Suspect in UnitedHealthcare’s CEO killing started shaking when police closed in
Dec 9, 2024, 6:19 PM
New York Police officers arrive at Altoona Police Department, where a man with a gun thought to be similar to the one used in the killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson has been taken into police custody for questioning, Monday, Dec. 9, 2024, in Altoona, Pa. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)
(AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)
ALTOONA, Pa. — Police arrested a suspect Monday in the brazen Manhattan killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson after a quick-thinking McDonald’s customer in Pennsylvania spotted a man who officers found with a gun, mask and writings linking him to the ambush.
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The chance sighting at the restaurant in Altoona led to a dramatic break. The challenging but fast-moving investigation had captivated the public in the five days since the shooting that shook the health insurance industry.
Police identified the suspect as 26-year-old Luigi Nicholas Mangione. He reportedly had a gun believed to be the one used in last Wednesday’s shooting of Brian Thompson. Mangione reportedly had writings suggesting anger with corporate America, police said.
He was charged with weapons, forgery, and other charges.
Mangione was sitting at a table in the rear of the McDonald’s. He wore a blue medical mask and looked at a laptop computer, court documents said. A customer saw him and an employee called 911, said Kaz Daughtry, an NYPD deputy commissioner.
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Altoona Police Officer Tyler Frye said he and his partner recognized the suspect immediately when he pulled down his mask. “We just didn’t think twice about it. We knew that was our guy,” he said.
When an officer asked if he’d been to New York recently, he “became quiet and started to shake,” according to court records.
In his backpack, police found a black, 3D-printed pistol and a 3D-printed black silencer, the documents said. The pistol had a metal slide and plastic handle with a metal threaded barrel. Police took him into custody at about 9:15 a.m., police said.
