Luigi Mangione, the man arrested in connection with the killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, has been charged with murder by New York prosecutors while he remains imprisoned in Pennsylvania on other charges.
Mangione was originally charged Monday with possession of an unlicensed firearm, forgery and providing a false ID to police after his arrest at a McDonald’s restaurant in Altoona, Pennsylvania.
the The Associated Press reported According to an online court docket, Manhattan prosecutors added the murder charge Monday evening, and the 26-year-old is expected to eventually be extradited to New York.
Police arrested the Maryland-born man after a McDonald’s employee recognized him and called local police, authorities said Monday.
When police investigated the call and approached Mangione, Altoona Police Deputy Chief Derek Swope said they “immediately recognized him as the New York City shooting suspect” after he was asked to remove his face mask at the restaurant.
“The suspect did not have to say much after that question to show that he was very nervous at that point,” Swope told reporters Monday evening after Mangione was arraigned.
A judge ordered Mangione held without bail, and police released a photo op to the public on Monday.
Luigi Mangione, the suspect in the murder of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, is pictured in this newly released photo from the Pennsylvania Department of Corrections on December 9, 2024.
Pennsylvania Department of Corrections
It is not known at this time whether Mangione has an attorney to comment on the allegations.
When asked if he needed a public defender in court, Mangione asked if he could “answer that later,” the Associated Press reported.
How was Luigi Mangione found?
According to a Pennsylvania criminal complaint, Mangione was found wearing a blue surgical mask and looking at a laptop when police found him sitting in the back of the restaurant.
He initially gave them a fake ID, but “became calm and began shaking” when an officer asked him if he had recently visited New York, the complaint says.
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Earlier Monday, New York Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch said Mangione had a gun like the one used to kill Thompson and the same fake ID the shooter used to check into a New York motel before the shooting, as well as a passport and other items. Fake IDs.
“They also recovered clothing, including a mask consistent with that worn by the wanted individual,” Tesch said.
NYPD Chief of Detectives Joseph Kinney said at Monday’s news conference that Mangione had a ghost gun that could fire a 9mm round, as well as a silencer, both of which police said were “consistent” with the weapon used in the attack. fire.
The gun is believed to have been 3D printed.
He was also found with a three-page handwritten document that officials said Monday “speaks to his motivations and mindset.”
Mangione was born and raised in Maryland, Kenney said Monday. The 26-year-old also had connections to San Francisco and Honolulu, the latter being his last known address, he said.
Kenney said the document appeared to show that Mangione had “some ill will toward American companies.”
Brian 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 the shooter appeared to “wait for several minutes” before approaching Thompson from behind and opening fire. Police said the 9mm pistol used was similar to the guns used by farmers to kill animals without making a loud noise.
The shooting sparked a days-long manhunt for the suspect, with police releasing a trove of photos and videos — including footage of the attack, and photos of a person of interest at a Starbucks before the shooting — in hopes the public can help locate him. Shooter.
Photos from the lobby of a motel on the Upper West Side of Manhattan showed the person police contacted and the suspect in the investigation smiling after removing his mask, according to police.
The shooter left various pieces of evidence in New York, even though he obscured his face during the shooting, including a backpack he left in Central Park, a cell phone found in a pedestrian plaza, a water bottle and a protein bar wrapper.
New details about Luigi Mangione
The Associated Press and other media reported that Mangione is the grandson of a wealthy, self-made real estate developer and philanthropist, and the cousin of a current Maryland state legislator.
He was valedictorian of his elite prep school in Baltimore, where he praised his classmates’ “incredible courage” in exploring the unknown and trying new things in his 2016 graduation speech.
He earned undergraduate and graduate degrees in computer science in 2020 from the University of Pennsylvania, a school spokesperson confirmed to The Associated Press.
“Our family is shocked and devastated by Luigi’s arrest,” Mangione’s family said in a statement released by his cousin, Maryland state Rep. Nino Mangione, in a statement posted on social media late Monday. “We offer our prayers to Brian Thompson’s family and ask people to pray for everyone involved.”
He also worked for a period at car-buying site TrueCar and left in 2023, CEO Janton Riegersmann said via email.
From January to June 2022, Mangione lived at Surfbreak, a “co-living” space on the tourist edge of Waikiki in Honolulu.
Mangione, like other residents of the penthouse shared apartment that caters to remote workers, underwent a background check, said Josiah Ryan, a spokesman for owner and founder RJ Martin.
“Luigi was widely regarded as a great man. There were no complaints,” Ryan said. “There was no indication that would point to these alleged crimes that they say he committed.”
In Surfbreak, Martin learned that Mangione suffered from severe back pain since childhood that affected many aspects of his life, from surfing to romance, Ryan said.
“He went surfing with RJ one time, but it didn’t work out because of his back,” Ryan said, but noted that Mangione and Martin often went to the gym together to rock climb.
Mangione left Surfbreak to have surgery on the mainland, then later returned to Honolulu and rented an apartment, Ryan said.
Martin stopped hearing from Mangione six months to a year ago.
—With files from Sean Boynton of Global News and the Associated Press
