The suspect in the ambush killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson thanked people who have written to him as he is jailed in a New York City detention facility.
Luigi Mangione's statement, posted on a website set up by his defense to provide information about his cases, appear to be his first public comments since he shouted to reporters before a court appearance in Pennsylvania in December.
Mangione is charged in New York with first-degree murder in furtherance of terrorism and other counts in Thompson's Dec. 4 killing. The CEO was shot from behind as he was walking on a Manhattan sidewalk.
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Mangione said in the statement that people have written to him at the Metropolitan Detention Center, where he is jailed pending trial.
“I am overwhelmed by — and grateful for — everyone who has written me to share their stories and express their support,” Mangione said in a statement posted to that website.
Thompson's killing has been condemned by officials. Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg said that “this type of premeditated, targeted gun violence cannot and will not be tolerated.”
Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro, in whose state Mangione was arrested on Dec. 9, criticized people who suggested Mangione was a hero or justified in the killing.
“In some dark corners, this killer is being hailed as a hero. Hear me on this: He is no hero,” Shapiro said after Mangione was arrested at a McDonald’s in Altoona.
Mangione is charged with murder and other counts in New York in connection with Thompson’s killing, and he is also charged in Pennsylvania with weapons and other counts.
Mangione allegedly used a “ghost gun” with a suppressor on it. The words “deny” “depose” and “delay” were found on two spent shell casings and a bullet found at the scene, the district attorney’s office said in announcing a murder indictment against him.
Mangione has pleaded not guilty. He is charged in New York with first-degree murder, in furtherance of terrorism; two counts of second-degree murder; four counts of third-degree criminal possession of a weapon; one count of fourth-degree possession of a weapon; and one count of second-degree criminal possession of a forged instrument.
UnitedHealthcare is the largest private insurer in the country, and writings found on Mangione when he was arrested detailed his grievances with the health care system, according to authorities.
Neither Mangione nor anyone in his family were insured by UnitedHealthcare, police have said.
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