2024/12/17/united-healthcare-ceo-killing-poll.
Maag, Christopher, et al. “UnitedHealthcare CEO Shooting: What We Know about Brian Thompson’s Killing.” The New York Times, 4 Dec. 2024, www.nytimes.com/2024/12/06/nyregion/unitedhealthcare-brian-thompson-shooting.html.
Kramer, Marcia, and Tim McNicholas. “Luigi Mangione’s Motive for Allegedly Killing UnitedHealthcare’s CEO Is Coming into Focus, NYPD Says.” Cbsnews.com, CBS New York, 11 Dec. 2024, www.cbsnews.com/newyork/news/unitedhealthcare-ceo-murder-luigi-mangione-motive-nypd/.
Katersky, Aaron, and Emily Shapiro. “UnitedHealthcare CEO Killing Latest: Luigi Mangione Had “Written Admissions about the Crime” When Arrested.” ABC News, 10 Dec. 2024, abcnews.go.com/US/luigi-mangione-charged-murder/story?id=116623608.
Sundby, Alex, et al. “What We Know about Luigi Mangione, Suspect Charged in UnitedHealthcare CEO’s Killing.” Cbsnews.com, CBS News, 9 Dec. 2024, www.cbsnews.com/news/luigi-mangione-healthcare-ceo-shooting-what-we-know/.
“Court Proceedings for Luigi Mangione in UnitedHealthcare CEO Killing Delayed Several Weeks.” NBC New York, 7 Jan. 2025, www.nbcnewyork.com/manhattan/luigi-mangione-unitedhealthcare-ceo-killing-court-delayed/6096340/.
Press, Associated, and Lea Skene. “Back Trouble and Brain Fog Bothered Suspect in UnitedHealthcare CEO Killing, His Posts Show.” WHYY, 13 Dec. 2024, whyy.org/articles/unitedhealthcare-luigi-mangione-back-pain/.
SKENE, LEA. “Back Trouble and Brain Fog Bothered Suspect in UnitedHealthcare CEO Killing, His Posts Show.” KSBW, 13 Dec. 2024, www.ksbw.com/article/luigi-mangione-spinal-surgery-arrest/63176726.
