‘It’s unimaginable’: A ‘heinous’ event drove alleged CEO shooter Luigi Mangione to become ‘absolutely crazy’

We officially have a lead suspect in the killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, and the public isn’t sure what to think. In the space of a week, the man now identified as Luigi Mangione became a national hero, and news of his capture is dividing the public.

Mangione was arrested at a Pennsylvania McDonald’s on Monday, Dec. 9, less than a week after Thompson was gunned down outside of his Manhattan hotel. His arrest is already being decried by the outraged general public, the bulk of which is in surprising support of the gunman. After decades of enduring a brutal wealth gap and the mind-bogglingly evil actions of our upper-level healthcare executives, there’s a large swathe of America who thinks Mangione had the right idea.

As such, news of his arrest and charges has led to backlash from the general public. That was only worsened when further details emerged, and helped shed light on Mangione’s potential motivations. The unfairly attractive 26-year-old reportedly underwent a major personality shift following surgery on his back, but longtime friends and acquaintances still struggle to understand how he could commit an act of such brazen violence.

Mangione was reportedly a brilliant and capable young man, pursuing numerous hobbies and professional interests ahead of his medical hurdles. Despite his young age, unfortunately, Mangione began suffering from back pain several years ago, and it seems the chronic issue may have been the root of his resentment toward the high-level healthcare community.

After suffering from frequent back issues for at least a few years, Mangione underwent spinal surgery in 2023, and shared pictures show a gristly sight. Screws were placed into his lower spine, based on X-rays shared by the 26-year-old on social media, but it seems they didn’t lessen his pain. Instead, that surgery seems to be the turning point that may have made a killer.

Mangione’s friends and family remain in disbelief over the slaying of Thompson, citing Mangione’s friendly and affable personality. Numerous perspectives express shock over the slaying, with the 26-year-old’s former roommate stating that he “can make zero sense of it.”

“I am flabbergasted,” a colleague of Mangione’s added, noting that they “never got the impression he would self-destruct.”

In the months leading up to Thompson’s slaying, Mangione reportedly became withdrawn from his friends and family. Minor aspects of his internet history point toward a worsening mental state and a shrinking patience for the manipulations of the broken American healthcare system, as the University of Pennsylvania graduate disappeared into his pain. He had several books related to chronic back pain on his Goodreads list, and Reddit posts linked back to Mangione shed a minor light on the mental and physical state of the alleged shooter in the months leading up to his arrest.

Those were paired with Mangione’s praise of the Unabomber manifesto and stories from his peers, who point to his medical issues as a clear motivation for the attack. The aftermath of his surgery, which one friend called “heinous,” — “with just giant screws going into his spine,” — seems to have been the turning point for Mangione, who became so fed-up with the state of the U.S. healthcare system that he took matters into his own hands.