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A 26-year-old man named Luigi Mangione was arrested at a McDonald’s store in Altoona, Pennsylvania on December 9 as a “strong person of interest” in the December 4 murder of UnitedHealthcare CEO, Brian Thompson.
Since reports of his arrest and identity became public, media outlets and social media users have united to find more information about him. In this regard, many have come across Luigi Mangione’s alleged X account.
Its header is a collage of three images, a digital X-ray plate, a shirtless Mangione seemingly from a hiking trail, and that of Pokémon 286. The last one has now drawn attention as netizens are theorizing Pokémon 286 or Breloom alludes to Proverbs 28:6, which says:
“Better is a poor man who walks in his integrity than a rich man who is crooked in his ways.”
The alleged link has now gone viral. Here are a few examples from the platform.
“Odd that Luigi Mangione, the alleged shooter, has a photo of Breloom, the evolved form of Shroomish, in his header photo. Brelooms dislike humans but will only attack if provoked. It’s a grass/fighting type Pokémon that thrives in tropical climates,” a person explained.
“Breloom is the number 286 Pokémon on the Pokedex. This is Proverbs 28:6 Luigi Mangione thought every single detail. This is insane,” another person wrote.
“Luigi Mangione is arrested for the Murder of the Healthcare CEO who he found corrupt. His banner includes his surgery and a Pokémon called Breloom which is number 286, Proverbs 28:6,” a netizen wrote.
Luigi Mangione is now facing murder charges in New York alongside three counts of weapons possession and a single count of forgery. He also has multiple charges against him in the state of Pennsylvania.
Exploring more about Proverbs 28:6 amid viral Luigi Mangione’s Pokémon connection
According to bibleref.com, there are multiple versions of Proverbs 28:6. The English Standard Version, one of the most common, reads, “Better is a poor man who walks in his integrity than a rich man who is crooked in his ways.” Meanwhile, the New International Version says, “Better the poor whose walk is blameless than the rich whose ways are perverse.”
Likewise, the New American Standard Bible defines Proverbs 28:6 as “Better is a poor person who walks in his integrity, than a person who is crooked, though he is rich.” Some of the other versions include the King James Version, the New King James Version, the New Living Translation, and the Christian Standard Bible.
As per the website, Proverbs 28:6 is a repetition of a lesson said by Soloman in Proverbs 19:1 and is centered around the dominant theme in the Bible, about being right with God and lacking material things rather than having material things and being spiritually doomed.
In other words, a person in poverty who lives an honest, loyal, truthful, and moral life is considered better than a wealthy person who is corrupted and practises dishonesty.
In brief, understanding Pokémon 286 and Luigi Mangione’s connection to the gaming industry
Pokémon 286 is grass fighting-type Pokémon introduced in Generation III. It is a mushroom Pokémon called Breloom and evolved from Shroomish. Its three abilities include technician, effect spore, and poison heal.
Breloom is essentially a small, lizard-like Pokemon with a green-colored body and legs. It also features a light-colored head and tail and a green hat-like thing on top of its head which looks like a mushroom cap. This cap is surrounded by red orbs with black dots in the middle, which appear like eyes.
They are characteristic of warm, humid weather, and eat leaves and other plants. While they dislike humans near their territory, Breloom is not known to attack unless provoked or senses danger and uses its hidden arms and the tip of its tail for defense. Pokémon 286 also enjoys shade and is known to be self-reliant.
Luigi Mangione, whose X header had an image of Breloom was a software engineer who initially worked at Firaxis Games, a giant in the video gaming industry, best known as the developer of Civilization. A company’s spokesperson confirmed the same to the Polygon website.
Notably, Luigi Mangione worked on the game’s sixth version (Civilization 6) as an intern in UI programming between 2016 and 2017. Around the same time, he co-founded the video game designing club Upgrade at the University of Pennsylvania. Later, in 2020, he earned a combined bachelor’s and master’s degree in computer and information science from the same Ivy League school.
Before that, AI-aficionado Mangione co-founded a company called AppRoar Studios in 2015 with his two high school friends when he was a senior at all-boys, private Gilman School in Baltimore. The firm developed an iPhone arcade game called Pivot Plane, which is no longer available.
Last Wednesday morning, UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson was on his way to an investor’s meeting when he was fatally shot in front of the Hilton Hotel in midtown Manhattan by a masked assailant. Immediately after, he was transported to the Mount Sinai West Hospital where he was later declared dead.
In the wake of his murder, a manhunt began with the NYPD even offering a reward of $10,000 for more information on the whereabouts of the suspect. Five days later, Luigi Mangione was arrested in Pennsylvania and charged with murder among other felonies.
So far, the exact motive behind the crime remains undisclosed. However, NYPD described it as a “premeditated, pre-planned, targeted attack.”
