Suspect in UnitedHealthcare CEO killing charged with murder, court records show

DECEMBER 09, Altoona, Pennsylvania: (EDITOR’S NOTE: This Handout image may not follow Getty Images’ editorial guidelines because it was supplied by a third-party organization.) Luigi Mangione is shown in this Altoona Police Department handout photo.

(AP) ALTOONA, PAWhen a quick-thinking Pennsylvania McDonald’s patron saw a man who investigators discovered carrying a rifle, mask, and writings connecting him to the ambush, authorities apprehended the suspect and charged him with murder Monday in the heinous Manhattan death of UnitedHealthcare’s CEO.

A difficult but quick-paced inquiry that had captured the public’s attention in the five days since the shooting that rocked the corporate world was abruptly interrupted by the unexpected sighting at the Altoona eatery.

According to authorities, 26-year-old Luigi Nicholas Mangione, an Ivy League graduate from a well-known Maryland real estate family, had a gun that was allegedly used in Brian Thompson’s shooting last Wednesday in addition to writings that suggested resentment toward corporate America.

According to an online court docket, Manhattan prosecutors charged Mangione with murder and other offenses late Monday. He was charged with forgery, possession of an unregistered firearm, and giving police false identification, and he stayed incarcerated in Pennsylvania.

According to court filings, Mangione was seated in the back of the McDonald’s, gazing at a laptop computer while donning a blue medical mask. According to NYPD deputy commissioner Kaz Daughtry, a customer saw him and a staff member dialed 911.

When the suspect took off his mask, Altoona Police Officer Tyler Frye and his partner stated they instantly recognized him. “We simply didn’t give it any thought. He remarked, “We knew that was our guy.”

He “became quiet and started to shake,” according to a criminal complaint based on the officers’ descriptions of the arrest, when one of them inquired as to whether he had recently visited New York.

According to the complaint, officers discovered a black silencer and a black, 3D-printed pistol in his rucksack. The handgun included a metal threaded barrel, a plastic handle, and a metal slide. Police said he was arrested at approximately 9:15 a.m.

According to NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch, Mangione had a fake New Jersey ID that matched one the suspect used to check into a hostel in New York City prior to the shooting, as well as clothes and a mask that matched those worn by the gunman.

Born and bred in Maryland, Mangione has connections to San Francisco and a last known address in Honolulu, according to NYPD Chief of Detectives Joseph Kenny.

“Our family is shocked and devastated by Luigi’s arrest,” Mangione’s cousin, Maryland congressman Nino Mangione, wrote in a statement that his family shared on social media late Monday. “We offer our prayers to the family of Brian Thompson and we ask people to pray for all involved.”

At a brief court session, Mangione was arraigned and ordered to be jailed without bail. When questioned about the necessity of a public defender, he said he may “answer that at a future date.” According to Kenny, he will eventually be extradited to New York to face charges related to Thompson’s death.

The three-page booklet that the police discovered contained statements implying that Mangione harbored “ill will toward corporate America,” according to Kenny.

“Speaks to both his motivation and mindset,” Tisch remarked of the handwritten document.

Derek Swope, the deputy chief of police for Altoona, would only describe the writings as being extensive.

According to him, “they were very detailed, and everything we have is going to be turned over to NYPD,” he told TAP.

Mangione hada 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.

According to the local prosecutor, he also had $10,000 in cash, $2,000 of which was in foreign currency, and a passport. Mangione denied the figure, claiming that his most recent address was in Hawaii.

Last Wednesday, Thompson, 50, was killed while walking by himself to a hotel where UnitedHealth Group, the parent company of UnitedHealthcare, was hosting its yearly investor conference, according to police.

In a statement, UnitedHealth Group expressed gratitude to law enforcement. “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 company spokesperson said.

The shooting shook U.S. businesses and the health insurance industry in particular, causing companies to rethinksecurity plansand delete photos of executives from their websites.

The shooter appeared to be “lying in wait for several minutes” before approaching the executive from behind andopening fire, police said.

According to the school’s website, Mangione graduated as valedictorian in 2016 from a prestigious prep school in Baltimore. According to a university spokesman, he later graduated with undergraduate and doctorate degrees in computer science from the University of Pennsylvania in 2020.

In the 1980s, his family purchased a country club north of Baltimore, and one of his relatives is a state legislator from Maryland. Police closed off a property entry on Monday that is connected to the suspect’s parents based on public documents. Outside, cameras and reporters crowded in.

Mangione went from Philadelphia to Pittsburgh after the shooting, and likely “was in a variety of locations across the state,” said Lt. Col. George Bivens of the Pennsylvania State Police said.

“Based on everything we have seen, he was very careful with trying to stay low profile, avoid cameras not all that successfully in some cases, but that was certainly the effort he was making,” Bivens said.

Police released a set of nine images and videos, including footage of the attack and pictures of the suspect at a Starbucks prior, in an effort to rally the public in the days following the massacre.

According to authorities, the guy smiled after taking off his mask in pictures shot in the foyer of a hostel on Manhattan’s Upper West Side.

Police on Monday praised the tipster for identifying the perpetrator and contacting the police, and news outlets for sharing the photos.

Earlier, investigators hypothesized that the shooter might have been an unhappy client or employee of the insurance company. Ammunition found near Thompson s bodybore the words”delay,” “deny” and “depose,” mimicking a phrase used byinsurance industry critics.

The gunman concealed his identity with a mask during the shooting yet left a trail of evidence, including abackpackhe ditched in Central Park, a cellphone found in a pedestrian plaza and a water bottle and protein bar wrapper that police say he bought at Starbucks minutes before the attack.

Police claimed Friday that shortly after the shooting, the murderer had fled the city.Retracing the gunman s stepsusing surveillance video, investigators say the shooter rode into Central Park on a bicycle and emerged from the park without his backpack. According to authorities, he headed to a bus stop that provides lines to the East Coast and commuter service to New Jersey.

Note: Every piece of content is rigorously reviewed by our team of experienced writers and editors to ensure its accuracy. Our writers use credible sources and adhere to strict fact-checking protocols to verify all claims and data before publication. If an error is identified, we promptly correct it and strive for transparency in all updates, feel free to reach out to us via email. We appreciate your trust and support!