- Luigi Mangione, who was arrested in Pennsylvania on gun charges, was named a person of interest in the killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson.
- Mangione had a ghost gun and a silencer matching those used in the killing, as well as clothes matching those of the shooter.
- The suspect had a handwritten manifesto criticizing health care companies and suggesting violence as a solution.
Luigi Mangione, who was arrested Monday morning in Pennsylvania as a “strong person of interest” in the death of UnitedHealthcare’s CEO Brian Thompson, “has been charged in Manhattan with murder, according to online court records,” reported The New York Times.
Mangione, 26, was arrested at a McDonald’s in Altoona, almost 300 miles west of New York City, after an employee thought he matched images released of the alleged shooter and called the police, according to The New York Times.
Mangione matched the description of the man in photos of the suspect and had multiple items allegedly connecting him to the killing in his possession.
According to The New York Times, Mangione was born and raised in Maryland. He also has ties to San Francisco and his last known address was in Honolulu, Hawaii. The University of Pennsylvania confirmed that Mangione earned both bachelor’s and master’s degrees in engineering from the school. He graduated in May 2020.
In high school, Mangione was the valedictorian of his 2016 class at the Gilman School in Baltimore, per The New York Times.
He has no known criminal record in New York, per wire service reports.
Last Wednesday, at around 6:40 a.m. ET, Thompson was shot and killed by a masked man outside a Manhattan hotel, per Axios.
According to CNN, the shooting prompted a manhunt that reached up and down the East Coast.
What evidence was found in Mangione’s possession when he was arrested?
When officers arrested Mangione, they found a gun and a silencer which are consistent to those used in the killing, per The New York Times.
The gun found in Mangione’s possession is believed to be a ghost gun.
“Ghost guns are untraceable, self-assembled firearms, often put together with parts sold online, sometimes in as little as 30 minutes. The weapons, sometimes referred to by officials as ‘privately made firearms,’ or PMFs, do not have serial numbers, making them all the more difficult to track and regulate,” per CNN.
He also had a fraudulent New Jersey ID, which matches one used to check into a New York City hostel ahead of the shooting.
Mangione was also found with clothing that matched what the gunman was wearing, according to The New York Times.
Authorities also found a handwritten manifesto in Mangione’s possession, which criticized health care companies and also suggested violence as a solution to the problem.
The document included threatening sentences such as “these parasites had it coming” and “I do apologize for any strife and trauma, but it had to be done,” per CNN.
In the manifesto, Mangione said he acted alone and that he was self-funded.
“We don’t think there’s any specific threats to other people mentioned in that document, but it does seem that he has some ill will towards corporate America,” NYPD Chief of Detectives Joseph Kenny said according to CNN.
