There’s one key reason why Luigi Mangione didn’t use a bomb to kill UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson

If you have not been living under a rock – if you have been, no judgment, there are a few reasons one might choose to hibernate if possible right now – you have likely heard of the shooting death of United Healthcare CEO Brian Thompson, and you might also know that 26-year-old Luigi Mangione has been charged as the main suspect behind it.

If you, like countless others, have gone deep down this case’s rabbit hole online, in other words, came across any comment section with netizens sounding out their strong opinions, you may also have become aware that people’s views are tipped unusually for a criminal case that involves murder. But this is everything but your average murder case, even the amount of effort law enforcement put into catching the alleged shooter has been put under scrutiny – arguably for very fair reasons that include class inequality.

Class and income inequality may have been, at least in small part, one of the surely few underlying reasons that prompted the suspected killer to take this extreme course of action that ended with one life lost, many more upended, possibly forever, and, potentially, decades or even life behind bars.

Now, a media report has a few netizens wondering whether Mangione, an engineer and Ivy League alum, could have planned to take his crime up a notch in terms of collateral, and consciously chose not to.

Is Mangione “A vigilante with morals?”

On Wednesday, December 12, TMZ published an article claiming to have gained access to law enforcement sources who revealed how investigators uncovered a notebook containing a to-do list of steps to take to bring his unlawful plan to fruition. According to the outlet, Mangione allegedly pondered on what it would be like to kill his target “at his own bean counting conference,” but was ultimately dissuaded from using a bomb because he was conscious such a method could result in civilian casualties.

From what we know of his Goodreads account, Mangione had left a four-star review on the Unabomber’s manifesto which offered a little of bit insight into the nuances of his mindset and motivation. One of the review’s passages read:

“It’s easy to quickly and thoughtlessly 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 characterized as those of a crazy luddite, however, they are more accurately seen as those of an extreme political revolutionary.”

The manifesto that was found on Mangione when he was apprehended by authorities also sheds a bit more light on what could have driven someone to this murderous extreme. In it, the suspect apologized “for any strife or traumas,” but added that “it had to be done.” He also ranted against the state of the healthcare system, saying that powerful corporate businessmen like Brian Thompson “continue to abuse our country for immense profit because the American public has allowed them to get away with it.” The document’s final sentences read, “It is not an issue of awareness at this point, but clearly power games at play. Evidently, I am the first to face it with such brutal honesty.”

Also evidently, and for better or worse, this murder case has ignited a much-needed discourse on the current state of the American healthcare system. At the end of the day, whether you commend, condemn, or sit on the fence, there is no denying the discussion and debate that this crime has incited.