Joe Yates
Five days after UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson was shot dead on his walk to an insurance conference, the man wanted in connection to his murder has been arrested.
Luigi Nicholas Mangione left a trail of breadcrumbs for authorities, including a backpack with Monopoly money inside, as well as a jacket and a series of shots inside a cab, a Starbucks, and a hostel, before ultimately being caught following a tip-off from a member of the public.
Yesterday (December 9), while sitting reading in a McDonald's in Altoona, Pennsylvania, a senior employee at the fast-food chain called cops to alert them of the 26-year-old's whereabouts.
Advert
Mangione, whose last known address was in Honolulu, Hawaii, was sitting at a table in the rear of the restaurant wearing a blue medical mask and looking at a laptop computer, according to court documents said.
When an officer asked him if he had been to New York recently, 'became quiet and started to shake', and while checking his backpack officials discovered a black, 3D-printed pistol and a 3D-printed black silencer, documents state.
He was taken into custody about 9.15am, Pennsylvania police said.
Following news of his arrest, a family statement was shared by his cousin, and Republican Baltimore County Delegate, Nino Mangione shortly after 10pm.
"Our family is shocked and devastated by Luigi's arrest," he said.
"We offer our prayers to the family of Brian Thompson and we ask people to pray for all involved. We are devastated by this news.
They added that they could not 'comment on news reports' regarding Mangione but that they 'only know what we have read in the media'.
The computer science graduate is understood to have come from a wealthy family in a Maryland community, and was raised in Towson, outside of Baltimore - with his family owning two vast country clubs, as well as a radio station.
The UnitedHealthcare CEO was fatally shot three times from behind outside of the Hilton Hotel on Wednesday (December 4) at 6.46am in Manhattan, New York City.
Thompson was walking to an insurance conference hosted by his company when he was targeted by the suspect, who was 'lying in wait' for around five minutes, the New York Police Department confirmed.
Thompson was shot at least once in his back and right calf - while the bullets and casings reportedly had the words 'deny', 'depose' and 'defend' inscribed on them, according to police sources from ABC News and The New York Post.
He was rushed to Mount Sinai Hospital in a critical condition but was later pronounced dead upon arrival.