Over the weekend, the manhunt for the then-unknown assassin of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson intensified, with cinematic twists and endless mockery on Twitter.
On Saturday, the NYPD reported that they found a backpack they believed had been left by the shooter, which it turns out was full of Monopoly money.
Unsurprisingly, the NYPD took a series of Ls over the course of the weekend:
Because all memes ultimately converge, there was even a lookalike contest.
But, Monday afternoon, law enforcement officials reported they had detained the suspected shooter in an Altoona, PA McDonalds, 26-year-old Luigi Mangione. Mangione is a graduate of the University of Pennsylvania and data engineer last known to be living in Hawaii, and also has a prolific social media footprint.
Between his conventionally attractive good looks, almost comedically Italian name, and online posting history, we have the recipe for the internet losing its entire mind over this guy. And lose its mind it did.
Because he’s a relatively young guy who went to an East Coast prep school and the University of Pennsylvania, a lot of people posted about their first- or second-degree connections to him. By all accounts he was a fun and well-liked guy in school.
But things started to really get interesting on, of all places, Goodreads.
His Twitter presence indicates he was a hyper-online reactionary into tech futurism, wellness, and self-improvement. In other words, his apparent media diet aligns with the right-leaning male-driven anti-establishment blogging and podcast ecosystem that’s been the subject of so much scrutiny post-election.
Recognizing that none of us know what happened here – and, if the last 72 hours are any indication, there could be more twists to come – this ultimately has all the makings of a very sad and supremely American story.
Same as it ever was.
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