Background: Photos released by the NYPD showing UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson’s killer (New York Police Department). Inset: Brian Thompson (UnitedHealth Group).
A man allegedly carrying a “ghost” gun likely assembled from 3D printer parts, a silencer, a handwritten manifesto and false ID cards has been arrested in connection with the shooting death of United Healthcare CEO Brian Thompson.
Luigi Mangione, 26, was nabbed at a McDonald’s in Altoona, Pennsylvania, at around 9:15 a.m. Monday after an employee who recognized him from police photos notified authorities, according to NYPD officials and Mayor Eric Adams, who announced the arrest at a press conference.
“He was sitting there eating,” Joseph Kenny, the NYPD’s chief of detectives, said at the presser. “He was in possession of a ghost gun that had the capability of firing a nine millimeter round and a suppressor. … May have been made on a 3D printer.”
Describing the suspected 3D printed weapon, Mayor Adams said: “Certain aspects of this investigation and the crime itself is something that we have been zeroing in on, ghost guns. We have really talked about this since the beginning of the administration. They could be made on a 3D printer and they are extremely dangerous and we must sue more on the federal level to clamp down on the availability of ghost guns.”
Police say all signs point to Mangione as their suspect in the shooting of Thompson, who was gunned down in New York City on Wednesday by a masked suspect “proficient in the use of firearms,” according to officials.
Thompson’s killer can be seen on surveillance video calmly shooting the chief executive from behind with a silenced handgun — “quickly” clearing a malfunction before opening fire on him a second time — and then escaping through Central Park on a bicycle, per NYPD officials.
“He is believed to be our person of interest in the brazen, targeted murder of Brian Thompson,” said NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch at Monday’s presser. “Responding officers questioned [Mangione], who was acting suspiciously and was carrying multiple fraudulent IDs, as well as a U.S. passport. Upon further investigation, officers recovered a firearm on his person, as well as a suppressor, both consistent with the weapon used in the murder. They also recovered clothing, including a mask consistent with those worn by our wanted individual. Also recovered was a fraudulent New Jersey ID, matching the ID our suspect used to check into his New York City hostel before the shooting incident. Additionally, officers recovered a handwritten document that speaks to both his motivation and mindset.”
Authorities described Mangione as a Maryland native who has spent time living in San Francisco and Honolulu. Photos posted on a Facebook page by a man purported to be Mangione show him traveling and spending time with friends and family, according to The New York Times.
“His last known address was Honolulu, Hawaii,” Kenny said. “He has no prior arrest history in New York.”
The manifesto that Mangione was caught with allegedly criticized health care companies for prioritizing profit margins over care.
“We don’t think that there’s any specific threats to other people mentioned in that document,” Kenny said. “But it does seem that he has some ill will toward corporate America.”
Detectives were traveling to Pennsylvania on Monday with members of the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office to interview Mangione, according to Kenny, as part of an investigation launched by the FBI and NYPD officials. He’s currently being held on gun charges as New York police work to extradite him back to Manhattan.
“We’re still working through his social media,” Kenny said. “We’re going to do a complete scrub of that. Preliminarily … he seems that he had some ill will toward corporate America, but that will all come out as part of our investigation. We’re not done here. We’re still going to be putting this together. We’re still going to be working very hard to bring this to a successful conclusion.”
