A 26-year-old, Luigi Mangione, has been arrested after a manhunt lasting several days following the murder of UnitedHealthcare chief executive Brian Thompson.
The killer, who was wearing a mask, approached Mr Thompson outside a Hilton in Midtown New York and opened fire several times, hitting him in the back and leg before the weapon jammed.
Mr Thompson’s wife said that she believed his killing was related to his healthcare insurance company, as people had threatened him before his death. This line of thinking also led some online to celebrate the killing, claiming that healthcare insurance companies often decide people’s fates.
The police released images of the killer in which only his eyes and part of his face were visible.
Now, a suspect has been apprehended and charged with the death. Here’s what we know so far.
Who is Luigi Mangione?
The suspect in question is called Luigi Mangione. He was born in and lives in Baltimore, Maryland and has ties to San Francisco.
Mr Mangione has no prior arrests in New York and his previous address was in Honolulu, Hawaii, according to local police.
When he was young, he attended a private, all-boys high school in Baltimore, the Gilman School. He was named as the class valedictorian, or the student with the highest academic achievements in a class.
He went on to graduate from the University of Pennsylvania, where he received a bachelor's and master's degree in computer science.
He comes from a well-known Baltimore family, members of which own a country club and nursing homes. Nino Mangione, who is believed to be a cousin, is a Republican state lawmaker.
He released a statement signed by the Mangione family, saying: "We offer our prayers to the family of Brian Thompson and we ask people to pray for all involved", adding that the family is “shocked and devastated”.
Before his arrest, Mr Mangione was employed as a data engineer for TrueCar, a digital retailing website for new and used cars, according to his social media.
His GoodReads profile reveals that he gave the Unabomber’s manifesto a four-star review, and he praised the killer, whose real name was Theodore John Kaczynski, as a “political revolutionary”. Kaczynski, who died last year, murdered three people and injured 23 between 1978 and 1995 in a number of mail bombings across the US.
Header images on his social media profiles seem to suggest that he suffered from back pain, leading online theorists to wonder whether the killing was sparked out of dissatisfaction with the US healthcare insurance system.
How was he caught?
Mr Mangione was taken into custody by police in a Pennsylvania McDonald’s, after a customer recognised him and reported the sighting to an employee.
According to police, he was in possession of a black ghost gun, complete with a silencer and a loaded magazine with six rounds of 9mm ammunition.
Mr Mangione also had several IDs, only one of which was his real identity. When he was told he would be arrested if he lied about his name, he told police he was called Luigi Mangione.
According to court papers filed in Pennsylvania, Mr Mangione "became quiet and started to shake" when asked if he had recently been to New York.
The 26-year-old also allegedly had three pages of handwritten notes expressing "ill will towards corporate America".
Certain phrases in the documents stated that "these parasites had it coming" and that Mr Mangione "apologises for any strife and trauma, but it had to be done", as a senior law enforcement official told the New York Times.
What happens next?
Mr Mangione was initially charged in a Pennsylvania court on Monday with possession of an unlicensed firearm and other charges.
After a few more hours, New York investigators charged him with murder and four other counts including further firearms charges.
According to US media, he seemed calm in court, looking around at those present while handcuffed at the wrists and ankles.
Mr Mangione will now await trial in custody..
