美國最大醫保公司聯合健康保險（UnitedHealthcare）的行政總裁湯普森（Brian Thompson）數天前在紐約街頭被槍殺，26歲疑兇周一在賓夕凡尼亞州的一間麥當勞被捕，當時攜有一把裝有消音器的3D打印手槍，以及一份譴責美國醫療保險行業的文件。他患有慢性痛症，出身長春藤名校賓夕凡尼亞大學，反資本主義，據稱對「企業懷有惡意」。他被紐約檢方落案控以謀殺罪。
湯普森12月4日早上在紐約曼哈頓一間酒店外的街上，遭一名蒙面槍手槍擊身亡。疑兇曼焦內（Luigi Mangione）周一早上在布萊爾縣阿爾圖納市一間麥當勞用餐時，一客人與一員工認為他與槍手長得很像而報警。他當時戴上口罩獨自坐着，還帶有手提電腦與和背包。
快餐店落網 被控謀殺罪
2名警員問曼焦內最近是否曾去紐約，曼焦內開始發抖並且靜默。警員搜查他的背包時，發現一把裝有彈匣與消音器的黑色「幽靈槍」（自行組裝、沒有登記）、多張偽造身份證與一本美國護照。警官稱，他還持有一份譴責美國醫療保險行業的文件。據稱手寫文件的內容說明曼焦內的「動機與心態」，雖沒提及具體目標，但曼焦內的確「對美國企業懷有惡意」。
曼焦內是一名學霸，2020年在長春藤名校賓州大學獲得雙工程學位。據一名精通骨科的醫生說，曼焦內的X帳號上一張照片，似乎是腰椎融合手術的背部X光照。書評網站Goodreads個人資料顯示，他一直在看有關背痛的書籍。他2022年曾在夏威夷一幢大廈居住，該大廈的發言人說，慢性痛症影響了他的全部生活，不能享受浪漫生活也不能滑浪。據警方初步調查，曼焦內出身富裕家庭，卻帶有反資本主義傾向。
患慢性痛症 家境富裕
今年1月，他在Goodreads寫了一篇文章，評論已故數學家兼美國無政府主義者卡辛斯基所寫的「大學炸彈客宣言」，說：「當所有其他形式的溝通都徒勞無功，暴力是生存的必要手段……從他的角度來看，這不是恐怖主義，而是戰爭和革命。」
Suspect in CEO shooting to plead not guilty and fight extradition, lawyer says
Suspect shouted outside court before hearing where he was denied bail
The suspect in the shooting death of the UnitedHealthcare CEO, Brian Thompson, shouted: “This is completely out of touch and an insult to the intelligence of the American people” on Tuesday before he fought being extradited from Pennsylvania to face murder charges in New York.
During the hearing, Luigi Mangione was denied bail, meaning he will return to custody at Pennsylvania’s Huntingdon state correctional institution while navigating the process to contest extradition, which could take days – if not a month or more, as the New York Times noted.
Kathy Hochul, the governor of New York, said in a statement that she will sign the Manhattan district attorney’s request for a governor’s warrant to force an extradition “to ensure this individual is tried and held accountable”.
Mangione, 26, appeared for the proceeding in handcuffs and an orange prison jumpsuit, and video showed him yelling as police led him into the courthouse. Not all of what he shouted was immediately intelligible.
Defense attorney Thomas Dickey, who is representing Mangione, said outside the courthouse that he would be challenging his client’s imprisonment by filing a petition for a writ of habeas corpus, according to the New York Times. The judge gave him 14 days to challenge the detention.
Luigi Mangione's lawyer says he is 'contesting extradition' – video
In an interview with CNN following Mangione’s extradition hearing, Dickey added his client will be pleading not guilty to the charges he faces in Pennsylvania.
Mangione was arrested on Monday at a McDonald’s restaurant in Altoona, Pennsylvania, in connection with Thompson’s killing outside a Manhattan hotel hosting a meeting of investors in the CEO’s company.
The authorities in Pennsylvania detained him after he was recognized by a local person from photographs released by New York police investigating the murder.
Police found Mangione with a firearm suppressor, a mask like the gunman’s, a fake New Jersey ID matching the one the police say the gunman used to check into a New York City hostel before the shooting, and a handwritten document, according to New York authorities.
On Monday night, Mangione was charged with second-degree murder, forgery and three gun charges by prosecutors in New York, following his arraignment at the Blair county courthouse in Altoona, Pennsylvania, where he faces separate charges of carrying a gun without a license, forgery, falsely identifying himself to the authorities and possessing “instruments of crime”.
During the arraignment hearing on Monday, the judge asked Mangione if he understood the charges against him, and he said he did. No plea was entered and he was denied bail.
As detectives begin piecing together Mangione’s history, one area of focus has been the chronic back problems that he appears to have suffered since childhood.
Investigators could explore whether Mangione was denied insurance coverage for his condition.
Family of suspect in UnitedHealthcare CEO’s killing reported him missing after back surgery
He also appears to have withdrawn from social connections months earlier, prompting one to write on social media: “I don’t know if you are ok or just in a super isolated place … but I haven’t heard from you in months.”
The Mangione family released a statement on Monday evening, stating that the family was “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,” they added.
Among other things, Mangione is entitled to an evidentiary hearing in Pennsylvania after his decision to fight extradition. Prosecutors will also have to summon at least one witness, which could give the public a closer look at the case that it otherwise may not receive.
As also noted by the New York Times, the office of the New York governor, Kathy Hochul, will be required to submit what is known as a governor’s warrant to her Pennsylvania counterpart Josh Shapiro to formally request extradition before the process begins in earnest.
Peter Weeks, the district attorney in Blair county, Pennsylvania, said that his office would be prepared for when a judge schedules a hearing “to do what’s necessary” to get Mangione to New York, according to CNN.
“We do not intend to delay this defendant’s extradition to New York and we certainly – we’ve indicated to New York, their prosecution should take precedence, and then ours will follow,” Weeks told reporters after the extradition hearing on Tuesday.
