Wes Moore condemns killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO: "We need to have justice for what happened"
BALTIMORE -- Maryland Gov. Wes Moore says he has lived with the "brokenness of the healthcare system" since his father died decades ago. Yet, he doesn't condone violence, like the Dec. 4 fatal shooting of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson in Midtown Manhattan.
"I also know the way we solve things is not by killing people in cold blood," Moore said Wednesday during a press conference on the Preakness Stakes. "The way we solve things is not killing people because we do not like the industry they are in or the company they represent."
The suspect in the slaying, 26-year-old Luigi Mangione, comes from a wealthy Maryland family that owns country clubs and healthcare facilities in the Baltimore area. He was charged with murder in the case after being arrested at a McDonald's in Altoona, Pennsylvania, on Monday.
"I'm glad the wheels of justice are now moving," Moore said. "We need to have justice for what happened to Brian Thompson. I would ask people to remember that because of the actions of this person, there are two teenagers in Minnesota who are growing up like I did, fatherless. And we can never forget that."
The 46-year-old Moore said he was 3 years old when he watched the "healthcare system fail" his father, William Westley Moore Jr., died of acute epiglottitis, which is a dangerous condition that happens when the small flap that covers the windpipe swells and blocks airflow into the lungs.
"Some of the earliest memories I have of my life was watching the healthcare system fail," Moore said. "The brokenness of the healthcare system is something that I have lived with and something that very much sits with me to this day. Working to fix it is something I still make a core part of my why, my ethos."
The suspect's Maryland upbringing
Mangione was the 2016 valedictorian at Baltimore's Gilman School in the Roland Park neighborhood. He went on to attend the University of Pennsylvania, where he graduated in 2020 with Master of Science in engineering, with a major in computer and information science.
His family owns Turf Valley Resort in Ellicott City and Haysfield Country Club in Hunt Valley. His cousin is Maryland Republican Delegate Nino Mangione, who represents parts of Baltimore County.
The family's charity arm, the Mangione Family Foundation, is worth more than $4 million, ProPublica estimates. Loyola University aquatic center is named after the family. The family also supported the Greater Baltimore Medical Center.
