Social media users believe UnitedHealthcare shooting suspect may have left clue to motive

What do the Pokémon Breloom and the town of Altoona, Pennsylvania have in common? They are both associated with two things: the number 286, and suspected UnitedHealthcare gunman Luigi Mangione.

Breloom, which appears in the cover image of an X account that is suspected to belong to Mangione, is number 286 in the Pokémon game’s internal numbering system. 

The McDonald’s restaurant in Altoona, to which Mangione allegedly fled after the shooting, is located approximately 286 miles away by car from the Hilton Hotel where the shooting occurred. Mapping software may indicate that the distance is precisely 286 miles.

Mangione, 26, was arrested Monday in connection with last week’s fatal shooting of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson in New York City.

The suspect appeared to leave a trail of references to the number – from his social media accounts to the McDonalds location where he was arrested. In addition to these connections, Mangione made precisely 286 posts to X.

Speculation quickly arose as to whether the number had any significance for Mangione.

As social media users have been quick to point out, Code 286 refers to a technicality which health insurers can use to avoid paying for treatments which they would otherwise be obligated to cover. 

Claims are denied under Code 286 when the service provider — the hospital, doctor or specialist who carries out the treatment — fails to submit paperwork to the insurance company before the insurer’s appeal deadline. That means that the patient is stuck paying the full bill through no fault of their own.

The banner image on Mangione’s X account also features an X-ray showing the aftermath of a back surgery. According to his family and friends, he recently had a procedure on his spine, after which he withdrew from contact.

A GoodReads account that also appeared to belong to the suspect includes numerous reviews and ratings of books on the treatment of back pain. Some titles the account marked as “read” took umbrage with the healthcare industry’s handling of pain-related issues.

Because of this, some have speculated Mangione was motivated to carry out the crime due to a denial of insurance coverage. 

Some users speculated that the distance from the crime scene to the location where Mangione was apprehended may indicate that he intended to turn himself in. Police say he was carrying a document outlining his grievances with the U.S. healthcare system.

Other potentially significant meanings behind the number include National Insurance Awareness day – July 6, or 28/6 – and a Bible verse which reads “Better the poor whose walk is blameless than the rich whose ways are perverse.”

Police have indicated that Mangione may have been motivated by antipathy towards corporate America and the health insurance industry, based on writings found on his person.

A judge Tuesday ordered that Mangione be held without bail. He currently faces extradition to New York on second-degree murder charves.