NEW YORK – In his first comments since Luigi Mangione was charged with second-degree murder on Monday, Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg said he was confident the 26-year-old would be quickly extradited to New York to face responsibility for the brazen shooting Brian Thompson, CEO of UnitedHealthcare.
“We will bring the defendant here and bring him to justice through our judicial process,” Bragg told ABC News on Wednesday, saying Mangione could face additional charges beyond the second-degree murder charge he is currently facing .
“As we learn more about motives and things like that, additional charges may apply,” Bragg said.
Mangione is also charged in New York with multiple counts of criminal possession of a forged instrument and criminal possession of a weapon.
“We want to learn more and we still have a lot to do,” Bragg said. “As we move forward, additional charges may need to be filed,” Bragg said.
Mangione's attorney, Thomas Dickey, said his client plans to plead not guilty to the charges, claiming there is no evidence linking his client to the crime. Bragg said he was confident Mangione was the person who fired three shots into Thompson's torso last week, killing the health care manager and setting off a firestorm of hate online.
“We wouldn't incriminate the person if we didn't believe it was the person, and we're ready to move forward and we're on the path to accountability and justice,” Bragg said.
Once the former Ivy Leaguer is extradited to New York, Bragg said Mangione will face a team of Manhattan's most experienced homicide detectives. The prosecutor acknowledged that the nature of the alleged crime was “extremely frightening.”
“It's very scary and it's something that's getting the attention of so many people who live here, so many people who come here to work, and rightfully so,” Bragg said.
Bragg's comments come on the same day that the New York Police Department presented the first forensic evidence linking Mangione to the alleged crime. According to Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch, fingerprints from the crime scene were matched to Mangione, and three shell casings recovered after the downtown shooting were matched to Mangione's 3D-printed handgun. Bragg's office said his office has focused on combating so-called ghost guns since the beginning of his tenure as district attorney.
“It’s something we’re seeing in use more and more in general. It’s something that younger and younger people are working on,” Bragg said.
When asked why Mangione was charged with second-degree murder, Bragg told ABC News that prosecutors wanted to file charges quickly and that there are “a number of circumstances described” with first-degree murder.
“Murder 2 is the intentional killing of a person, punishable by 25 years to life under New York law,” Bragg said. “Murder 1 involves a number of described circumstances, including, for example, a serial murder, the murder of a witness or the murder of a police officer.”
Bragg has been at the center of several high-profile cases — including his conviction of former President Donald Trump and the recent acquittal of Marine veteran Daniel Penny. In the Mangione case, Bragg expects not only a high-profile prosecution, but also growing public support for the accused murderer.
“I … have spent time with families of murder victims and survivors of violent crimes,” Bragg said. “This is at the heart of our work and to think that there are others who celebrate this behavior is incomprehensible to me.”
Mangione, a 26-year-old Ivy League graduate, is accused of shooting Thompson outside a midtown Manhattan hotel on Dec. 4 as the CEO was on his way to an investor conference.
Thompson's murder sparked anger online at the health insurance industry, and some people celebrated the suspect online.
“Celebrating murder is abhorrent,” Bragg said. “I sit across from the families where a loved one has been killed. And to think about the people celebrating that… is incomprehensible to me.”
