Luigi Mangione, the accused killer of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, denounces the disparity between American wealth and the quality of health care in his manifesto, NYPD Chief Joseph Kenny said Tuesday.
“I had the opportunity to read the manifesto,” Kenny said on Good Morning America.
“It’s handwritten. He does give some indication that he is frustrated with the health care system in the United States. He specifically states that we have the most expensive health care system in the world, but the life expectancy of an American ranks 42nd in the world. So he wrote a lot about his disdain for corporate America and health care in particular.”
Mangione, 26, was arrested Monday after a five-day manhunt at McDonald’s in Altoona, Penn., for possession of a ghost gun. He was later charged with the murder of Thompson, who was shot shortly before an investor conference in Midtown Manhattan last Wednesday morning.
NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch, who sat next to Kenny on Good Morning America, said it is not yet clear whether Mangione or his family had previous problems with UnitedHealthcare specifically. “There’s a lot more research to be done,” she said.
Mangione was not on the NYPD’s radar until his stunning arrest, which occurred at a McDonald’s shortly after a customer and an employee recognized him in the surveillance photos released by the NYPD and published around the world.
Shocking video shows the gunman approached Thompson from behind and opened fire.
Within 45 minutes, the killer had escaped New York, police said, riding a bicycle into Central Park, dropping it on the Upper West Side and then boarding a bus at the Port Authority terminal in Washington Heights.
