Luigi Mangione was allegedly scared of the risks of social media, video video games and porn — and railed about US healthcare months earlier than he’s accused of gunning down medical health insurance CEO Brian Thompson in Midtown Manhattan, in accordance with a author who befriended him.
The 26-year-old let on to fears he was shedding management of his life whereas in search of assist in a collection of on-line and video chats simply earlier than he lower contact together with his household, Substack author Gurwinder Bhogal instructed CNN.
“He was very concerned with things like online porn. He believed a lot of men were not going out and meeting women because they were addicted to porn,” Bhogal alleged.
“He was really concerned about video games, he believed that people were not making accomplishments, they were not accomplishing things in the real world because they were getting the dopamine hits from video games.”
Mangione was additionally terrified that social media was taking individuals’s “agency” away, and was involved he was additionally shedding management over his life resulting from a social media habit, in accordance with Bhogal, who stated he had a two-hour video name with Mangione about these fears simply earlier than he disappeared earlier this 12 months.
“He was afraid that technology was going to take people’s agency away. He actually believed that this was already happening,” Bhogal alleged.
This perception is what led Mangione to grow to be within the Unabomber, Ted Kaczynski, in accordance with Bhogal.
“He became interested in Kaczynski’s work for this reason — because Kaczynski also believed this,” Bhogal defined.
Mangione shared his views on Kaczynski — who killed three and injured 23 extra between 1978 and 1995 — on-line, liking one among his quotes and writing a assessment of his manifesto.
Throughout their name, Mangione additionally alluded to “his frustrations with the US healthcare system,” Bhogal alleged.
“He said the US healthcare system was really expensive and I told him about the NHS (National Health Service) because here in the UK we have a free healthcare system. And he kind of seemed to idolize the UK’s healthcare system,” Bhogal claimed.
Mangione is accused of gunning down UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, 50, outdoors a Midtown resort on Dec. 4.
He was later arrested in Altoona, Pa. after he was acknowledged whereas consuming in a McDonald’s restaurant. Mangione was charged in Pennsylvania with forgery and carrying a firearm with no license.
He has not waived his proper to an extradition listening to to face homicide fees in New York.
