California state police provided information to the FBI days before United Healthcare CEO Luigi Mangione was eventually tracked down and arrested, two officials said.
The information provided by the San Francisco Police Department was general and based on a missing persons report filed by Mangione’s family in November, executives told NBC New York. This was one of hundreds of tips and leads investigators were evaluating and working on when Mangione was found at a McDonald’s in Pennsylvania.
Two sources familiar with the investigation said local police told the FBI in San Francisco that the image on the wanted killer’s wanted poster may resemble Mangione, based on a missing persons report. He shared that there is. Sources said investigators in San Francisco alerted the FBI in New York for general information before alerting New York City police officers at the scene.
Two sources told News 4 that this information was based solely on appearance, and there was no information at the time to suggest Mr. Mangione might be in New York or posed a threat. As such, this chip was treated as one of many similar chips being screened at the time.
Law enforcement interviewed Mangione’s mother Sunday in connection with the investigation after the FBI received a missing persons report from San Francisco on Friday, Dec. 6, according to two sources familiar with the matter. . The mother said the suspect in the photo could be her son.
Just two days later, on Monday, Mangione was found at a McDonald’s restaurant in Altoona and arrested by local police shortly after, as investigators and numerous other law enforcement agencies investigated.
The FBI’s New York office acknowledged in a statement Friday that it had received information from the SFPD “regarding the possible identity of a suspect” following the midtown Manhattan shooting.
“The New York State FBI conducted routine investigative activities and referred this information and other leads to the New York City Police Department as part of their investigation assistance,” the statement said, adding that the photos were “widely shared by law enforcement.” ” is said to have occurred. As a result, Mangione was identified by residents of the restaurant.
Police provided details about some of the evidence they say links Mangione to the scene of the shooting, including fingerprints and ballistic evidence.
About 30 minutes before the shooting, video from a Starbucks store in midtown Manhattan showed the masked killer purchasing a bottle of water and a KIND bar. Police said five fingerprints on a water bottle found near the scene of the shooting and two fingerprints on a KIND bar wrapper matched Mangione’s.
Tisch said the gun found when the suspect was arrested on Monday was sent to the NYPD. Police also confirmed a ballistics match, saying shell casings at the scene of the shooting matched shell casings found in the weapon.
“What we brought [the gun] It was sent to our forensic laboratory and we were able to match the gun to three projectile casings recovered at the scene. So it was a ballistic match,” NYPD Chief of Detectives Joseph Kenney told NBC New York in an exclusive interview Thursday.
Kenney said in the interview that there was “no indication” he was a UnitedHealthcare customer and that he was solely responsible for targeting CEO Brian Thompson outside his hotel on the morning of Dec. 4. He said it may have been because he was aware of the scale of the event. A meeting was being held at the hotel that day.
“There is no indication that he was a customer of United Healthcare, but he does mention that United Healthcare is the fifth largest company in America, which would make United Healthcare the largest company in America. So maybe that’s why he targeted that company,”’ Kenney said.
In his book, Mangione wrote that he wanted to target CEOs of large companies like United Healthcare with guns during meetings.
“What’s your occupation? You surprised the CEO with the annual parasite beancounter convention. It’s targeted, it’s accurate, and it doesn’t put innocent people at risk.” , was written in a notebook that appeared to be his.
Between writings and social media posts written by Kenney about his “life-altering injuries” that required screws to be inserted into his spine, police could point to a motive for the alleged shooting. I was checking things out.
Police said they recovered some DNA from a cell phone believed to belong to Mangione, but will compare it with others until Mangione is extradited to New York City and a court-ordered sample is available. I wouldn’t be able to do that. Kenney said the cellphone found in the alley was also inaccessible.
Mangione is next scheduled to appear in court on gun charges in Pennsylvania on December 30th. Kenney said the NYPD hopes to have Mangione returned to New York City “within the next 30 days.”
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