The Victim & The Suspected Shooter
On December 4, 2024, outside New York Hilton Midtown in Manhattan, New York, NY, CEO of UnitedHealthcare Brian Thompson, shot to death. Through sources and videos, it appears the shooter targeted Brian from behind when least expected. In Brian’s obituary, he was well-liked by his peers, friends, family, and anyone surrounded in his life before his fatal tragedy. Aged 50, a father of two, “Brian was an incredibly loving, generous, talented man who truly lived life to the fullest and touched so many lives,” said his wife, Paulette Thompson.
A Nation Man Hunt was dispatched and found a person of interest, Luigi Mangione. This 26-year-old, born and raised in Maryland, was at a McDonald’s in Altoona, Pennsylvania. One of the workers called in, and officers questioned Luigi Mangione. They found multiple fraudulent IDs, a 3D-printed gun with a silencer, and a U.S. passport. Police matched one of the fake IDs that the suspect used to check into a Manhattan Hostel before the shooting. Afterwards, they the suspect with charges of five counts in Pennsylvania for, forgery, unlicensed firearm, tampering with records or ID, and false identification to law enforcement. New York later charged him with murder on the night of his arrest.
Societal Outlook
People from across the internet are already considering Luigi as a vigilante or a hero to the community on TikTok, Instagram, X (Twitter), and Facebook. Massive Yelp reviews are dropping 1 star, AI or edited pictures, and bomb threats due to one of the employees calling the cops on the suspected shooter. One of the comments wrote, “Too many Rats. Unacceptable Rats should not be here. Will never go again and not impressed.” A book published in 2010 that criticizes the U.S. insurance industry has risen to number two on Amazon’s nonfiction best sellers list. The book called, “Delay, Deny, Defend: Why Insurance Companies Don’t Pay Claims and What You Can Do About It.” by legal scholar Jay Feinman, the book has gained the spotlight with communities on the internet.
At the scene of the crime, police found the words “deny, defend, and depose”, on the shell casings. There are reports through social media platforms of health insurance CEOs taking down their profile pictures or information from Linkedin and their own websites. The Daily Mail has a video of “Wanted Posters” of other Health Insurance CEOs in New York City streets.
Current Situation in Court
The arrest of Luigi Mangione is still developing, so the results of the matter is inconclusive. By law, any arrest or held accused of a crime, a person is innocent until proven guilty through the court system. As of now, the suspect shooter is held without bail at the hearing, fighting extradition. Currently held in Pennsylvania, New York is attempting to extradite him to process the murder charge of the CEO. However, Luigi Mangione and his defense attorney, Thomas Dickey, argued: “that the state of New York did not provide the defense with the official second-degree murder charges in documents they were given, and now the defense has 14 days to request a writ of habeas corpus for those.” The speculation is that the defense is attempting to buy more time and build their case for the court. It appears his defense is willing to fight tooth and nail on any of the charges. However, the evidence against the defense doesn’t appear to look good. The development of this case is still unfolding.
How Can We Reflect On This?
Living in a civilized society, law and order are extremely important. We don’t sway into chaos and destruction in our communities.
Everyone has the right to have their opinions, but acting upon them into radical violent behavior doesn’t justify anything. We have rules of law, or else everything we have fought for and believed in would be in vain.
Granted, there have been numbers of people who argue that the healthcare industries have been maximizing their greed and profits. They conduct this by taking advantage of American citizens and their poor health conditions. Studies have shown that the U.S. “continues to be in a class by itself in the underperformance of its health care sector.”
Taking that into account, there is a rise of opinions that favor Luigi Mangione. His actions, allegedly, are justifiable, from what people claim. However, let this be a good opportunity to reflect on this matter. Our goal is how we can better ourselves as people within civility.
For any further questions and or seeking legal representation, please contact KAASS LAW today!