- UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson was fatally shot Wednesday outside a Midtown Manhattan Hilton.
- On Monday, police arrested Luigi Mangione in Altoona, Pa., on gun charges.
- The killing of the 50-year-old father of two had sparked a manhunt in New York City and beyond.
Police in Pennsylvania on Monday arrested the “person of interest” in the Midtown Manhattan shooting death of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson.
New York Police Department officials said at a press conference that 26-year-old Luigi Mangione was arrested 280 miles away in Altoona, Pennsylvania, on firearms charges. He has not yet been charged for the killing of Thompson, which police have described as a “brazen, targeted attack.”
Mangione was eating in a local McDonald’s when an employee recognized him from the several surveillance images that authorities released and called the police, police said.
Altoona police found Mangione with multiple fake IDs, a US passport as well as a firearm and a suppressor “both consistent with the weapon used” in the December 4 killing of Thompson in the heart of Manhattan, NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch said.
The gun appears to be “ghost gun” that may have been made on a 3-D printer with the capability of firing a 9-millimeter round, said NYPD Chief of Detectives Joseph Kenny.
Clothing, including a mask, was also recovered “consistent with those worn” by the suspect wanted for Thompson’s killing, along with a fake New Jersey ID matching the ID that the murder suspect used to check into a Manhattan hostel before the attack, Tisch said.
Additionally, Altoona police found a three-page handwritten document “that speaks to both his motivation and mindset,” said Tisch.
Based on the document, according to Kenny, “it does seem that he has some ill will toward corporate America.”
“Our investigation is leaning toward he was acting alone,” Kenny said.
Investigators with the NYPD were traveling to Altoona on Monday to interview Mangione, Tisch said.
Mangione will face gun charges in Pennsylvania and, at some point, he’s expected to be extradited to New York to face other charges, Kenny added.
Mangione was active on social media
On X, he posted and amplified posts about technological advances like artificial intelligence. He also posted about fitness and healthy living.
He frequently retweeted posts by the writer Tim Urban and commentator Jonathan Haidt about the promise and perils of technology.
He also appeared to be a fan of Michael Pollan, known for his writing about food and ethics, and lab-grown meat. At the top of his profile was a header image with three images: a photo of himself, smiling, shirtless on a mountain ridge, a Pokemon, and an x-ray with four pins or screws visible in the lower back.
Mangione founded a company called AppRoar Studios in 2015 while still in high school. AppRoar released an iPhone game called Pivot Plane that is no longer available.
The two other cofounders of AppRoar could not be reached for comment.
A manhunt
The arrest follows a nearly week-long manhunt for a masked, slightly-built gunman who police say ambushed the 50-year-old father of two from Minnesota early Wednesday morning outside of the New York Hilton Midtown hotel.
According to police, Manigone was born and raised in Maryland, and has ties to San Francisco, California. Manigone’s last known address is in Honolulu, Hawaii.
Kenny said that Manigone has no prior arrest history in New York and no known arrests in the US.
A Luigi Mangione with a matching birthday and address received a citation for simple trespass for entering a forbidden area of a state part in Hawaii in November 2023. He pled no contest and paid a $100 fine.
In the past week, police have circulated more than a half-dozen images of a suspect, including images that Tisch previously described in an interview with CNN as the “money shot” showing the suspect’s face unmasked.
“For just over five days, our NYPD investigators combed through thousands of hours of video, followed up on hundreds of tips, and processed every bit of forensic evidence — DNA, fingerprints, IP addresses and so much to tighten the net,” Tisch said at Monday’s press conference announcing the arrest of Manigone.
Thompson was shot multiple times on a 6th Avenue sidewalk as he was walking toward the Hilton hotel. He was steps away from a side entrance to the hotel — where he was set to speak at UnitedHealth Group’s investor conference — when a hooded gunman opened fire on him from behind.
The chief executive of the nation’s largest health insurer was struck at least once in the back and at least once in the right calf, police said.
Surveillance footage showed the gunman firing his weapon as Thompson, wearing a blue suit jacket, walked several feet in front of him.
A law-enforcement source, who was not authorized to speak to the press, previously told Business Insider that the gun appeared to be equipped with a silencer and that the gunman “definitely knew” where Thompson was going to be.
The gunman fled the scene, first on foot and then on an electric bike, which he rode into Central Park before ultimately escaping from New York City, authorities said.
Shell casings and bullets found at the scene had the words “deny,” “defend,” and “depose” written on them, according to multiple reports citing unnamed sources. BI couldn’t independently confirm these details.
In the aftermath of the attack, the NYPD offered a $10,000 reward for tips leading to the gunman’s arrest, with the FBI offering a reward of up to $50,000 for information leading to his arrest and conviction.
This story is developing and will be updated.
