Luigi Mangione, a man charged in the killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, had a spiral notebook among his possessions that laid out plans for the shooting, according to The New York Times.
Citing two law enforcement officials, the Times reported that one passage in the notebook read: “What do you do? You wack the C.E.O. at the annual parasitic bean-counter convention. It’s targeted, precise, and doesn’t risk innocents.”
Those lines are similar to ones reported by CNN, which said that notebook writings reasoned that a shooting would be more targeted than using a bomb, as that “could kill innocents.”
Mangione, 26, was arrested Monday at a Pennsylvania McDonald’s after a tipster alerted authorities. Law enforcement said that he was carrying a ghost gun — a term for a privately made firearm — with a suppressor “consistent with the weapon used in the murder,” along with fake identification matching what “our suspect used to check in to his New York City hostel before the shooting incident.”
He was also said to be in possession of a written statement of around 260 words, often described as a manifesto. The statement — first published in full by an independent journalist, with law enforcement sources largely confirming the transcription to multiple media outlets — begins with some clarifying comments addressed to authorities, to “save you a lengthy investigation.”
“The spiral notebook, if present, has some straggling notes and To Do lists that illuminate the gist of it,” the statement allegedly read, saying that an unspecified act “had to be done.”
“I state plainly that I wasn’t working with anyone,” it reportedly added.
The statement and the spiral notebook seemed to contain similar language.
“Frankly, these parasites simply had it coming,” read one line in the reported statement, before going on to discuss issues with the U.S. health care system.
Thompson was shot in the back and a leg on Dec. 4 as he walked outside a midtown Manhattan hotel where an annual UnitedHealthcare investors conference was taking place.
Thomas Dickey, a lawyer for Mangione, has suggested that his client may plead not guilty to second-degree murder in New York, just as he is expected to plead not guilty to charges in Pennsylvania relating to firearm possession and fake identification.
“I have not been made aware of any evidence that links the gun that was found on his person to the crime, so these are things we’re looking to see,” Dickey told “Good Morning America” on Wednesday.
“We’re looking forward to beginning our inquiry as to what evidence may or may not be out there,” he added.
Mangione’s apparent problems with debilitating back pain have started to come to light over the past two days. Friends have told the media that he fell out of touch with them over the summer; his mother reportedly filed a missing person report with San Francisco authorities weeks ago, believing that he’d been working in the city.