Police arrested a 26-year-old man on Monday on firearms charges and publicly identified him as a person of interest in the killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, who was shot to death on a downtown Manhattan sidewalk last week.
The New York City Police Department said the man was taken into custody near Altoona, Pennsylvania, after a local McDonald’s employee became suspicious of him and called police.
“At this point, we believe that he is the perpetrator of the brazen attack that killed United Healthcare CEO Brian Thompson in midtown Manhattan last Wednesday,” NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch said at a news conference alongside Mayor Eric Adams. He is considered to be a person of interest to us in connection with the murder case.”
Tisch identified the person of interest as Luigi Mangione. He said he had a three-page manifesto that mentioned possible “motives and ideas” for his killing.
No charges have been filed in connection with Thompson’s death at this time.
Detective Chief Inspector Joe Kenney said: “I don’t think the document contains any specific threats against other people, but it does seem to have some kind of malicious intent against American companies.”
After arriving at the police station, officers discovered the man was in possession of a gun similar to the one used to kill Thompson, a silencer and a fake New Jersey ID, police said. Officials said the suspected gunman allegedly used a fake New Jersey ID when he checked into a Manhattan hostel last month.
News 4 News 4 has obtained images of the fake New Jersey ID and firearm used to connect Luigi Mangione to the CEO investigation.
Investigators said Mangione had a ghost gun, a type of weapon that could be assembled at home from parts without serial numbers, making it difficult to trace.
Two law enforcement officials said the Altoona man being investigated had the name “Mark Rosario” on his fake New Jersey ID. Three people said the suspected gunman checked into the hostel using a fake New Jersey ID named Mark Rosario.
Mr. Mangione graduated as valedictorian from Gilman School, an all-boys high school in Baltimore, Maryland, in 2016. A spokesperson for the University of Pennsylvania confirmed that Mangione graduated in 2020 with bachelor’s and master’s degrees in computer science.
Police said the 26-year-old was born and raised in Maryland, has ties to San Francisco, and his last known address was in Honolulu, Hawaii.
Kenney said police were not given Mangione’s name before Monday and he was not aware of any previous arrests in the country.
Mangione is being held in Pennsylvania on gun charges and will eventually be extradited to New York to face charges related to Thompson’s death.
track down the murderer
Surveillance cameras in nearly every building and block allowed police to track the gunman’s movements.
At 6:44 a.m., they ambushed Mr. Thompson as he arrived at the Hilton for the company’s annual investor meeting, using a 9mm handgun similar to those used by farmers to silently kill animals. I know what I did. They learned that ammunition found near Thompson’s body had been engraved with the words “delay,” “reject,” and “discard,” mimicking phrases used by insurance industry critics. are.
Mr. Kenney said the fact that the gunman knew that United Healthcare Group was holding a meeting at the hotel and what route Mr. Thompson would take to get there meant that he He said this suggests it could be a disgruntled employee or customer.
Investigators learned from surveillance footage that the suspect fled on a bicycle into Central Park and abandoned it near 85th Street around 7 a.m.
He then walked a few blocks, took a taxi, and arrived at the George Washington Bridge Bus Station at 7:30 a.m. This bus station is located near the northern tip of Manhattan and provides commuter service to New Jersey and Greyhound routes to Philadelphia, Boston, and Washington. .
Investigators don’t know what happened next. They are examining more surveillance video, but have yet to find any footage of the gunman boarding the bus or leaving the station.
Police determined from the video that the gunman had been in the city for 10 days before the shooting. He arrived at Manhattan’s main bus terminal on a Greyhound bus from Atlanta, but it’s unclear whether he boarded from there or at one of about six stops along the route.
Shortly after, he took a taxi to a nearby Hilton and stayed there for about 30 minutes, Kenney said.
Around 11pm the night he arrived, he took a taxi to the HI New York City hostel. While talking to employees in the lobby, he briefly removed his mask and smiled, briefly showing investigators he was counting on them to identify and arrest the killer.
NYPD detectives traveled to Atlanta to coordinate efforts on the ground.
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