Man arrested for killing Brian Thompson!
New York, Dec 9 (EFE).-
A 26-year-old man was arrested Monday at a McDonald’s restaurant in Pennsylvania after six days of intense search for the murder of UnitedHealthcare insurance company CEO Brian Thompson in broad daylight in New York.
Authorities said Luigi Mangione was the suspect who appeared unmasked and smiling in a photo widely distributed by New York police while speaking to a receptionist at a hostel days before shooting Thompson in the back.
Mangione was charged in Pennsylvania with five crimes related to weapons possession and identity theft, and later with first-degree murder in New York, amid a “a mountain of evidence,” including a manifesto-type writing and a weapon compatible with the crime.
Authorities said Mangione was carrying a weapon capable of firing nine-millimeter bullets and with a silencer that could have been made with a 3D printer, and a handwritten document that contained “animosity toward corporate America.”
Although the motive for the crime has not been determined, the suspect left at the scene three bullet casings inscribed with the words “delay,” “defend” and “depose,” a possible reference to the common strategy used by health insurers to deny claims.
That was all that was known since he went missing on Dec. 4 at a bus station less than an hour after he shot Thompson at about 7am outside a midtown Manhattan hotel and fled on an electric bike to Central Park.
Lt. Col. George Bivens of the Pennsylvania Police said Monday, after Mangione was formally charged before a judge, that the man had been in that state for several days and that the investigation is focusing on following him and determining if he had an accomplice.
Mangione is being held without bail, and during the court hearing did not comment on his guilt but said he was unaware of two allegations by prosecutors: that he was carrying about $8,000 in cash and that his backpack is capable of blocking the cellular network, according to CNN.
When the suspect’s identity was revealed, his social media accounts amassed thousands of followers and comments, and were scrutinized by the public in search of answers, while his Instagram and Facebook accounts were suspended.
Some noticed his profile on the reading network Goodreads, which lists his praise of the manifesto of American extremist Theodore Kaczynski, better known as the “Unabomber,” whom he describes as an “extreme political revolutionary.”
The crime sparked an unexpected reaction from society, which has taken to social media to express sympathy for the suspect and even mock the victim as part of its criticism of the lucrative practices of the country’s health insurers.
Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro said the accused “is a coward, not a hero,” and made a comparison with the attempted assassination of future President Donald Trump in a campaign to claim that violence should not be used to address political or ideological issues.
A UnitedHealthcare spokesman said Monday that the company hopes the arrest, which occurred precisely on the day of the victim’s funeral, “will give some relief to Brian’s family, friends and colleagues and to many others affected by this unspeakable tragedy.”
Mangione’s family, through a statement from their cousin Nino Mangione, a Republican congressman, said they were “shocked and devastated” by the news, offered their condolences to Thompson’s family and asked for prayers “for all those involved.” EFE
nqs/lds
