In Altoona, a Pennsylvania town of just 44,000, there’s a McDonald’s chain restaurant that, within hours, saw its online profile flooded with negative reviews and one-star ratings. In response to the flood of criticism, Google itself intervened to delete the comments; He is convinced that this place is suffering from “comment bombing”, literally a deliberate and planned “bombardment” of falsehoods. comments.

What happened to a hamburger restaurant in the United States wouldn’t be so interesting if it weren’t for the McDonald’s in Altoona where the police made the arrest. Luigi MangioneA 26-year-old man is suspected of shooting to death the powerful CEO of the ultra-powerful insurance company UnitedHealthCare.

Agents located Mangione, thanks to a tip from a McDonald’s employee and the fanfare created around the gunman last week, and did the rest: a powerful and swift “investigation bombing” that showed Mangione’s promise was more than just a murder case.

Name: Luigi Mangione

Until yesterday, Luigi Mangione was one of millions of young people in the United States living an anonymous life away from the spotlight. Until yesterday, it was just before an employee of the McDonald’s in Altoona called 911 to notify agents of a disturbing similarity between one of her customers (Mangione) and the alleged murderer’s photos that had been circulating for days. brian thompsonHe is the CEO of UnitedHeathcare, one of the largest insurance companies on the planet.

The case became one of the most covered cases in the media not only at the end of the year, but throughout 2024. Very briefly, in the early hours of Wednesday morning, the 4th, a gunman shot and killed Thompson at the door. A hotel in New York. He did this coolly and coolly. ghost gun, It is impossible to trace a weapon made up of parts, said to be a homemade gun produced with a 3D printer.

Little was known about the killer. appearance.

More precisely, how he dressed during his time in New York, and some of the loose features of his face were temporarily captured by several security cameras. It wasn’t much, but it helped agents reach Mangione, who was suspected of ending Thompson’s life.

When agents located him, they found the young man carrying a handgun, a silencer, and forged documents (the same document the man identified as the alleged killer had used to stay in Manhattan weeks earlier). a manifesto It’s short, three pages, and is very critical of insurance companies.

Mangione was arrested in Altoona for forgery of documents and possession of a firearm. Officially, investigators considered him a “person of major interest” in Thompson’s murder; but the BBC notes that he has already been accused of being behind the shooting.

Fascinated by crime

Up to this point the chronicle more or less resembles that of many other events that have excited the imagination of screenwriters. true crime. The fact that news of the arrest was followed by “review bombing” suggests that something else was going on around Mangione: a kind of admiration (if not empathy or fascination) for the character and, above all, for the crime he allegedly committed in New York.

“In this place There are mice in the kitchen “This could make you sick and your insurance won’t cover it.” comments The incident that set off alarm bells at Google yesterday. Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro, a Democrat himself, was quick to speak out in an attempt to ease the attention surrounding Mangione: “In some dark corners this killer is being hailed as a hero. He is not. The real hero is the one who called him 911 at McDonald’s.”

But the truth is that there are those who see the young man as a “hero”. And even those who have taken to social media to publicly express their admiration.

If there was one thing that was clear the day Brian Thompson was murdered, it was that this would be a special crime. And not just for him modus operandi of his murderer. His position as an executive of one of the largest insurance companies meant that it would not take long for the incident to unleash anger on networks against the controversial private healthcare sector in the United States. Even before it was known whether the murder was motivated by personal or ideological reasons, networks focused on the latter.

“Today we mourn the death of United Healthcare CEO Briam Thompson, who was shot and killed… Wait, I’m sorry, today we mourn the 68,000 Americans who needlessly die every year at the hands of insurance company executives like Brian Thompson. become a billionaire“, Columbia School of Social Work professor Anthony Zenku tweeted hours after the murder.

There were also those who spoke out online to share their most traumatic experiences with insurance companies; Among them was a mother who described the obstacles UnitedHealthcare created for her at a pivotal moment: when she found herself in the hospital alone, about to give birth, and with an urgent need for surgery for her other son’s brain tumor.

Data about the incident was added to the history of the murder and the clues investigators collected about the gunman. industry billing insurers or the quality and cost of healthcare in the United States.

The newspaper ran the following headline: “Brian Thompson’s murder unleashes anger against healthcare industry.” Guard One day later, Saturday the 7th. Country He added an even more revealing piece of information: A UnitedHealthcare Facebook post about the murder of its executive racked up more than 23,000 celebratory emojis.

The case itself soon took on a clearly symbolic dimension. The day after the murder, police spoke of a “selective and planned attack” and said three words were “meticulously” written on the bullets found at the scene: Deny, Defend, Confess (deny, defend, and testify), a possible nod to insurance companies’ responses to their customers’ claims.

Two of these terms are actually part of the title of a book published in 2010 by Jay M. Feinman that addresses why companies don’t pay claims and how those affected can respond.

From his face to his name… and his story

It didn’t take long for the security camera footage to reveal which part of the face of Thompson’s alleged killer was revealed. And thanks to them, we now have a name: Mangiano. photos of his private life and touches its history. It turned out that he was 26 years old, came from a wealthy family in Maryland, where he was born and raised, and lived in Hawaii.

He was also a student at the University of Pennsylvania studying engineering and working on a car buying and selling website, although those in charge quickly announced that Mangione had stopped being part of the team last year. It is also known that he received an expensive education, was a successful student at the Gilman School, and was interested in video games.

Biographical details aside, what really attracted attention was their social media profiles. For example, on Goodreads, he gave four stars to ‘Industrial society and its future’, the work of Theodore John Kaczynski, better known as ‘The Unabomber’, and the sending of letter bombs between the 70s and 90s.

“It is easy to quickly and thoughtlessly dismiss this text as a madman’s manifesto to avoid confronting some of the troubling problems it describes,” Mangione wrote in his Goodreads review of the work. prophecy This led to many of his predictions about modern society.

The young man states: “He was a violent individual (rightly imprisoned) who maimed innocent people. Although these actions are often characterized as the actions of a Luddite madman, they are more accurately seen as the actions of an extreme political revolutionary.” in his assessment. Now both their studies and their family environment and friendships have attracted the attention of investigators and worldwide media focusing on the Thompson murder.

Specifically, there are two aspects currently in focus. First, supposedly young six months ago break off relationship with your friends and family. The second is a painful back problem, as told by an acquaintance recently. LuckIt looks like it changed his life.

But footage of Mangiore from the networks shows him how. an athletic young manHe is handsome and in enviable physical shape. In fact, in one of the most circulated photos since yesterday, taken from X, he poses shirtless, showing off his tanned, muscular torso and arms.

The fascination with which the Mangiore case began to spread This is not new either. The United States has left other infamous examples bordering on cult, such as Charles Manson, who became almost an idol in some circles, Ted Bundy or Chris Watts, who was said to have received letters from fans in prison.

Unlike many, Luigi Mangione is not a serial killer, just hours after his name (and photos) became public. Interest in your person and the appearance is especially felt on the networks.

An account created in April 2016 with your name and picture is already being added to X 315,200 followersThere were tens of thousands more people than just a few hours ago, and their feeds were filled with messages of support and even admiration. There are those who show tattoos with his hooded face, there are those who dedicate their montages to him, or those who dedicate themselves to shaking the world. hashtag #FreeLuigi will give him more visibility in the X.

For now, Altoona McDonald’s is leaving evidence of its impact.

Pictures | X

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