A tip from a McDonald’s employee in Pennsylvania provided police with a major breakthrough in the manhunt for the suspect in last week’s fatal shooting of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson.
The case that gripped the nation may soon be coming to a close as the NYPD announced that a person of interest was arrested on Monday. Luigi Mangione, 26, was taken in for questioning. He was arrested on firearms charges in Pennsylvania after a McDonald’s employee in Altoona, Pennsylvania, identified him from photos. He was charged Monday night with murder in connection to Thompson’s killing.
“He has been arraigned and transported and will be securely housed pending the filing of additional charges in New York,” Lieutenant Colonel George Bivens of the Pennsylvania State Police said during a Monday press conference.
Local police found the 26-year-old with “multiple fraudulent IDs,” including the fake New Jersey ID that he used to check into the hostel on the Upper West Side of Manhattan, where the now-viral unmasked photo of the suspect was taken.
He also had a ghost gun that could fire 9-millimeter bullets and was potentially made with a 3D printer, along with a suppresser, NYPD Comissioner Tisch said. Authorities also recovered clothing and masks that are “consistent with” those seen on the suspect in photos. Mangione was carrying a handwritten, three-page manifesto that was critical of the health care system. This document “speaks to both his motivation and mindset,” Tisch said.
He does not have an arrest record in New York, and the investigation so far suggests the suspect acted alone, authorities said.
The major development comes as a private funeral was held Monday for Thompson, the 50-year-old CEO who was gunned down as he arrived at the Hilton hotel in Midtown for an investors’ conference.
During the six-day manhunt, investigators combed through thousands of hours of surveillance footage, followed up on hundreds of tips, and processed DNA and fingerprint evidence, Tisch said. Drones, scuba divers, and K-9 units were deployed to search for any additional clues to finding the suspected shooter.
Mangione was born and raised in Maryland, has ties to San Francisco, and his last known address was in Honolulu, Hawaii, NYPD Chief of Detectives Joseph Kenny said.
Mangione’s social media profiles suggest he is a data engineer who graduated from the University of Pennsylvania and the Gilman School, a private all-boys school in Baltimore where high school tuition begins at $37,690 per year. As the Gilman School’s valedictorian in 2016, he delivered a speech describing his class as “coming up with new ideas and challenging the world around it,” TheNew York Times reported.
His arrested ended a six-day manhunt for the suspect in the slaying. Footage suggests the person of interest traveled from the crime scene by e-bike, hopped into a cab at West 86th Street headed toward Port Authority, where he is believed to have caught a bus out of the city.
The gunman arrived in Manhattan ahead of the shooting and used a fake ID and paid cash during the 10 days he was in the city, Kenny told reporters Friday.
He wore a mask covering his face most of the time he was seen on security footage — though he lowered his mask while speaking with a hotel employee. Police have circulated images of the suspect without his mask hoping that someone who may know him will come forward with information.
The FBI had offered a $50,000 reward for information leading to his arrest and conviction. That’s on top of a $10,000 reward offered by the NYPD.
On Friday, the officers found the shooter’s backpack in Central Park. They also found bullet casings at the scene of the shooting with the words, “delay,” “deny” and “depose” on them.
Some of those words are often used by critics of insurance companies to criticize them for delaying payments, denying claims and defending their actions.
After Mangione’s arrest, a spokesperson for UnitedHealthcare issued a statement: “Our hope is that today’s apprehension brings some relief to Brian’s family, friends, colleagues and the many others affected by this unspeakable tragedy.”
“We thank law enforcement and will continue to work with them on this investigation. We ask that everyone respect the family’s privacy as they mourn,” the statement continued.
