The man suspected of gunning down UnitedHealthcare’s CEO on a Manhattan sidewalk was arrested Monday in Pennsylvania with a gun similar to the one used in the killing and a manifesto that referred to health care industry workers as “parasites.”
New York Police Department officials identified the suspect as Luigi Mangione, 26, who is in custody on five counts, including gun charges, in Pennsylvania. The NYPD and FBI officials arrived at the Altoona police headquarters Monday evening to interview the suspect.
Mr. Mangione, a Maryland native from a wealthy family who was a Baltimore high school valedictorian and graduated from an Ivy League university, must be extradited to New York before he can face charges in last week’s “targeted murder” of Brian Thompson.
The 50-year-old health care executive was shot dead just before dawn near a hotel in midtown Manhattan.
“He is believed to be our person of interest in the brazen, targeted murder of Brian Thompson,” NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch said at a press conference Monday. “Additionally, officers recovered a handwritten document that speaks to both his motivation and mindset.”
Mr. Mangione was ordered held without bail during a Monday evening court hearing in Pennsylvania. He did not enter a plea at the hearing.
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Late Monday, Manhattan prosecutors filed murder and other charges, according to an online court docket.
Ms. Tisch said Mr. Mangione was arrested after a McDonald’s employee spotted him eating at the restaurant and recognized Mr. Mangione’s face from bulletins about the shooter that rocketed around news broadcasts and social media after the Dec. 4 slaying.
Joseph Kenny, the NYPD chief of detectives, said Mr. Mangione had a ghost gun with a silencer, similar to the one used in last week’s killing.
Chief Kenny said police found a three-page manifesto expressing “ill will toward corporate America” and frustration with the health care industry.
Some quotes in his writings include “These parasites had it coming” and “I do apologise for any strife and trauma, but it had to be done.”
Police said Mr. Mangione had clothing and a mask similar to what the gunman wore during the caught-on-camera killing.
He also had a U.S. passport and multiple fake IDs, including a fake New Jersey ID that authorities said he used to check into a New York City hostel days before the shooting.
The Mangione family released a statement through the suspect’s cousin, Maryland state Rep. Nino Mangione.
“Unfortunately we cannot comment on news reports regarding Luigi Mangione. We only know what we have read in the media. Our family is shocked and devastated by Luigi’s arrest,” the politician posted on X late Monday. “We offer our prayers to the family of Brian Thompson and we ask people to pray for all involved.”
The brazen homicide and the gunman’s ability to evade law enforcement started a massive effort to track down the killer.
The shooter lurked nearby and waited for Mr. Thompson to come into view before firing at least three rounds at point-blank range at the health care executive.
The suspect then ran through an alley and hopped onto an electric bike, which he rode into Central Park.
Police said the gunman ditched his backpack in the park and caught a taxi to the George Washington Bridge Bus Station in northern Manhattan. Authorities said he boarded a commuter bus that took him out of the state.
The gunman appeared to be undone by one minor slip: a brief moment when he pulled down his mask to smile at someone in New York City.
A McDonald’s employee in Pennsylvania noticed that distinctive mug. Police said they stopped Mr. Mangione, questioned him and took him into custody.
Authorities said Mr. Mangione was born and raised in Maryland but had ties to San Francisco. His last known address was Honolulu.
His family owns the nursing home chain Lorien Health Services, a Maryland radio station, the Turf Valley Resort and the Hayfields Country Club.
He attended the private Gilman School in Baltimore, graduating as valedictorian in 2016. He later graduated with a bachelor’s and a master’s degree in computer science from the University of Pennsylvania.
“This is deeply distressing news on top of an already awful situation. Our hearts go out to everyone affected,” Henry P.A. Smyth, the Gilman School headmaster, said in an email after the news of Mr. Mangione’s arrest.
Mr. Mangione’s GoodReads profile, a website where book lovers can discuss works they have read, shows he reviewed the 1995 manifesto of the notorious “Unabomber,” Ted Kaczynski.
His review credited Kaczynski for “how prescient many of his predictions about modern society turned out.”
“He was a violent individual — rightfully imprisoned — who maimed innocent people,” the review said. “While these actions tend to be characterized as those of a crazy luddite, however, they are more accurately seen as those of an extreme political revolutionary.”
According to his LinkedIn page, after graduating, Mr. Mangione worked as a software engineer for the online car sales company TrueCar.
• Matt Delaney can be reached at mdelaney@washingtontimes.com.
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