USA Manhattan gunman said to have written manifesto
The decisive tip came over the phone from a fast food restaurant: five days after the fatal shooting of the head of an American insurance company in the middle of New York, a suspect has been arrested. The man, who according to the media comes from a wealthy family, has now been charged with murder.
10.12.2024, 12:36
SDA
The 26-year-old Luigi M. was tracked down at a fast-food chain restaurant in the city of Altoona in the state of Pennsylvania, according to the investigating authorities on Monday (local time). An employee of the restaurant, which is about a five-hour drive from New York, alerted police after a customer recognized the man from mugshots.
Suspect was carrying a gun with a silencer
The suspect was wearing a medical mask and a cap. When one of the police officers asked him whether he had been to New York recently, he began to tremble, according to the investigators. During the check, it turned out that he was carrying a 3D-printed gun with a silencer like the one used in the murder of insurance boss Brian Thompson.
The head of the billion-dollar US insurer United Healthcare was shot at close range near New York's Times Square on Wednesday last week and died of his injuries in hospital. The murder of the 50-year-old, which was filmed by surveillance cameras, and the public manhunt for the perpetrator made headlines around the world. The shooter initially fled on a bicycle and then disappeared.
Handwritten manifesto
According to media reports, police officers also discovered a three-page, handwritten "manifesto" in the arrested man's belongings, which gave clues as to the possible motive. The paper accuses US health insurance companies of profiteering to the detriment of patients.
"These parasites deserve it," the paper reads - and continues: "I apologize for the inconvenience and trauma, but it had to be done." The suspect also pointed out in the letter that he had acted alone.
Messages on bullet casings
Indications of a possible motive had already emerged immediately after the murder. According to investigators, three words were written on bullet casings recovered at the crime scene: "deny" (deny), "defend" (defend) and "depose" (depose, overthrow or testify). This was possibly a reference to a saying used by insurance critics: "Delay, deny, defend".
What is meant is that health insurance companies often delay payments to patients, deny claims and then defend their actions, if necessary in court. There is also a book with this title that deals with the practices of insurers.
According to the New York Times, Thompson's murder not only shook up the nation, but also exposed "Americans' deep-seated anger at the US health insurance industry". The perpetrator was even celebrated by some users on social media as a kind of "avenger".
Young man from a wealthy family
According to US media, the 26-year-old is a young man from a good family whose grandfather had built up a real estate empire in Baltimore. He himself went to an exclusive private school, was on the wrestling team there and later studied computer science and mathematics at a renowned university. Most recently, Luigi M. had lived in Honolulu in the state of Hawaii.
According to reports, however, the 26-year-old had been suffering from severe back pain for a long time due to a spinal condition. He had undergone surgery after a surfing accident. Whether this was connected to the murder, however, had yet to be clarified.
The well-trained young man had long shared his fitness routines and impressions of his travels on social media, CNN wrote. In the summer, however, he gradually withdrew from the network.
However, he appears to have published a review of a book by the US assassin Ted Kaczynski, known as the "Unabomber", wrote CNN and the New York Times.
Kaczynski, a former Harvard graduate and avowed technophobe, killed three people and injured 23 others in a series of parcel bomb attacks between 1978 and 1995. He died in custody in 2023. His victims were mainly employees of universities (Un) and airlines (Airlines - A) - hence the name "Unabomber".
Indictment for murder
After the arrest, the family of 26-year-old Luigi M. announced on social networks that they were "shocked and devastated". Hours after the arrest, the suspect was charged with murder, among other things, in Manhattan, US media reported, citing court documents.
In Blair County, Pennsylvania, he was also charged with possession of a firearm without a permit. He was denied release on bail.
