Police arrested “a person of interest” Monday who was found in Pennsylvania with a gun they say is “consistent” with the one used in last week’s murder. UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson in New York, authorities announced after an intense, multi-day manhunt for the shooter.
New York Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch told reporters Luigi Mangione26, was arrested by police in Altoona, Pennsylvania, about 375 miles west of New York, earlier Monday. She said Mangione was recognized by an employee at a local McDonald’s who then called local police.
Mangione was found with several fake IDs, a gun and a silencer, another name for a silencer, which Tisch said matches the gun police believe he used in the fatal shooting. She said one of the ID cards matched the one the suspect used to check into a Manhattan hostel before the shooting.
Mangione, who was indicted on weapons, forgery and other charges in Pennsylvania, began shaking when police asked him if he had been in New York recently, according to court records.
Authorities credited the wide release of surveillance footage of a person of interest sought in the shooting that led to Mangione’s arrest.
“How did we do it?” It’s good old-fashioned police work,” New York City Mayor Eric Adams said at a news conference.
“We sent (the photos) across the country, and someone, a McDonald’s employee, did something that we ask all Americans to do: if you see something, say something – but most importantly, do something. And they did.
Thompson, 50, was killed last Wednesday in what police called a “brazen and targeted” attack as he walked alone to the Hilton from a nearby hotel, where UnitedHealthcare’s parent company, UnitedHealth Group, was holding its annual investor conference, police said.
The shooter appeared to “wait several minutes” before approaching the frame from behind and opening fire, police said. He used a 9mm pistol that police said resembled weapons farmers use to slaughter animals without causing a sound.
“We hope that today’s arrest brings some relief to family, friends, colleagues and the many others affected by this unspeakable tragedy,” a UnitedHealth Group spokesperson told Global News in a press release.
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“We thank law enforcement and will continue to work with them on this investigation. We ask everyone to respect the privacy of families as they grieve.
What we know about Luigi Mangione
NYPD Chief of Detectives Joseph Kenny said Monday that “a ghost gun capable of firing a 9mm bullet” was found on Mangione. He added that the weapon may have been created with a 3D printer.
Tisch said police who arrested Mangione also recovered a three-page handwritten document “that speaks to both his motivation and his state of mind.”
Kenny said that based on the document, police believe Mangione had “some ill will toward corporate America” but did not provide further details on whether UnitedHealthcare or health insurers were specifically mentioned.
Ammunition found near Thompson’s body bore the words “delay,” “deny” and “drop,” mimicking a phrase used by critics of the insurance industry, US media reported last week citing police sources.
Kenny said Mangione was born and raised in Maryland with ties to San Francisco, and his last known address was in Honolulu, Hawaii. He had no arrest history in New York and may have attended college in Pennsylvania.
Mangione was “sitting there eating” in the McDonald’s when the employee identified him, Kenny added.
Authorities will work to extradite Mangione from Pennsylvania, where he faces local charges for the gun and fake IDs found on him, to potentially face charges related to Thompson’s murder , Kenny said.
He said investigators do not believe anyone helped Mangione track Thompson’s movements before the shooting or his alleged escape from New York afterward, but that the investigation is ongoing.
“We’re not stopping today,” Kenny said.
In the days following the shooting, police asked for the public’s help by releasing a series of photos and videos, including footage of the attack, as well as footage of a individual described by the NYPD as a person of interest at a Starbucks beforehand.
Photos taken in the lobby of a hostel on Manhattan’s Upper West Side showed the person police called, a suspect in the investigation, smiling after removing his mask, police said.
On Friday, police found a backpack in the park that the killer allegedly abandoned while fleeing the crime scene to a downtown bus station, where he left the city by bus.
On Monday, before reports of Mangione’s arrest were released, K-9 units sniffed leaf-covered planters between walking paths in Central Park, near where police found the shooter’s backpack. Farther down the path police suspect he took through the park after the shooting, divers geared up and began searching a pond for the third day in a row.
Tracing the shooter’s steps using surveillance video, investigators say the shooter fled into Central Park on a bicycle, exited the park without his backpack and then abandoned the bike.
He then walked a few blocks and got into a taxi, arriving at the George Washington Bridge bus station, located near the northern tip of Manhattan and offering commuter service to New Jersey and Greyhound routes to Philadelphia, Boston and Washington. police officials said last week.
The FBI announced Friday evening that it would offer a $50,000 reward for information leading to an arrest and conviction, in addition to the reward of up to $10,000 offered by the New York Police Department. Police believe the shooter acted alone.
Saturday evening, the police were released two additional photos of a person of interest it appeared to come from a camera mounted inside a taxi. The first shows him outside the vehicle and the second shows him looking through the partition between the rear seat and the front of the cabin. In both cases, his face is partially obscured by a blue mask.
On Monday, a small section of Central Park was cordoned off with blue and white police tape, giving divers a space to change and get into the water.
At one point, a group of around 30 French-speaking tourists followed a guide down a path, but they were unable to go further because of police recording. Before turning back, many of them took out their phones to take a photo of the divers.
—with files from Associated Press and Reuters