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UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson was fatally shot outside a Hilton in midtown Manhattan on Wednesday.
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Luigi Mangione was arrested and is charged with murder.
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The killing of the 50-year-old father of two sparked a manhunt in New York City and beyond.
Luigi Mangione, the suspect in the shooting of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, is charged with murder in connection with the killing in midtown Manhattan.
Online court records Monday night also showed that Mangione, 26, faces four additional charges in New York: two counts of second-degree possession of a loaded firearm, one count of second-degree possession of a forged instrument and one count of third-degree possession. Degree of criminal possession of a firearm.
New York Police Department officials said at a news conference that Mangione was arrested in Altoona, Pennsylvania, on firearms charges. Altoona is approximately 280 miles from New York City.
Mangione was arraigned Monday evening in Pennsylvania. According to a criminal complaint viewed by Business Insider, he was charged with two felonies – forgery and carrying a firearm without a license – and three misdemeanors – tampering with records or identification, possession of instruments of crime and false identification to law enforcement. He was ordered held without bail.
Mangione was taken to the state correctional facility in Huntingdon, Pennsylvania, following his arraignment, the facility's spokesman told Business Insider.
Mangione is being held alone in a solitary cell with the “maximum sentence,” Maria Bivens, press secretary for the Pennsylvania Department of Corrections, told CNN.
In a statement to BI, representatives for Nino Mangione — a Maryland state representative and a cousin of Mangione — declined to comment on the news of Mangione's arrest.
“Unfortunately we are unable to comment on news reports about Luigi Mangione,” the statement said. “We only know what we read in the media. Our family is shocked and devastated by Luigi’s arrest.”
Recognized at a McDonald's
Mangione was eating at a local McDonald's when an employee recognized him from the multiple surveillance images authorities had released and called police, police said.
Altoona police found Mangione with several fake IDs and a U.S. passport, as well as a firearm and a silencer, “both consistent with the weapon used in the murder of Thompson on Dec. 4 in the heart of Manhattan,” NYPD said -Commissioner Jessica Tisch.
The weapon appeared to be a “ghost gun,” possibly made on a 3D printer, and capable of firing a 9-millimeter cartridge, NYPD Chief of Detectives Joseph Kenny said earlier Monday.
The criminal complaint said the gun and silencer were 3D printed.
Also seized were items of clothing, including a mask, that “matched those of the suspect wanted for Thompson's murder,” as well as a fake New Jersey ID that matched the ID the murder suspect was wearing at a hostel before the attack checked into Manhattan, Tisch said.
In addition, Altoona police found a three-page handwritten document “that reflects both his motivation and his attitude,” Tisch said.
Based on the document, Kenny said, “it appears that he has some antipathy toward the American economy.”
“Our investigation suggests he acted alone,” Kenny said.
NYPD investigators traveled to Altoona on Monday to interview Mangione, Tisch said.
Mangione is expected to be extradited to New York to face additional charges, Kenny added.
According to the Associated Press, Blair County District Attorney Peter Weeks said at Mangione's arraignment in Pennsylvania that Mangione had $10,000 in cash, including foreign currency, on him.
Mangione disputed the amount.
Mangione has been active on social media
On X, Mangione published and expanded articles on technological advances such as artificial intelligence. He also posted about fitness and healthy living.
He has frequently retweeted posts by writer Tim Urban and commentator Jonathan Haidt about the promises and dangers of technology.
He also seemed to be a fan of Michael Pollan, known for his writings on food and ethics and lab-grown meat. At the top of his profile was a cover photo with three images: a photo of himself, smiling, shirtless on a mountain ridge, a Pokémon, and an X-ray with four pins or screws visible in his lower back.
Mangione founded a company called AppRoar Studios in 2015, while still in school. AppRoar released an iPhone game called Pivot Plane that is no longer available.
AppRoar's other two co-founders could not be reached for comment.
Mangione's X account has been deactivated. A YouTube spokesman said his three accounts on the platform had also been terminated, but they had not been active for about seven months.
A manhunt
The arrest followed a nearly week-long manhunt for a masked, slight gunman who police say ambushed the 50-year-old father of two from Minnesota outside New York's Hilton Midtown Hotel early Wednesday morning.
According to police, Manigone was born and raised in Maryland and has ties to San Francisco, California. Manigone's last known address was in Honolulu, Hawaii.
The New York Post, citing law enforcement sources, reported that Mangione's mother reported him missing in mid-November.
Kenny said Manigone has no prior arrest history in New York and no known arrests in the United States.
A Luigi Mangione with the same birthday and address received a citation for simple trespassing in November 2023 for entering a prohibited area of a state park in Hawaii. He pleaded no contest and paid a $100 fine.
In the past week, police have distributed more than half a dozen images of a suspect, including images that Tisch previously described in an interview with CNN as a “money shot” and showing the suspect's unmasked face.
“For just over five days, our NYPD investigators combed through thousands of hours of video footage, followed up on hundreds of tips and processed all forensic evidence – DNA, fingerprints, IP addresses and much more to tighten the net,” Tisch auf said Monday's press conference announcing Manigone's arrest.
Thompson was shot multiple times on the sidewalk of 6th Avenue as he walked to the Hilton Hotel. He was just steps from a side entrance to the hotel – where he was scheduled to speak at UnitedHealth Group's investor conference – when a masked gunman opened fire on him from behind.
The CEO of the country's largest health insurer was hit at least once in the back and at least once in the right calf, police said.
Surveillance footage showed the gunman firing his weapon while Thompson, wearing a blue suit jacket, walked several feet in front of him.
A law enforcement source who was not authorized to speak to the press previously told Business Insider that the gun appeared to be equipped with a silencer and that the shooter “definitely knew” where Thompson would be.
The gunman fled the scene, first on foot and then on an electric bicycle, which he rode into Central Park before ultimately fleeing New York City, authorities said.
Shell casings and bullets found at the scene bore the words “deny,” “defend,” and “deposit,” according to multiple reports citing unnamed sources. BI could not independently confirm these details.
After the attack, the NYPD offered a $10,000 reward for information leading to the shooter's arrest, while the FBI offered a reward of up to $50,000 for information leading to his arrest and conviction.
A spokesperson for UnitedHealth Group, UnitedHealthcare's parent company, responded to the news of Manigone's arrest in a statement to BI, saying, “We hope today's concern brings relief to Brian's family, friends, colleagues and the many others affected.” We thank law enforcement and will continue to cooperate with them in this investigation. We ask everyone to respect the family's privacy as they grieve.
This story is evolving and will be updated.
Read the original article on Business Insider
