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  • February 18, 2025
Luigi Mangione charged with murder in shooting of UnitedHealthcare CEO

Luigi Mangione charged with murder in shooting of UnitedHealthcare CEO

Surveillance footage of the suspected shooter in the killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson.

Surveillance footage shows the suspected shooter in the killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson.NYPD via AP

  • United Healthcare CEO Brian Thompson was fatally shot outside a Hilton in Midtown Manhattan on Wednesday.

  • Luigi Mangione was arrested and charged with murder in connection with the murder.

  • The murder of the 50-year-old father of two sparked a manhunt in New York City and beyond.

Luigi Mangione, the shooting suspect Brian Thompson, CEO of UnitedHealthcareis facing a murder charge in connection with the Midtown Manhattan slaying.

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 of a forged instrument. degree of criminal possession of a firearm.

New York Police Department officials said at a news conference that Mangione had been arrested in Altoona, Pennsylvania, on firearms charges. Altoona is approximately 300 miles from New York City.

Mangione was charged in Pennsylvania on Monday evening. He was charged with two felonies – forgery and carrying a firearm without a license – and three felonies – tampering with documents or identification, possession of instruments of crime and false identification to law enforcement – ​​according to a criminal complaint viewed by Business Insider. He was ordered held without bail.

Mangione was taken to the State Correctional Institution in Huntingdon, Pennsylvania, after his arraignment, the facility’s press secretary told Business Insider.

Mangione is being held alone in a single cell at the “maximum custody level,” Maria Bivens, press secretary for the Pennsylvania Department of Corrections, told CNN.

In a statement to BI, representatives for Nino Mangione – a Maryland state lawmaker and cousin of Mangione – declined to comment on the news of Mangione’s arrest.

“Unfortunately, we cannot comment on news reports regarding Luigi Mangione,” the statement said. “We only know what we have 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 several surveillance images released by authorities and called police, police said.

Altoona police found Mangione with multiple fake IDs and a U.S. passport, as well as a firearm and a suppressor “both consistent with the weapon used” in Thompson’s Dec. 4 killing in the heart of Manhattan, NYPD Commissioner Jessica said Tisch.

The weapon appears to be one “ghost gun” made possible on a 3D printer that can fire a 9-millimeter bullet, NYPD Chief Joseph Kenny said earlier on Monday.

According to the complaint, the gun and silencer were 3D printed.

Clothing, including a mask, was also recovered “consistent with clothing worn” by the suspect wanted in Thompson’s murder, along with a fake New Jersey ID that matched the ID the murder suspect used to check in at a Manhattan hostel before the attack, Tisch said. .

In addition, Altoona police found a three-page handwritten document “that speaks to both his motivation and his mentality,” Tisch said.

Based on the document, Kenny says it appears he harbors ill will toward corporate America.

“Our investigation is leaning toward him acting 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 other charges, Kenny added.

Blair County District Attorney Peter Weeks said during Mangione’s arraignment in Pennsylvania that Mangione had $10,000 in cash, including foreign currency, according to the Associated Press.

Mangione disputed the amount.

Photo of suspect in the murder of Brian ThompsonPhoto of suspect in the murder of Brian Thompson

The NYPD has released images of the person of interest in the murder of Brian Thompson.DCPI/NYPD

Mangione was active on social media

On X, Mangione posted and amplified messages about technological advances such as artificial intelligence. He also posted about fitness and healthy living.

He regularly retweeted messages from writer Tim Urban and commentator Jonathan Haidt about the promise and perils of technology.

He also turned out to be a fan of Michael Pollan, known for his writing about food and ethics, and lab-grown meat. At the top of his profile was a header image with three images: a photo of himself, smiling, shirtless on a mountain ridge, a Pokemon, and an x-ray with four pins or screws visible in the lower back.

Mangione founded a company called AppRoar Studios in 2015 while still in high school. AppRoar released an iPhone game called Pivot Plane, which is no longer available.

AppRoar’s two other co-founders could not be reached for comment.

Mangione’s X account has been deactivated. A YouTube spokesperson said his three accounts on the platform had also been terminated, but had not been active for about seven months.

A manhunt

The arrest follows a manhunt lasting almost a week for a masked, slightly built gunman who police say ambushed the 50-year-old father of two from Minnesota outside the New York Hilton Midtown hotel early Wednesday morning.

Police say 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 reports this that Mangione’s mother reported him missing in mid-November, citing law enforcement sources.

Kenny said Manigone has no prior arrest history in New York and no known arrests in the U.S.

A Luigi Mangione with a matching date of birth and address received a citation for simple trespass for entering a restricted area of ​​a state park in Hawaii in November 2023. He pleaded no contest and paid a $100 fine.

Over the past week, police have distributed more than six images of a suspect, including images that Tisch previously described in an interview with CNN as the “money shot” showing the suspect’s face unmasked.

“For just over five days, our NYPD investigators sifted through thousands of hours of video footage, followed up on hundreds of tips and processed every piece of forensic evidence – DNA, fingerprints, IP addresses and so much to tighten the net,” Tisch said. at Monday’s press conference announcing Manigone’s arrest.

Thompson was shot multiple times on a sidewalk on 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 UnitedHealth Group Investor Conference – when a hooded gunman opened fire on him from behind.

The CEO of the country’s largest health insurer was struck at least once in the back and at least once in the right calf, police said.

Surveillance footage showed the gunman firing his weapon as Thompson, wearing a blue suit jacket, walked a few 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 “certainly knew” where Thompson would be.

The shooter fled the scenefirst on foot and then on an electric bicycle, which he rode into Central Park before eventually escaping from New York City, authorities said.

Shell casings and bullets found at the scene contained the words ‘deny’, ‘defend’ and ‘depose’ written on it, according to multiple reports citing unnamed sources. BI could not independently confirm these details.

In the aftermath of the attack, the NYPD offered a $10,000 reward for tips leading to the gunman’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, the parent company of UnitedHealthcare, responded to news of Manigone’s arrest in a statement to BI, saying: “Our hope is that today’s arrest brings some relief to Brian’s family, friends, colleagues and the many others affected. We thank law enforcement officials and will continue to cooperate with them on this investigation. We ask that everyone respect the family’s privacy as they grieve.”

This story is developing and will be updated.

Read the original article Business insider