Luigi Mangione, the 26-year-old suspect in the fatal shooting of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, appears to have suffered from a rare back condition called spondylolisthesis, according to posts linked to him on the social media site Reddit.
Although not confirmed, archived Reddit posts under the username “Mister_Cactus” and elements of Mangione’s other social media accounts, as well as an account belonging to a friend, appear to confirm that he suffered from a back condition that caused him chronic pain.
“Fwiw, I’m 25 years old and have an L5/S1 fusion. It is clear to me that the day my spondy got so bad that I felt it every day, I had crossed the threshold for surgery, although it took me a year to realize this,” he said in April this year, according to the archived messages.
Spondylolisthesis is a fracture or weakness in the vertebrae of the spine, sometimes caused by playing certain sports as a child, that can cause the vertebra to shift or slip, according to the American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons. If the slip is classified as high-grade, it can cause “significant pain and nerve damage and require surgery to relieve symptoms and prevent further deterioration.”
Surgical treatment may include treatment of the spine and “stabilization with rods and screws.” Mangione’s banner image on
In a Reddit post, from July 2023, Mangione complained of pain that had become more extreme after a surfing accident and a slip, writing: “Yes, when I started surfing 1.5 years ago, I got sciatica for the first time. Actually, the extension movement destabilized my spondy. A few weeks later I slipped on a piece of paper and my right glute locked up and my right leg shut down for a week.”
RJ Martin, a friend and former roommate of Mangione told CNN on Monday that shortly after moving to Hawaii, Mangione was “in bed for about a week” with back pain after a surfing lesson.
“It was really traumatic and difficult, you know, when you’re in your early 20s and you can’t do some basic things anymore,” Martin said.
Mangione encouraged other Reddit users to get surgery. “To be honest, once the pain becomes low grade, but all the time, it may be time for surgery,” he wrote in April this year.
“I mean, the situation certainly sucks, but the solution is not to retreat into a bubble.”