The shooting suspect has become the "Batman," the contemporary "Robin Hood"?

On the 9th local time, Luigi Mangione, the suspect in the shooting of UnitedHealth CEO Thompson, was arrested in Altoona, Pennsylvania.

Strangely, after the suspect's arrest, he not only did not face public condemnation in the United States, but was instead hailed as a "modern Robin Hood," "the new Batman," and "Sexy CEO shooter." For some members of the public, this is not just a simple murder case, but a strong protest against the injustices of the American healthcare system.

In fact, there has been a large amount of online support for Mangione: "Free Luigi," he is the "hero" defending American healthcare justice. Some referred to the McDonald's employee who called the police as a "snitch," warning "I will no longer be a disciple of McDonald's"; others fabricated alibis for Mangione, claiming "he was with me last week."

"Free Luigi" "Don't eat McDonald's"

26-year-old Luigi Mangione is not the stereotypical professional killer, but rather a typical rich second-generation elite.

Mangione is the grandson of Nicholas Mangione, a well-known real estate developer in the United States, and holds a master's degree in computer science from the Ivy League school University of Pennsylvania. After graduation, he worked as a software engineer at an online car sales company.

After the arrest of this suspect, an unusual phenomenon appeared on the American internet: the number of followers on Mangione's social media accounts skyrocketed, with many expressing sympathy and support for him, even attempting to exonerate him.

Someone wrote on X platform:

What we know about Luigi is that he is very handsome, reportedly bisexual, loves to read, is family-oriented, educated, has good taste in music, and has a sense of humor. We really need him.

Others described him as a "sexy" suspect.

Oh my god, he is so sexy," one netizen wrote, "Free Luigi!!!

Some even fabricated "alibis" for Mangione. They commented on news websites and social media saying: "He was with me last week, it couldn't have been him," "Absolutely not the same person, I was playing ranked games with Luigi all week."This type of rhetoric is endless, the demand is all "Release Luigi, he is innocent!"

Some netizens have directed their anger at McDonald's. They launched an "Anti-McDonald's" campaign, stating: "I won't eat McDonald's for a month," "I will no longer be a disciple of McDonald's."

According to reports, Mangione was arrested at a McDonald's in Altoona, Pennsylvania. On the morning of December 9, a McDonald's employee recognized Mangione and called the police, leading to his arrest.

On Google, there has also been a surge of one-star reviews for the McDonald's Altoona location, with one comment stating:

This store's kitchen has "rats" (the English word "Rats" is a pun, also referring to informants) that will make you sick, and your health insurance will not reimburse you.

The manager of the McDonald's, Grace Winston, stated:

I try my best to monitor our reviews because my bonus largely depends on customer satisfaction, but it looks like I'm done this year! The company will punish me severely.

Interestingly, this incident gave McDonald's "arch-rival" Burger King an opportunity to retaliate, as they quietly announced: "We Don't Snitch." This tagline quickly went viral on social media, earning Burger King a lot of traffic and goodwill.

The Hero Defending American Medical Justice?

Winston from McDonald's may face company punishment, but she did not bribe customers with coupons to delete these negative reviews. Winston said:

Today's comments are about one of my employees betraying the working class, they should be ashamed for allowing an American hero to be arrested.

I actually agree with most of the commenters; my husband's claim was denied last year due to the company's greed, and we now have to pay over $60,000 out of pocket. So that employee who did this should be responsible for cleaning the toilets for the rest of their time here, let them learn a lesson for ruining our toilets.

On social media, many Americans have shared their negative experiences of being denied coverage by insurance companies and expressed anger at the broader flaws in the American healthcare system.

Notably, three shell casings found at the scene clearly had the words deny, defend, and depose written on themThese three English words starting with "D" correspond to the notorious "three Ds" of the American insurance industry: Delay, Deny, and Defend, which means first delaying time, then finding reasons to refuse, and if that doesn't work, resorting to litigation. This has been a common tactic for American insurance companies to increase profits over the years.

The difficulty of claiming medical insurance in the United States has long been criticized. A survey released by the non-profit health policy research organization KFF in June last year showed that most insured American adults encountered at least one health insurance issue in a year, including claim denials.

Moreover, the UnitedHealth Group, managed by the recently shot Thompson, has increased its denial rate to 30% in recent years, and he himself regarded the denial rate as an important achievement in his career.

"I apologize for any conflict or trauma, but this is necessary. Frankly, these parasites deserve what they get," read a handwritten declaration carried by Mangione at the time of his arrest.

This declaration, which was not exposed by mainstream American media, was published on the website of independent journalist Ken Klippenstein, expressing Mangione's dissatisfaction with the corruption in American healthcare:

The United States has the most expensive healthcare system in the world, yet our life expectancy ranks about 42nd. UnitedHealth is one of the largest companies in America by market capitalization, second only to Apple, Google, and Walmart.

It continues to grow, but what about our life expectancy? No, the reality is that these companies have become too powerful, and they continue to exploit our country for massive profits because the American public allows them to get away with it.

Is Mangione a hero defending healthcare justice in America? Regarding the online support for him, Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro expressed regret, stating at a press conference:

I understand that people are very disappointed with our healthcare system, but this killer is not a hero, and he should not be praised.