Mangione was apprehended and charged with the murder of United Healthcare CEO, Brian Thompson, in Manhattan, New York last week.
Thompson was shot three times outside of the Hilton Hotel on Sixth Avenue and died after being rushed to hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
On Monday (9 December), police announced that a person of interest in connection to the shooting had been detained in Altoona, Pennsylvania after receiving a tip-off from a McDonalds employee.
Mangione has been charged with one count of murder, as well as charges relating to the possession of a firearm, forgery and giving the police false identification.
The 26-year-old attended his extradition hearing yesterday (10 December), where he was heard shouting something to reporters waiting outside.
Following this, internet sleuths immediately began investigating apart Mangione’s online presence and any clues he may have supposedly left behind.
Mangione had his bail denied by a Judge (Jeff Swensen via Getty Images)
While all of his social media platforms have since been taken down, the last to remain up was his account on X.
As well as digging into his Goodreads, which featured a positive four star review of the Unabomber, Ted Kaczynski’s, manifesto, as per The Independent, the main focus was on looking into his header on X.
The three image header featured a Pokémon character, an X-Ray of a back with metal pins, and a shirtless picture of him on a hike.
Though much of the internet has focused on the hiking picture, sleuths have dug more so into the secret meaning of the other pictures, considering it a ‘riddle’ to be solved.
And now, several have claimed to have found a hidden meaning, linked to the number ‘286’ which they believe has ‘figured out’ a number of key details.
Mangione’s X header (Luigi Mangione/X/Nintendo)
Firstly, the picture of a back X-Ray is speculated to be that of Mangione’s, with his former roommate claiming to CivilBeat that he’d suffered with back pain as a result of a misaligned vertebrae that sometimes pinched his spine.
In addition, the Pokémon in question is not random, but is also speculated to have a secret meaning behind it.
Every Pokémon has a specific number attached to it in the ‘pokedex’, with the one shown in his header Breloom being 286.
In addition to this, Mangione had exactly 286 posts on his X account, as per The Daily Star.
This has a multitude of supposed meanings that fans have realised.
Firstly, proverbs 28:6 in the Bible refers to a verse which many suspect is particularly relevant to the alleged shooter’s possible motives.
It reads: “Better is a poor man who walks in his integrity than a rich man who is crooked in his ways.”
Mangione remains in custody accused of the killing of CEO Brian Thompson (Anadolu via Getty Images)
A ‘manifesto’ found in Mangione’s backpack also reportedly indicated to police that he ‘appeared to view the targeted killing of the company’s highest-ranking representative as a symbolic takedown and a direct challenge to its alleged corruption and power games’.
In his three-page manifesto, Mangione also referred to private healthcare as ‘parasites [who] simply had it coming’.
This is reinforced by another ‘secret meaning’, with 286 being a code used by health services, which some have used to point to a claim having been rejected because of a late appeal.
This can mean that the appeal was not filed in time after a claim was first denied.
Following his arrest, Mangione’s family issued a statement, saying they were ‘shocked’ and ‘devastated’ by his arrest.
The Ivy League graduate, 26, from Maryland, who has been charged with the murder of the UnitedHealthcare CEO, was taken into custody on Monday (9 December).
A McDonald’s employee identified Mangione at the Pennsylvania eatery after police found him with items linking him to the murder, such as a gun, mask, and writings.
Luigi Mangione has been charged with the murder of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson (PA Department of Corrections)
He is currently being held without bail in Pennsylvania and is likely be transferred to a Pennsylvania state correctional facility this evening, Gov. Josh Shapiro said.
Alongside the murder charge, Mangione has been charged with possession of an unlicensed firearm, forgery, and providing false identification to police.
Thompson, 50, who took the UnitedHealthcare CEO role in 2021, was shot dead outside the Hilton Hotel on Sixth Avenue in Midtown Manhattan last Wednesday.
At around 6:46 am local time, the father-of-two was shot at least once in the back and once in the calf before he was taken to hospital and pronounced dead.
Suspected Brian Thompson shooter Luigi Mangione has been detained (Altoona Police Department via Getty Images)
Before Mangione was located, police found what is believed to be his bag there on Friday, which included a stack of Monopoly money, sparking a major theory.
Now, in the suspect’s bag found with him at the Pennsylvania McDonald’s, there was reportedly a 262-word handwritten note.
A senior law enforcement official who reportedly saw the document told The New York Times that the note appeared to show Mangione open up about the shooting.
“To save you a lengthy investigation, I state plainly that I wasn’t working with anyone,” the suspect reportedly wrote, adding companies that ‘continue to abuse our country for immense profit because the American public has allowed them to get away with it’.
He also reportedly wrote that ‘these parasites had it coming’ and ‘I do apologise for any strife and trauma, but it had to be done’.
“The suspect was in a McDonald’s and was recognized by an employee who then called local police,” she said.
“Responding officers questioned the suspect, who was acting suspiciously and was carrying multiple fraudulent IDs, as well as a U.S. passport.
“Upon further investigation, officers recovered a firearm on his person, as well as a suppressor, both consistent with the weapon used in the murder.
“They also recovered clothing, including a mask, consistent with those worn by our wanted individual.
“Additionally, officers recovered a handwritten document that speaks to both his motivation and mindset.”
The health company boss was murdered with three gunshots in front of a New York City hotel by a masked assassin last week (December 4), who escaped on foot.
They then rode a bike into Central Park, where CCTV lost track of them, as authorities later found a bag that they suspected belonged to the individual.
UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson was fatally shot last week in New York City (UnitedHealthcare Group)
Thompson was the head of UnitedHealthcare, the single largest provider of Medicare Advantage plans in the US, generating $281 billion (£219 billion) in revenue alone, say The Washington Post.
But now, a man named as Luigi Mangione has been held for questioning in relation to the crime following a tip from someone who spotted him, say three law enforcement officials.
Mangione was found and detained in a McDonald’s at around 9.15am local time this morning (9 December), Sky News reports.
A handwritten manifesto was found on his person as he was detained in Altoona, Pennsylvania, as well as a gun reportedly similar to the one used in the attack, and false identification cards, a senior law enforcement official said to the New York Times.
A picture of the suspect was released to the public to help find them (NYPD)
In the manifesto that was found on his person, it criticised health care companies for putting profits above the care of customers, the official further detailed.
The full content of the alleged manifesto has not yet been released, and Mangione has not yet been arrested or charged in connection with the shooting.
Investigators said that he had a ‘ghost gun’, meaning it was assembled with parts sold online, matching the gun used in the shooting of Thompson, the senior law enforcement official further said.
Originally detained and questioned in Altoona on local charges, in order for him to be charged in New York, he would have to be extradited, officials confirmed.
Following strange messages on the bullet casing used to murder the health CEO, an image of the person was released to the public to help find him.
The investigation to find the killer is currently ongoing (CNN)
A backpack was uncovered in Central Park, after a burner phone and water bottle were found at the crime scene.
In the backpack were some peculiar items, not containing a weapon but instead a jacket and some Monopoly money, for some reason.
Police sources couldn’t confirm if the jacket was the same one that was found in surveillance images, as the backpack has been sent to a forensic laboratory for examination after discovery.
The evidence was discovered on the authorities’ second sweep of the park, with the bag found between boulders next to the park’s carousel over the weekend.
