NYC Shooting Victim Sparks Disturbing “Luigi’d” Meme Trend
Manhattan real estate executive Wesley LePatner was one of four people fatally shot at 345 Park Avenue by Shane Tamura on Monday.
Riley Carter here, channeling that millennial eye roll that asks, okay, but like why is this a thing?
Following the tragic Midtown skyscraper shooting, demented trolls on X posted a photograph of Wesley LePatner with the word “LUIGI’D” stamped across her face in bold red letters. The caption read, “Wesley LePatner, CEO of Blackstone Real Estate Income Trust, has been evicted from the mortal plane.” That post alone racked up thousands of likes before moderators intervened.
LePatner, 49, led Blackstone’s $53 billion real estate investment fund and was working late inside the Deutsche Bank–leased offices when Shane Tamura opened fire. Witnesses say Tamura stormed the lobby of 345 Park Avenue around 8 p.m., shot five people—killing LePatner, two coworkers, an off-duty NYPD officer, and a visitor—and then took his own life.
Online mockery referencing Luigi Mangione is fueling this dark meme wave. Mangione, accused of killing UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson in December, allegedly scrawled plans to target the “annual parasitic bean-counter convention” in his journal. After Thompson’s death, posters reading “Next Up” appeared near the same Midtown blocks that now host these twisted memes.
Investigation documents show Tamura left a suicide note blaming his believed chronic traumatic encephalopathy and expressing hatred for the NFL, which he planned to attack at their Park Avenue office. Unable to find the right elevator, he turned to anyone inside. Police sources confirm that the shooter did not mention the healthcare industry or Mangione directly in his notes, making the “LUIGI’D” slur purely opportunistic cruelty.
Family and colleagues of LePatner have condemned the meme as defamation and digital harassment, urging platforms to remove similar content. New York Police Department representatives and Blackstone spokespeople have both publicly expressed concern over this exploitation of a real person’s death for shock value.
This macabre social media spectacle underscores a troubling trend where real-world violence becomes fodder for viral consumption. Experts warn that blending two high-profile tragedies—Mangione’s alleged attack and Tamura’s rampage—creates a toxic narrative bubble that desensitizes viewers to actual human loss.
What happens when empathy becomes the ultimate casualty in the age of online outrage? Stay tuned as courts review digital harassment policies and platforms face renewed pressure to police extremist content and meme-fueled mockery.
Okay cool, so like, yeah, that happened.
Sources: Celebrity Storm and TMZ
Attribution: Creative Commons Licensed
