Pennsylvania governor Josh Shapiro has condemned those who praised the killer of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, insisting: "He is no hero."
At a press conference on Monday evening in Altoona, Pennsylvania, Shapiro addressed the "disturbing" number of Americans who had "looked to celebrate instead of condemning this killer."
Authorities have named 26-year-old Luigi Mangione, who was arrested in Pennsylvania earlier that day, a “strong person of interest” in the killing, although he has not yet been charged in connection with that crime. He was charged with gun crimes after being arrested in Pennsylvania, though officials say they expect charges to be filed in New York in connection to the fatal shooting of the executive.
"Brian Thompson was a father to two. He was a husband. And he was a friend to many. And yes he was the CEO of a health insurance company," Shapiro told reporters.
"In America, we do not kill people in cold blood to resolve policy differences or express a viewpoint. I understand people have real frustration with our healthcare system, and I have worked to address that throughout my career.
"But I have no tolerance, nor should anyone, for one man using an illegal ghost gun to murder someone because he thinks his opinion matters most. In a civil society, we are all less safe when ideologues engage in vigilante justice.
“In some dark corners, this killer is being hailed as a hero. Hear me on this: he is no hero.”
Answering follow-up questions from reporters, Shapiro added: “Violence can never be used to address political differences, or to address a substantive difference, or to try and prove some ideological point. That is not what we do in a civilized society.
“That was true in Butler, it was true in new york city, and it’s true anywhere. that is not how you make progress in this country.”
Butler, Pennsylvania, is where 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks opened fire on Donald Trump during a campaign rally in July, nicking the former president's ear and narrowly missing more vital organs.
Thompson, 50, was the chief executive of UnitedHealth's insurance division UnitedHealthcare until he was gunned down on the street outside his Manhattan hotel last Wednesday.
Yet some Americans celebrated his death, describing it as revenge for the millions of lives marred or ended by health insurance denials.
Police said that shell casings found at the scene had been carved with the words "deny, defend, depose" – an apparent reference to a 2010 book about insurance companies' tactics for avoiding payment.
