UnitedHealthcare CEO suspected killer attended elite private school in Maryland

Luigi Mangione, the suspect detained Monday following a manhunt for the killer of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, is a graduate of a prestigious private school.

Mangione, 26, graduated from the Gilman School in Baltimore, Maryland, in 2016, and was valedictorian that year. The elite institution was founded in 1897, and was the first country day school in the U.S.

“Luigi Mangione’s suspected involvement in this case is deeply distressing news on top of an already awful situation,” Gilman said in a statement when reached for comment. “Our hearts go out to everyone affected. Here on campus, our focus will remain on caring for and educating our students.”

Gilman is an all-boys’ school serving students from pre-kindergarten through high school. The cost of tuition is around $21,000 annually for pre-K, and tuition and fees are over $38,000 a year for grades 9-12, according to its website.

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A high school classmate of Mangione told Fox News Digital that he “seemed like a smart kid” who was “always doing the right thing.” He “always had a smile on his face. Never really got the vibes of him being socially awkward. So that’s why I’m really surprised,” the classmate said. 

“I graduated in 2015, he graduated in 2016,” that classmate added. “It’s crazy how 10, 9 years later how people can change.”

Mangione, 26, was taken into police custody at a McDonald’s in Altoona, Pennsylvania, roughly 100 miles east of Pittsburgh. Police tell Fox News that a person at the McDonald’s recognized Mangione from the wanted posters of the suspect and then alerted law enforcement.

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When police arrived, they spotted Mangione and found a weapon believed to be the one used in the murder in his pocket, along with a fake ID, according to police.

The NYPD, which previously called the individual involved in the shooting a person of interest, began calling Mangione a suspect Monday. NYPD investigators have arrived in Altoona.

Thompson was gunned down Wednesday in an ambush caught on surveillance video, which shows a gunman with his face covered aiming a pistol with a silencer at Thompson at 6:46 a.m. outside the Midtown Hilton Hotel and shooting the executive three times.

Thompson was married with two children.

FOX News’ Christina Coulter contributed to this report.