- Authorities arrested a “strong person of interest” in the shooting of United Healthcare CEO Brian Thompson after an employee at a McDonald’s in Pennsylvania recognized him and called police.
Investigators have apprehended a “strong person of interest” related to the shooting of United Healthcare CEO Brian Thompson last week, New York City Mayor Eric Adams said during a press conference Monday.
The man, identified as 26-year-old Luigi Mangione, was arrested on firearm charges in Pennsylvania, New York City Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch said during a press conference Monday. Mangione was apprehended in Altoona, Pa., Monday after authorities followed up on a tip.
The suspect was eating at a McDonald’s when an employee recognized him from pictures circulated by authorities and called police, according to New York City Police Department Chief of Detectives Joseph Kenny. The FBI had previously offered $50,000 for information leading to the shooter’s arrest and conviction.
“We should never underestimate the power of the public to be our eyes and our ears in these investigations,” Tisch said at the press conference Monday.
At the time of his arrest Mangione was in possession of a gun, a silencer, and a fake New Jersey ID that matched one used by Thompson’s alleged killer to check into a New York City hostel 10 days before the shooting, Tisch said.
The gun Mangione was carrying is known as a “ghost gun” because it was not registered and may have been assembled from parts bought online or 3D printed, police said.
The suspect has no prior criminal record in New York and has not been arrested or charged in connection to the killing, according to authorities. The NYPD is attempting to bring the suspect to New York to be charged.
Mangione also was reportedly carrying a handwritten document, Tisch said Monday. The document, characterized as a “manifesto” by two law enforcement officials interviewed by the New York Times, reportedly criticizes health care companies’ focus on profits over care. Kenny said during the press conference that the document the suspect was carrying suggests “he has some ill will toward corporate America.”
On the book review website Goodreads, a user by the name Luigi Mangione had previously reviewed “Unabomber” Ted Kaczynski’s manifesto Industrial Society and Its Future.
A man by the name Luigi Mangione on social media website X identified himself as studying computer science at the University of Pennsylvania. A person with the same name graduated with engineering degrees from the University of Pennsylvania in 2020, according to a university commencement program.