Classmates of Luigi Mangione reveal what he was like at school before suspected killing
The classmates of Ivy League student Luigi Mangione have revealed what he was like at school.
Mangione, 26, was arrested on December 9, in connection with UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson's death.
Thompson was shot on the street outside the Hilton Hotel, in Manhattan, five days earlier.
The dad-of-two was rushed to Mount Sinai Hospital in a critical condition but was later pronounced dead upon arrival.
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After days of searching for the suspect, police were called to a McDonald's restaurant in Pennsylvania, after receiving a tip off from a member of staff.
The suspect was reportedly found with a handwritten note, which accused insurance companies of only caring about the 'immense profit' they made at the expense of American customers.
The 'manifesto' was allegedly addressed to 'the Feds', and read: “The reality is, these [companies] have gotten too powerful, and they continue to abuse our country for immense profit."
The suspect is also said to have written that he'd worked alone, and apologized in the note for any 'trauma' he caused, but said it 'had to be done'.
“Frankly, these parasites simply had it coming," he wrote, according to the sources.
The note was found along with a 3D-printed pistol and silencer, a loaded Glock magazine, and multiple fake IDs in a backpack.
Following Mangione's arrest, his former classmates have been speaking out in shock.
“He would be the last one I would think would do something like this,” Freddie Leatherbury, who attended the Gilman School in Baltimore, told The Baltimore Sun.
“He was a nice kid.”
Meanwhile, another student - who did not want to be named - told the US Sun: "We went to the same school but didn't really have the same friends. I'm really shocked by this whole thing.
"I think he played soccer, it was an all-boys school, so being a good athlete got you social currency for sure.
"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."
Following the arrest, The Gilman School said: "This is a deeply distressing news on top of an already awful situation. Our hearts go out to everyone affected."
Meanwhile, Mangione's family have also shared a statement.
"Our family is shocked and devastated by Luigi's arrest," said Mangione's cousin, and Republican Baltimore County Delegate, Nino Mangione.
"We offer our prayers to the family of Brian Thompson and we ask people to pray for all involved. We are devastated by this news.
They added that they could not 'comment on news reports' regarding Mangione but that they 'only know what we have read in the media'.
Lucy Devine