Luigi Mangione was charged in the fatal shooting of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson in Midtown Manhattan, New York, USA. Once celebrated as a brilliant valedictorian and software engineer, Mangione’s recent life has been marked by chronic health struggles and an online presence that went silent this summer, leaving friends and family alarmed. Now in custody in Pennsylvania, Mangione’s arrest left those who knew him grappling with disbelief.

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.

Luigi Mangione was charged in the fatal shooting of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson

Image credits: SyeClops

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, CNN reported on Monday (December 9).

Mangione’s favorite books on Goodreads included a mix of thought-provoking books like The Lorax by Dr. Seuss, Brave New World by Aldous Huxley, Sapiens by Yuval Noah Harari, and The Omnivore’s Dilemma by Michael Pollan. 

He also shared an interest in books about back pain like Crooked: Outwitting the Back Pain Industry and Back Mechanic.

However, during the summer, Mangione appeared to stop posting online, prompting worried messages from some of his friends.

Image credits: CNN

“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 to CNN.

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, CNN reported.

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.”

Former Gilman School classmate, Corey Wey, revealed that Mangione was seen as a “leader” by his peers, and partook in many clubs in addition to playing soccer and baseball.

Wey told FOX 10 on Monday: “Everyone just knew him as like a quiet reserved nice kid and he was obviously really intelligent and everybody can tell that by his resume.”

Image credits: Surfbreak Co-Living

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.

While an undergrad, the suspect worked as an intern on the team for the video game Civilization VI, where he helped improve the user experience by fixing over 300 issues with the game’s interface.

He was also a part-time teaching assistant and a head counselor in artificial intelligence at the University of Pennsylvania.

Mangione’s recent life was marked by chronic health struggles 

Image credits: SyeClops

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 from the 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 told News Nation on 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.”

Image credits: lukewgoldstein

“Had a lot of friends. It’s just shocking that he would commit such a heinous act.”

Mangione is the cousin of Maryland State Delegate Nino Mangione. In a statement released by N. Mangione’s office, the family said they are “shocked and devastated by Luigi’s arrest.”

“We offer our prayers to the family of Brian Thompson and we ask people to pray for all involved,” the statement said, as per CNN.

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.”

Image credits: CNN

Around 2022, Mangione moved to Hawaii, where he lived for about six months at a co-working and co-living space in Honolulu, Martin told CNN.  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 discussed capitalism 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 per CNN. 

Mangione appeared to stop posting online, prompting worried messages from some of his friends

Image credits: MaxNordau

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.”

Image credits: CNN

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, told Maryland Matters on 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. 

Surfbreak residents are expected to contribute to the community, and Mangione played a role by founding the book club with Wexler and Martin, Maryland Matters reported.

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.”

Image credits: SyeClops

They recalled Mangione having recently read Yuval Noah Harari’s Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind and 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, expressed frustration over the lack of medical understanding and support for 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 to The Sun US on 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

Image credits: NewsNation

“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.”

Image credits: WBAL-TV 11 Baltimore

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 News reported.

“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

Image credits: FOX 10 Phoenix

Mangione was arrested on Monday in Altoona, Pennsylvania after a McDonald’s employee identified him as the suspected gunman in the 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, CNN reported. 

Authorities have reportedly recovered a ghost gun with a silencer, fraudulent IDs, and a handwritten document expressing disdain for corporate America, and they continue to investigate Mangione’s movements and possible accomplices. 

Mangione reportedly faces multiple charges, including murder and weapons possession, following a five-day manhunt that has drawn global attention.

Mangione’s arrest has sparked heated debates on social media

Anyone can write on Bored Panda. Start writing!

Follow Bored Panda on Google News!

Follow us on Flipboard.com/@boredpanda!