On December 4th, 2024, a gunman opened fire on UnitedHealthcare’s CEO Brian Thompson. He was rushed to a local hospital and pronounced dead just forty-five minutes later.
Five days later, a suspect named Luigi Nicholas Mangione was arrested in Altoona, Pennsylvania. Mangione’s background may have been a bit surprising: he was the valedictorian of his high school class at The Gilman School, a prestigious all-boys private academy in Baltimore.
According to a document found in his backpack, dubbed his “manifesto,” Mangione killed Thompson because he was disgusted with corporate greed, especially in the healthcare industry.
“Frankly, these parasites simply had it coming. A reminder: the US has the #1 most expensive healthcare system in the world, yet we rank roughly #42 in life expectancy.”
luigi mangione
Mangione wrote, “Frankly, these parasites simply had it coming. A reminder: the US has the #1 most expensive healthcare system in the world, yet we rank roughly #42 in life expectancy.”
In the healthcare industry, it is not out of the ordinary for executives to receive death threats. Thompson had been receiving death threats for a long time. In the wake of Thompson’s shooting, insurance companies have begun to remove bios of executives from company websites.
The fact that healthcare executives receive death threats is not surprising. They make millions denying coverage to everyday Americans: people who cannot afford their medical bills. While denying thirty-two percent of claims, the industry high, Thompson took home a hefty pay package of twelve million dollars.
Meanwhile, Thompson’s death has sparked significant criticism of the healthcare industry on social media platforms. Some users have even celebrated the killing.
With The Gilman School having so many similarities to Haverford, the events have elicited reactions throughout the community. How could someone with a background so similar to the students of this school become so radicalized and violent?
“I can understand why someone would want to send a message to the healthcare industry,” said Spanish Teacher Ms. Susana Lambour. “But it is never okay to shoot someone. And the fact that people on social media are celebrating this is the worst part.” Ms. Lambour continues, “It’s scary that [Mangione] is just like you guys. He was valedictorian at Gilman then went to Penn. I don’t want social media to convince you guys that this is okay to do. I could never imagine the people I love, my students, killing somebody.”
Fifth Former Jacob Horwitz echoes Ms. Lambour’s sentiments. “It is kind of crazy imagining someone like us committing a crime of that magnitude.”
Fifth Former James Friel said, “Gilman is a school very similar to Haverford, and I cannot imagine anybody in the school being capable of a shooting like this.”
Friel went on, saying, “We should be prepared for possibilities we wouldn’t expect. Preventing radicalization, even in rich schools, is important.”
Fifth Former Jonny Wang said, “People are too angry and violent. It’s okay to disagree, but it’s not okay to be violent about it. It’s also scary to think that someone so similar to us is responsible.”
