Police have arrested a “powerful person of interest” in connection with the killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson last week, New York City Mayor Eric Adams and police officials announced Monday.
New York Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch told reporters that police detained Luigi Mangione, 26, in Altoona, Pennsylvania, about 233 miles (375 kilometers) west of New York City, earlier on Monday. She said a local McDonald’s employee recognized Mangione and then called local police.
Mangione was found with several fake IDs, a firearm and a silencer, another name for a silencer, that police believe were used in the fatal shooting, Tesch said. She added that one of the ID cards matched the one the suspected shooter used to check into a Manhattan motel before the shooting.
Tesh and Adams credit the widespread distribution of surveillance images of a person of interest wanted in the shooting that led to Mangione’s arrest.
“How did we do it? Good old-fashioned police work,” Adams said.
Thompson, 50, was killed last Wednesday in what police said was 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.
NYPD Tisch said Wednesday that the shooter appeared to “wait for several minutes” before approaching the executive from behind and opening fire. He used a 9 mm pistol, which police said was similar to the rifles used by farmers to kill animals without making a loud noise.
Police said Monday that a “ghost gun capable of firing a 9mm round” was found in Mangione.
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In the days following the shooting, police turned to the public for help by releasing a collection of photos and videos — including footage of the attack, as well as photos of a man. The individual has been described by the NYPD as a person of interest At Starbucks beforehand.
Police said photos taken in the lobby of a motel on the Upper West Side of Manhattan showed the person contacted by police as a suspect in the investigation smiling after removing his mask.
US media reported last week, citing law enforcement sources, that the ammunition found near Thompson’s body bore the words “delay”, “denial” and “deposit”, mimicking a phrase used by critics of the insurance industry.
On Friday, police found a backpack in the park, which they say the killer disposed of as he fled the crime scene to a bus station uptown, where they believe he left the city on a bus.
On Monday, K-9 units sniffed leaf-covered farms between walking paths in Central Park near where police found the shooter’s backpack. Along the route that police suspect he took through the park after the shooting, divers geared up and began searching the pond for the third day in a row.
Tracing the gunman’s steps using surveillance video, investigators say the shooter fled into Central Park on a bike, exited the park without his backpack and then ditched the bike.
He then walked a few blocks, took a taxi, and arrived at the George Washington Bridge bus station, which is located near the northern tip of Manhattan and provides service to New Jersey and Greyhound to Philadelphia, Boston and Washington, the New York police chief said. Joseph Kinney, investigators said.
The FBI announced late Friday that it is offering a $50,000 reward for information leading to an arrest and conviction, in addition to a reward of up to $10,000 offered by the NYPD. Police say they believe the shooter acted alone.
Police released him late Saturday Two additional photos of the person of interest It appears to be from a camera installed inside a taxi. The first shows him outside the car and the second shows him looking through the partition between the back seat and the front of the cab. In both, his face is partially obscured by a blue mask.
By searching the park, the NYPD took steps to minimize disturbance to visitors, resulting in an odd juxtaposition of joggers, tourists and an active crime scene.
On Monday, a small section of the park was cordoned off with blue and white police tape, giving divers space to change into the water.
At one point, a group of about 30 French-speaking tourists followed a guide on the trail, but were unable to go any further because of police tape. Before returning, many of them took out their phones to take a photo of the divers.
—With files from The Associated Press and Reuters
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