With news breaking of a suspect taken into custody for the Dec. 4 shooting of United Healthcare CEO Brian Thompson, many were quick to look into the suspect’s background. And it looks like he might be a bit of a gamer.
The alleged shooter—Luigi Mangione, who New York police officials say was apprehended on Dec. 9—seemed to have a LinkedIn page detailing his education and school history, as reported by outlets like the BBC. And that LinkedIn page contains an entry for an internship at Firaxis Games, the game development company founded by Sid Meier that’s made all of the Civilization games since Civ 3. Specifically, the LinkedIn page entry claims Mangione worked on Civ 6 during his internship as a UI Programming Intern, and says he “fixed over 300 UI bugs (25 percent of UI bug count).”
The Civilization games are wildly popular turn-based strategy games where players choose a civilization to control and win a game by developing that civilization from a small group to a world superpower with cities, technology, religion, and other cultural aspects being developed through the ages. As such, the player takes on a role in which they make key decisions in shaping the future for a nation.
Magione’s gaming interests seem consistent and varied based on several reports, including one from the BBC, which claims Mangione founded a game development club while attending the University of Pennsylvania.
And then, of course, there’s the Pokémon Twitter banner.
If the Twitter page is authentic (the account itself hasn’t posted since June 10, but has ballooned to over 150,000 followers today), that would be a picture of Breloom next to what looks like an x-ray image. Breloom is a Fighting and Grass-type Pokémon who can learn moves like Mach Punch, Worry Seed, and Seed Bomb. Yes, we’re being serious.
Mangione was arrested earlier today in Pennsylvania after reportedly being recognized by an employee at a McDonald’s. He will reportedly have a preliminary arraignment this evening and will appear in person, according to CNN.
Published: Dec 9, 2024 06:33 pm