With the identity of the alleged United Healthcare shooter now revealed, the internet is turning to one of its favorite forms of discourse: Joking about Italians.
The alleged shooter, identified as Luigi Mangione, was arrested in a McDonald’s in Altoona, Pennsylvania earlier today.
Mangione was born and raised in Maryland, with ties to San Francisco, and his LinkedIn bio reveals he lived in Honolulu until recently.
But, given his Italian-sounding name, memes have exploded across social media.
On Bluesky, posts have compared the shooter to the video game character Luigi, from Super Mario Bros.
In posts on X, users have created AI-generated art in which the Mario Bros. character is reimagined as the shooter.
In one set of images, Luigi is shown immigrating to America and then in a hospital room, given a medical bill for a dying relative that reads “DENIED” in red letters.
He is then seen standing over the body of a dead CEO, holding a gun with his eyebrows raised in panic.
Later, Luigi is arrested in a restaurant resembling the McDonald’s the actual shooter was arrested in earlier today.
Referencing Luigi’s rival, Waluigi, whom the internet also loves, one user commented “The idea of a Luigi Mangione implies there’s a Waluigi Mangione.”
“Waluigi Wangione,” replied one.
Drawing on other media representations of Italian-American culture—which has become its own meme subculture—users posted screengrabs from the mafia drama, The Sopranos.
One post shows the main character Tony Soprano gesturing, with the caption “In this house, Luigi Mangione is a hero! End of story!”
Another post shows a stereotype of an Italian chef loading a gun with penne pasta. Holding the gun to his head, he says, resigned “Mamma mia….”
“Move over Tommy Cutlets America has a new favorite saucy Italian,” joked one poster, referencing the internet’s love of the New York Giants’ backup quarterback.
Others posted about the infamous anarchists Sacco and Vanzetti, who were executed after being convicted of murder in the early 1900s.
“nice to see the Italian violent anarchist tradition revived,” wrote a poster.
“wow high-profile assassinations orchestrated by italians it really is the gilded age all over again,” said another.
Others used a popular photo of Rep. Alexandria Ocasio Cortez (D-N.Y.) pinching her fingers in a gesture commonly associated with Italian-American culture.
Back on X, a user pointed to one of the first photo released of the suspect, which was rumored to be captured after the suspect tried to flirt with the hostess of the hostel he was staying in on New York’s Upper West Side.
The post played on the Italian stereotype for romance, saying, “Like a true Italian, Luigi Mangione’s fatal error as an assassin was giving himself away by stopping to flirt with the cashier at the cafe before going to work.”
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