By MICHAEL R. SISAK, MARK SCOLFORO and CEDAR ATTANASIO
ALTOONA, Pa. (AP) — A person suspected within the brazen Manhattan killing of UnitedHealthcare’s CEO was arrested and charged with homicide Monday after a quick-thinking McDonald’s buyer in Pennsylvania acknowledged him from a surveillance picture and cops discovered a gun, 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 captivated the general public within the 5 days for the reason that taking pictures that shook the enterprise world.
Luigi Nicholas Mangione, a 26-year-old Ivy League graduate from a outstanding Maryland actual property household, 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.
Late Monday, Manhattan prosecutors filed homicide and different costs in opposition to Mangione, based on a web based courtroom docket. He remained jailed in Pennsylvania, the place he was charged with possession of an unlicensed firearm, forgery and offering false identification to police.
Mangione was sitting within the rear of the McDonald’s sporting a blue medical masks and a laptop computer laptop, courtroom paperwork mentioned. A buyer noticed him and an worker referred to as 911, mentioned Kaz Daughtry, an NYPD deputy commissioner.
Altoona Police Officer Tyler Frye mentioned he and his companion acknowledged the suspect instantly when he pulled down his masks. “We just didn’t think twice about it. We knew that was our guy,” he mentioned.
When one of many officers requested if he’d been to New York just lately, he “became quiet and started to shake,” based on a legal grievance primarily based on their accounts of the arrest.
In his backpack, police discovered a black, 3D-printed pistol and a 3D-printed black silencer, the grievance mentioned. Such ghost weapons will be assembled at dwelling from components with out a serial quantity, making them troublesome to hint. The pistol had a metallic slide and plastic deal with with a metallic threaded barrel.
He was taken into custody at about 9:15 a.m., police mentioned.
Mangione had clothes and a masks much like these worn by the shooter and a fraudulent New Jersey ID matching one the suspect used to test right into a New York Metropolis hostel earlier than the taking pictures, NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch mentioned.
NYPD Chief of Detectives Joseph Kenny mentioned Mangione was born and raised in Maryland, has ties to San Francisco and a final identified tackle in Honolulu.
“Our family is shocked and devastated by Luigi’s arrest,” Mangione’s household mentioned in an announcement posted on social media late Monday by his cousin, Maryland lawmaker Nino Mangione. “We offer our prayers to the family of Brian Thompson and we ask people to pray for all involved.”
Mangione was arraigned and ordered held with out bail throughout a quick courtroom listening to. Requested if he wanted a public defender, he requested if he may “answer that at a future date.” He ultimately shall be extradited to New York to face costs in reference to Thompson’s demise, 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.
A legislation enforcement official who wasn’t licensed to debate the investigation publicly and spoke with The Related Press on situation of anonymity mentioned the doc included a line during which Mangione claimed to have acted alone.
“To the Feds, I’ll keep this short, because I do respect what you do for our country. To save you a lengthy investigation, I state plainly that I wasn’t working with anyone,” the doc mentioned, based on the official.
It additionally had a line that mentioned, “I do apologize for any strife or traumas but it had to be done. Frankly, these parasites simply had it coming.”
Mangione additionally had a passport and $10,000 in money — $2,000 of it in overseas foreign money, authorities mentioned. Mangione, who mentioned Hawaii was his most up-to-date tackle, disputed the quantity.
Thompson, 50, was killed final Wednesday as he walked alone to a lodge, the place UnitedHealthcare’s mum or dad firm, UnitedHealth Group, was holding its annual investor convention, police mentioned.
UnitedHealth Group thanked legislation enforcement in an announcement. “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,” an organization spokesperson mentioned.
The taking pictures shook U.S. companies and the medical insurance trade particularly, inflicting corporations to rethink safety plans and delete photographs of executives from their web sites.
Mangione attended an elite Baltimore prep faculty, graduating as valedictorian in 2016, based on the varsity’s web site. He went on to earn undergraduate and graduate levels in laptop science in 2020 from the College of Pennsylvania, a college spokesperson mentioned.
Certainly one of his cousins is a Maryland state legislator and his household purchased a rustic membership north of Baltimore within the Nineteen Eighties. On Monday, police blocked off an entrance to the property, which public data hyperlink to the suspect’s dad and mom. A swarm of reporters and photographers gathered outdoors.
Mangione went from Philadelphia to Pittsburgh after the taking pictures, and certain “was in a variety of locations across the state,” mentioned Lt. Col. George Bivens of the Pennsylvania State Police mentioned.
“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 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.
Pictures taken within the foyer of a hostel on Manhattan’s Higher West Aspect confirmed the suspect grinning after eradicating his masks, police mentioned.
On Monday, police credited information retailers for disseminating the photographs and the tipster for recognizing the suspect and calling authorities.
Investigators earlier prompt 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 trade critics.
The gunman hid his id with a masks through 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 mentioned the killer had left town quickly after the taking pictures. Retracing the gunman’s steps utilizing surveillance video, investigators say the shooter rode into Central Park on a bicycle and emerged from the park with out his backpack. He made his technique to a bus station that gives commuter service to New Jersey and routes to the East Coast, police mentioned.
___
Sisak and Attanasio reported from New York. Related Press writers Michael Rubinkam and Maryclaire Dale in Pennsylvania; Lea Skene, in Baltimore; and John Seewer in Toledo, Ohio, contributed to this report.
Initially Printed:
