Before allegedly shooting and killing the controversial healthcare company CEO last Wednesday (December 4), Mangione reportedly maintained an active social media presence, posting smiling photographs from his travels, sharing his weightlifting routine, and discussing the health challenges he faced.
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Luigi Mangione was charged in the fatal shooting of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson
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He publicly kept track of nearly 300 books he had read or wanted to read, even posting a favorable review of the Unabomber manifesto on a book website,CNNreported on Monday (December 9).
He also shared an interest in books about back pain likeCrooked: Outwittingthe Back Pain IndustryandBack Mechanic.
However, during the summer, Mangione appeared to stop posting online, prompting worried messages from some of his friends.
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“Nobody has heard from you in months, and apparently your family is looking for you,” a person posted on X (formerly known as Twitter) in October, tagging an account belonging to Mangione.
“I don’t know if you are okay,” someone else penned, according toCNN.
The suspect graduated from the prestigious Gilman School, an all-boys institution that is known as one of Baltimore’s toniest private schools, where he was the high school valedictorian in 2016,CNNreported.
In his valedictorian speech, Mangione praised his classmates for “coming up with new ideas and challenging the world.”
Mangione’s arrest left those who knew him grappling with disbelief
Image credits:Surfbreak Co-Living
He exclaimed at the time: “To the class of 2016, a kind of class that only comes around once every 50 years, it’s been an incredible journey, and I simply can’t imagine the last few years with any other group of guys.”
According to his LinkedIn profile, Mangione graduated from the University of Pennsylvania with a Bachelor’s degree in science engineering, and then, from the same university, with a Master’s degree in the same discipline.
He was also a part-time teaching assistant and a head counselor in artificial intelligence at the University of Pennsylvania.
Mangione went on to work as a data engineer for four years at TrueCar, an automotive pricing and digital retailing website for new and used car buyers.
The ex-classmate further revealed: “He spoke at our graduation. Every year, they have somebody who’s, you know, exceeds academically, and […] they have them speak in front of our high school, and it’s weird saying it, but he was that person that we chose to speak.”
Wey, who didn’t recognize his old high school buddy at first fromthe initial surveillance footage released to the public, said that he was left shaken upon learning the suspect’s identity.
Image credits:Rick Anderson
“My initial reactions were just shock, surprise, and I just would never expect someone who went to our school to, you know, be involved in this, so it was just shock, really, I’m still shocked.”
While Wey said they had occasionally kept in touch via Instagram, he hadn’t made real-life contact with Mangione for at least four years.
Another classmate, who asked to remain anonymous, claimed Mangione was “brilliant-minded” and “very popular” in high school.
A former Gilman School classmate, Corey Wey, revealed that Mangione was seen as a “leader”
Image credits:FOX 10 Phoenix
They toldNews Nationon Monday: “He was the valedictorian of our high school, but he didn’t put in much effort at all.
“He would sit there in class, not study after school, and aced the tests.”
They continued: “[Mangione] was an extraordinary mind. He was a very popular person in the class.”
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“Had a lot of friends. It’s just shocking that he would commit such a heinous act.”
“We offer our prayers to the family of Brian Thompson and we ask people to pray for all involved,” the statement said, as perCNN.
Mangione was once celebrated as a brilliant high school valedictorian
Image credits:PepMangione
In recent years, Mangione suffered from troubling back pain and underwent surgery to treat it, according to a friend and his online postings.
Since his arrest on Monday, Mangione’s family and friends have been left stunned. “I can make zero sense of it,” said R.J. Martin, who lived with Mangione a few years ago at Surfbreak, a Hawaii co-living space.
Martin reportedly remembered Mangione as being friendly and thoughtful, adding: “It’s unimaginable.”
Around 2022, Mangione moved to Hawaii, where he lived for about six months at a co-working and co-living space in Honolulu, Martin toldCNN. At the time, Mangione was working remotely, Martin said.
Mangione helped lead a book club for residents and liked going hiking and doing yoga, Martin, the founder of the co-living space, said.
While residents sometimes discussedcapitalism and the health care system, “it wasn’t like he had an ax to grind or he was even upset or angry about a particular issue,” Martin said, as perCNN.
Mangione appeared to stop posting online, prompting worried messages from some of his friends
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Martin reportedly didn’t remember Mangione ever talking about guns or violence. According to Martin, soon after Mangione moved to Hawaii, he took a surfing lesson and ended up “in bed for about a week” with back pain.
Martin told the American broadcaster: “It was really traumatic and difficult, you know, when you’re in your early twenties and you can’t, you know, do some basic things.”
Mangione reportedly told Martin that he had undergone back surgery and sent him a photo of his X-ray that “looked heinous, with just giant screws going into his spine.”
Another friend from Hawaii recalled Mangione as a natural leader. Jackie Wexler, a food technologist in New York who used to live with Mangione at Surfbreak, toldMaryland Matterson Monday: “He was just such a thoughtful and deeply compassionate person at everything he did.”
Wexler had attended the University of Pennsylvania with Mangione but didn’t become friends with him until they were both living on Oahu at Surfbreak.
The 26-year-old is currently being held without bail at the State Correctional Institution in Huntingdon under maximum custody
Image credits:CorrectionsPA
“I was roommates with him,” Martin also said. “Unfathomable, knowing the kind of person that I saw and knew.”
Martin continued: “He was a very thoughtful person, had good relationships with everyone.
“He was even, in some ways, a bit of a leader.”
They recalled Mangione having recently read Yuval Noah Harari’sSapiens: A Brief History of Humankindand being enthusiastic about sharing ideas with friends.
Mangione, who had no significant criminal history aside from a minor trespassing citation in Hawaii last year, went silent in June or July, after reportedly undergoing surgery.
Posts from a now-deleted Reddit account, likely linked to Mangione, revealed long-term struggles with spondylolisthesis, a slip of one of the spinal vertebrae.
Mangione helped lead a book club for residents in Hawaii
Image credits:The Sun
The condition seemingly worsened after the surfing accident in 2023 that caused severe back pain and numbness, eventually requiring surgery.
The Redditor also described dealing with Lyme disease and debilitating brain fog that began during his college fraternity days, negatively affecting his academic performance.
A University of Pennsylvania spokesperson confirmed that Mangione was a member of the Phi Kappa Psi fraternity.
Image credits:G_S_Bhogal
The Redditor, believed to be Mangione, expressedfrustration over the lack of medical understanding and supportfor these issues, describing the symptoms as isolating and life-altering.
Mangione’s close friend, Tracy Le, also spoke out, calling him caring, considerate, and one of her most trusted confidants.
She wrote in an Instagram Story, according toThe Sun USon Monday: “Luigi Mangione is probably the most googled keyword today.
“When I first saw the news, I was hoping it was just either a common name or a mistake. Because it was, for a while, the only name whose FaceTime calls I would pick up.”
Mangione reportedly faces multiple charges, including murder and weapons possession
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“Luigi was one of my best, closest and most trusted friends. He was absolutely #1 in my group chat named ‘Tracey’s favorites.’
“He was whom I always came to for identity crisis rants, relationship problems, career complaints. And always left feeling better.”
Le continued: “He was caring, and smart, and mature, and sweet, and so considerate. I would visit him and always 100% depended on him to plan the trips and always 100% believed we would have the best time.”
She concluded: “I am shaken, I am blindsided, but most of all I, am sad. I am heartbroken. I am overwhelmed.”
Additionally, a former colleague of Mangione who worked with him as a counselor at a Stanford University summer program during his college years described him as outgoing and socially charming.
“I am flabbergasted,” the colleague said, asking not to be named because of the sensitivity of the news. “I never got the impression he would self-destruct.”
Alejandro Romero, who attended the University of Pennsylvania with Mangione and was a member of the same Discord group, said he was shocked when news broke on social media that Mangione had been taken into police custody,NBC Newsreported.
“He just fit a mold,” Romero said. “He just seemed like any other normal frat dude that you could see at a frat party.”
Mangione reportedly maintained an active social media presence
Mangione was arrested on Monday in Altoona, Pennsylvania after aMcDonald’s employeeidentified him as the suspected gunman inthe murder of Thompson.
The 26-year-old is currently being held without bail at the State Correctional Institution Huntingdon under maximum custody, with no incidents reported during his first night,CNNreported.
Mangione reportedly faces multiple charges, including murder and weapons possession, following afive-day manhunt that has drawn global attention.
Mangione’s arrest has sparked heated debates on social media
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