On Monday, police arrested and charged a man suspected in the brazen Manhattan killing of UnitedHealthcare’s CEO with murder after a quick-thinking McDonald’s customer in Pennsylvania recognized him from a surveillance photo and found a gun, mask, and writings linking him to the ambush.
The chance sighting at the Altoona restaurant led to a dramatic break in a difficult yet fast-moving investigation, captivating the public in the five days following the shooting that shook the business world.
Luigi Nicholas Mangione, a 26-year-old Ivy League graduate from a prominent Maryland real estate family, had a gun believed to have been used in Brian Thompson’s shooting last Wednesday, as well as writings expressing dissatisfaction with corporate America, according to police.
An online court docket shows that Manhattan prosecutors charged Mangione with murder and other offenses late Monday. Authorities in Pennsylvania charged him with possessing an unlicensed firearm, forgery, and providing false identification to police, while he remained in custody.
Mangione was sitting in the back of the McDonald’s, wearing a blue medical mask and looking at a laptop computer, according to court documents. Kaz Daughtry, an NYPD deputy commissioner, stated that when a customer spotted Mangione, an employee promptly dialed 911.
Altoona Police Officer Tyler Frye stated that when the suspect pulled down his mask, he and his partner recognized him right away. “We didn’t hesitate to recognize him immediately,” he said.
When one of the officers asked if he’d recently visited New York, he “became quiet and started to shake,” according to a criminal complaint based on their accounts of the arrest.
Police discovered a black, 3D-printed pistol and a black silencer in his backpack, according to the complaint. You can assemble these ghost guns at home from parts without a serial number, making them difficult to trace. The pistol featured a metal slide, a plastic handle, and a metal threaded barrel.
The police took him into custody around 9:15 a.m.
Mangione, according to NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch, had a fraudulent New Jersey ID that matched the one the suspect used to check into a New York City hostel before the shooting, as well as clothing and a mask similar to those worn by the shooter.
According to NYPD Chief of Detectives Joseph Kenny, Mangione was born and raised in Maryland, has ties to San Francisco, and his last known address was in Honolulu.
Mangione’s cousin, Maryland lawmaker Nino Mangione, posted a statement on social media late Monday, saying, “Our family is shocked and devastated by Luigi’s arrest.” “We offer our prayers to the family of Brian Thompson, and we ask people to pray for all involved.”
During a brief court appearance, the court arraigned Mangione and ordered his holding without bail. When asked if he needed a public defender, he responded that he could “answer that at a future date.” Kenny stated that charges in Thompson’s death will eventually lead to his extradition to New York.
Police discovered a three-page document containing writings implying that Mangione harbored “ill will toward corporate America,” Kenny stated.
The handwritten document “speaks to both his motivation and mindset,” Tisch said.
The document included a line in which Mangione claimed to have acted alone, according to a law enforcement official who spoke with The Associated Press under anonymity and without authorization to discuss the investigation publicly.
“To the feds, I’ll keep this brief because I appreciate what you do for our country. To avoid a lengthy investigation, I state unequivocally that I was not working with anyone,” the document read, according to the official.
It also included the line, “I apologize for any strife or trauma, but it had to be done.” Honestly, these parasites had it coming.”
Mangione also had a passport and $10,000 in cash, including $2,000 in foreign currency, according to authorities. Mangione, who claimed Hawaii was his most recent address, disputed the amount.
According to police, Thompson, 50, died last Wednesday while walking alone to a hotel where UnitedHealthcare’s parent company, UnitedHealth Group, was hosting its annual investor conference.
UnitedHealth Group thanked law enforcement in 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,” a spokesperson for the company stated.
The shooting shook U.S. businesses, particularly the health insurance industry, prompting companies to rethink security plans and remove executive photos from websites.
Mangione attended an elite Baltimore prep school and graduated as valedictorian in 2016, according to the school’s website. In 2020, he earned undergraduate and graduate degrees in computer science from the University of Pennsylvania, according to a school spokesperson.
One of his cousins is a Maryland state legislator, and the family purchased a country club north of Baltimore in the 1980s. On Monday, police blocked off an entrance to the property, which, according to public records, belongs to the suspect’s parents. A swarm of journalists and photographers gathered outside.
Following the shooting, Mangione traveled from Philadelphia to Pittsburgh and was most likely “in a variety of locations across the state,” according to Pennsylvania State Police Lt. Col. George Bivens.
“Based on everything we have seen, he was very careful with trying to stay low profile and avoid cameras—not all that successfully in some cases, but that was certainly the effort he was making,” according to Bivens.
In the days following the shooting, police sought public assistance by releasing a collection of nine photos and video, which included footage of the attack as well as images of the suspect at a Starbucks prior to the incident.
Photos taken in the lobby of a hostel on Manhattan’s Upper West Side showed the suspect grinning after removing his mask, police said.
On Monday, police credited news outlets for disseminating the images and the tipster for recognizing the suspect and calling authorities.
Investigators earlier suggested the gunman may have been a disgruntled employee or client of the insurer. Ammunition found near Thompson’s body bore the words “delay,” “deny” and “depose,” mimicking a phrase used by insurance industry critics.
Despite wearing a mask during the shooting, the gunman left a trail of evidence, including a backpack he abandoned in Central Park, a cellphone discovered in a pedestrian plaza, and a water bottle and protein bar wrapper that police say he purchased from Starbucks minutes before the attack.
On Friday, police said the killer fled the city shortly after the shooting. According to investigators who retraced the gunman’s steps using surveillance video, the shooter entered Central Park on a bicycle and left without his backpack.
According to police, he went to a bus station that provides commuter service to New Jersey as well as routes to the east coast.