SHOOTING suspect Luigi Mangione’s best friend says she was blindsided by his arrest in connection with the assassination of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson.
The suspect’s pal Tracy Le, a data analyst based in New York, has been left “shaken” by the scandal and defended his character.
4
4
Mangione, 26, was arrested at a McDonald’s in Altoona, Pennsylvania while carrying a ghost gun, silencer, and handwritten manifesto on Monday, authorities confirmed.
The suspect has since been filmed being walked into Blair County courthouse in handcuffs for a preliminary arraignment around 6 pm.
He is yet to officially answer to charges or enter a plea.
His friend Le posted a lengthy tribute on Instagram Story just hours after he was named, The U.S. Sun can exclusively reveal.
She said: “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.”
She added: “Because it was, for a while, the only name whose FaceTime calls I would pick up. Luigi was one of my best, closest and most trusted friends.
“He was absolutely #1 in my group chat named ‘Tracey’s favorites.’
What we know…
- A person of interest was arrested at McDonald’s with a ghost gun, silencer, and the same fake ID used by the killer at a NYC hostel
- He had a handwritten manifesto on him that slammed healthcare companies for putting profits above care, sources said
- The arrest comes after police found the assassin’s backpack at Central Park and discovered Monopoly money inside
- Photos showed the suspected killer smiling as he pulled down his face mask to flirt with a hostel receptionist
- An expert said the killer’s gun malfunction may have been ‘for show’ and linked to a secret message on bullets
- The shooter milled around the entrance for minutes before sneaking up behind the CEO and unloading a barrage of bullets into his back and leg, eerie surveillance revealed
“He was whom I always came to for identity crisis rants, relationship problems, career complaints. And always left feeling better.”
Her tribute revealed the heartbreak and confusion she faced at the actions Mangione has been accused of taking.
She went on, “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 vest time.”
She ended the heartfelt post, “I am shaken, I am blindsided, but most of all I, am sad.
“I am heartbroken. I am overwhelmed.”
Le is featured in several photographs with Mangione, which remain on her Instagram account, taken in Honolulu, Hawaii, back in April 2022 with a group of friends.
It is believed they were staying at Surfbreak, a co-living space near Ala Moana Beach Park.
According to R.J. Martin, Surfbreak’s founder, Mangione allegedly suffered chronic back pain from an apparent pinched nerve and friends stopped hearing from him this summer.
Martin told civilbeat.org that they were shocked by the arrest, saying, “I loved this guy. In some ways I feel like my members are my kids.”
The U.S. Sun has reached out to Le and Martin for further comment but did not hear back.
Mangione is from a prominent family in Maryland and studied at the University of Pennsylvania.
He graduated in 2020 with a master’s and bachelor’s degree in computer science and a minor in mathematics.
The scholar was also valedictorian at The Gilman School, an expensive prep school in Maryland, where he graduated in 2016.
A former classmate told The U.S. Sun he was popular amongst his peers and they have been left stunned by his arrest.
“We went to the same school but didn’t really have the same friends. I’m really shocked by this whole thing,” the former student, who asked not to be identified, said.
“I think he played soccer, it was an all-boys school, so being a good athlete got you social currency for sure.”
The classmate said he did not remember Mangione as a “weird shut-in, incel type” of guy.
Instead, he said Mangione received a “fantastic education,” adding, “For all the money it was, it ought to have been, honestly.
“It’s not uncommon that people have their gripes with CEOs, especially with CEOs of healthcare in this country, but to assassinate someone?”
“That sounds very, very insane to me. The world is a crazy a** place.”
Mangione has been charged with five crimes including forgery, carrying a gun without a license, false identification to law enforcement authorities, and tampering with records or identification.
Timeline of Brian Thompson’s murder
BRIAN Thompson, the 50-year-old CEO of UnitedHealthcare, was shot to death in Manhattan in an execution-like killing.
Here is everything we know about Thompson’s murder so far.
Monday, December 2 – Thompson travels from his home in Minnesota to New York City for an investor conference in Midtown Manhattan.
Wednesday, December 4, 6:45 am – Thompson walks from his hotel across the street to the New York Hilton Midtown and is murdered by a masked shooter. The execution was caught on surveillance, and the suspect was seen biking away toward Central Park. Cops spark a citywide search for the assassin.
11:30 am – Cops released disturbing images of the execution, offered a reward for information, and made a desperate plea for New Yorkers to keep their eyes out.
12:00 pm – Thompson’s estranged wife Paulette revealed her husband had been threatened before he was shot.
2:45 pm – Cops released more eerie images of the suspect ordering at Starbucks that partially revealed his face. The U.S. Sun confirmed the coffee shop was just two blocks away from the shooting, but it’s unclear when he stopped by.
December 5, 6 am – Reports claim the words “deny,” “dispose,” and “defend” were engraved on live rounds and shell casings left behind by the assassin. These words echo the book Delay, Deny, Defend, which is about the failings of the healthcare industry. The author of the book had no comment on the reports.
8 am– Cops raid a hostel in the Upper West Side of New York City where the suspect is said to have stayed. It’s believed he wore a mask for most of the time he was there.
11 am – A person of interest in Thompson’s murder is pictured. He’s wearing a hood in the photo, but his full face could be seen breaking into a beaming grin. Still, no arrests have been made in the investigation.
Afternoon – Law enforcement confirms the suspect arrived in New York City on a Greyhound bus on November 24. It’s also confirmed that the suspect dropped a burner cell phone near the scene of the shooting.
December 6, 3 pm – Police announce they believe the killer has left New York City via interstate bus. They release more surveillance footage that shows him taking a taxi to the George Washington Bridge Bus Station.
December 9 – Luigi Mangione, 26, is arrested as a “strong person of interest” at a McDonald’s in Altoona, Pennsylvania. He was carrying a three-page manifesto, fake IDs, and a gun similar to the one used in Thompson’s murder.
He was ordered to be held without bail as prosecutors cited false IDs he was caught with and argued he was a flight risk.
The Ivy League graduate was arrested five days after Thompson, 50, was gunned down in the street outside of a hotel in Manhattan which sparked a huge manhunt.
New York Police Department Chief of Detectives Joseph Kenny said he was sat in the fast food restaurant eating when cops approached him.
Authorities claim he had writings on his person that criticized the health insurance industry.
“We don’t think that there’s any specific threat to other people mentioned in that document, but it does seem he has some ill will toward corporate America,” Kenny said.
Thompson was gunned down at 6.45 am on Wednesday as he walked across the street from his hotel and into an investor conference at a Hilton on West 54th Street.
4
4