Murder dividing US

THOMPSON: KILLING POINTS TO FRUSTRATION WITH THE MEDICAL SYSTEM

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In paper, Luigi Mangione had it all: wealth, intellect, athleticism, good looks. But the child of a prominent Maryland family may have spurned it all in a spasm of violence that has mesmerized Americans.

The 26-year-old was arrested last Monday and charged with the murder of Brian Thompson, a health insurance chief executive gunned down in Manhattan by someone who, evidence suggests, had endured a debilitating health crisis and grown angry with the privatized US medical system.

The cold-blooded killing has laid bare the deep frustration many Americans feel toward the country's labyrinthine health care system: while many have condemned the shooting, others have praised Mangione as a hero.

It has also prompted considerable interest in how a young engineer with an Ivy League education could have gone off the rails to commit murder.