By MICHAEL R. SISAK and CEDAR ATTANASIO
NEW YORK (AP) — Police arrested a suspect Monday within the brazen Manhattan killing of UnitedHealthcare’s CEO after a quick-thinking McDonald’s worker in Pennsylvania alerted authorities to a buyer who was discovered with a weapon, masks and writings linking him to the ambush.
The prospect sighting on the restaurant in Altoona led to a dramatic break in a difficult however fast-moving investigation that had captivated the general public within the 5 days for the reason that taking pictures that shook the medical health insurance business.
The suspect, recognized by police as 26-year-old Luigi Nicholas Mangione, had a gun believed to be the one utilized in final Wednesday’s taking pictures of Brian Thompson, in addition to writings suggesting anger with company America, police mentioned.
Mangione was taken into custody about 9:15 a.m. after police bought a tip that he was consuming at a McDonald’s in Altoona, Pennsylvania, police mentioned.
“He is believed to be our person of interest in the brazen, targeted murder of Brian Thompson,” NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch mentioned.
Mangione had clothes and a masks just like these worn by the shooter and a fraudulent New Jersey ID matching one the suspect used to examine right into a New York Metropolis hostel earlier than the taking pictures, Tisch mentioned.
NYPD Chief of Detectives Joseph Kenny mentioned Mangione was born and raised in Maryland, has ties to San Francisco and a final recognized handle in Honolulu, Hawaii. A message left Monday with a Philadelphia-area telephone quantity linked to Mangione was not instantly returned.
He was being held in Pennsylvania on gun fees and finally can be extradited to New York to face fees in reference to Thompson’s dying, Kenny mentioned.
Police discovered a three-page doc with writings suggesting that Mangione had “ill will toward corporate America,” Kenny mentioned.
The handwritten doc “speaks to both his motivation and mindset,” Tisch mentioned.
Mangione had a ghost gun, a sort of weapon that may be assembled at dwelling from elements with out a serial quantity, making them troublesome to hint, investigators mentioned.
“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 9 mm round,” Kenny mentioned.
Officers questioned Mangione, who was appearing suspiciously and carrying a number of fraudulent IDs, in addition to a U.S. passport, Tisch mentioned. Officers discovered a suppressor, “both consistent with the weapon used in the murder,” the commissioner mentioned.
NYPD detectives and employees from the Manhattan district legal professional’s workplace traveled to Altoona to interview Mangione, Kenny mentioned.
Thompson, 50, was killed final Wednesday as he walked alone to a lodge, the place UnitedHealthcare’s guardian firm, UnitedHealth Group, was holding its annual investor convention, police mentioned.
The shooter gave the impression to be “lying in wait for several minutes” earlier than approaching the chief from behind and opening fireplace, police mentioned. He used a 9 mm pistol that police mentioned resembled the weapons farmers use to place down animals with out inflicting a loud noise.
Mangione attended an elite Baltimore prep college, graduating as valedictorian in 2016, in accordance with the varsity’s web site. In his commencement speech, he talked about his classmates’ “incredible courage to explore the unknown and try new things.”
He went on to earn undergraduate and graduate levels in pc science in 2020 from the College of Pennsylvania, a faculty spokesman mentioned.
Within the days for the reason that taking pictures, police turned to the general public for assist by releasing a group of 9 photographs and video — together with footage of the assault, in addition to pictures of the suspect at a Starbucks beforehand.
On Monday, police credited information shops for disseminating the pictures and the tipster for recognizing the suspect and calling authorities.
“Luckily, a citizen in Pennsylvania recognized the subject and called local members of the Altoona Police Department responded to the call, and based on their investigation, they notified the NYPD,” Kenny mentioned.
Photographs taken within the foyer of a hostel on Manhattan’s Higher West Aspect confirmed the suspect grinning after eradicating his masks, police mentioned.
Investigators earlier advised the gunman could have been a disgruntled worker or shopper of the insurer. Ammunition discovered close to Thompson’s physique bore the phrases “delay,” “deny” and “depose,” mimicking a phrase utilized by insurance coverage business critics.
The gunman hid his identification with a masks throughout the taking pictures but left a path of proof, together with a backpack he ditched in Central Park, a cellphone present in a pedestrian plaza and a water bottle and protein bar wrapper that police say he purchased at Starbucks minutes earlier than the assault.
On Friday, police discovered the backpack that they are saying the killer discarded as he fled from the crime scene to an uptown bus station, the place they consider he left the town.
Retracing the gunman’s steps utilizing surveillance video, investigators say the shooter fled into Central Park on a bicycle, emerged from the park with out his backpack after which ditched the bicycle.
He then walked a pair blocks and bought right into a taxi, arriving at on the George Washington Bridge Bus Station, which is close to the northern tip of Manhattan and presents commuter service to New Jersey and Greyhound routes to Philadelphia, Boston and Washington, Kenny mentioned.
The FBI introduced late Friday that it was providing a $50,000 reward for data resulting in an arrest and conviction, including to a reward of as much as $10,000 that the NYPD provided.
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Related Press writers Mark Scolforo, Michael Rubinkam and Maryclaire Dale in Pennsylvania and John Seewer in Toledo, Ohio, contributed to this report.
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