Joe Yates
The suspect believed to have gunned down UnitedHealthcare's CEO Brian Thompson on the streets of New York has been arrested.
Luigi Nicholas Mangione, 26, has been charged with the murder of the father-of-two as officials caught up with him while reading in a McDonald's in Altoona, Pennsylvania, following a tip-off from one of the fast-food chain's employees.
According to an online document, Mangione, whose last known residency is Honolulu, Hawaii, has been charged with the murder of the 50-year-old, as well as possessing an unlicensed firearm, forgery, and providing false ID to cops.
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Mangione, who graduated from the University of Pennsylvania in 2020 with undergraduate and graduate degrees in computer science, was found with a gun, mask, and writings that linked him to the ambush.
He is currently being held in a jail in Pennsylvania awaiting to be extradited to New York to face charges in connection with Mr Thompson’s death.
Mangione was ordered to be held without bail during a brief court hearing.
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.
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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.
While on the run, Mangione left breadcrumbs for the FBI of his movements prior to the attack, as well as after it - including dumping a bag in Central Park with Monopoly money and a jacket inside it.
Asked if he needed a public defender, he reportedly asked if he could 'answer that at a future date'.
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The chance sighting at the restaurant led to a dramatic break in the fast-moving investigation that has captivated the public in the five days since the shooting that shook the health insurance industry.
Mangione had a gun believed to be the one used in last Wednesday’s shooting of Brian Thompson, as well as writings suggesting anger with corporate America, police said.
He was sitting at a table in the rear of the McDonald’s wearing a blue medical mask and looking at a laptop computer, documents said.
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When an officer asked if he had been to New York recently, he 'became quiet and started to shake'.
In his backpack, police found a black 3D-printed pistol and a 3D-printed black silencer, according to the documents.
The pistol had a metal slide and plastic handle with a metal threaded barrel. He was taken into custody about 9.15am, Pennsylvania police said.
“He is believed to be our person of interest in the brazen, targeted murder of Brian Thompson,” New York Police commissioner Jessica Tisch said.
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Mangione had clothing and a mask similar to those worn by the gunman and a fraudulent New Jersey ID matching one the suspect used to check into a New York City hostel before the shooting, Ms Tisch said.
NYPD chief of detectives Joseph Kenny said Mangione was born and raised in Maryland, and has ties to San Francisco.
Police found a three-page document with writings suggesting Mangione had 'ill will toward corporate America', Mr Kenny said.
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The handwritten document 'speaks to both his motivation and mindset', Ms Tisch said.
Mangione had a ghost gun, a type of weapon that can be assembled at home from parts without a serial number, making them difficult to trace, investigators said.
“As of right now the information we’re getting from Altoona is that the gun appears to be a ghost gun that may have been made on a 3D printer, capable of firing a 9mm round,” Mr Kenny said.
NYPD detectives and staff from the Manhattan district attorney’s office travelled to Altoona to interview Mangione, he said.
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Mr Thompson, 50, was killed last Wednesday as he walked alone to a hotel, where UnitedHealthcare’s parent company, UnitedHealth Group, was holding its annual investor conference.