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Suspect in killing of UnitedHealth executive taken into custody
By Costas Pitas
New York: The man suspected of killing UnitedHealth executive Brian Thompson in a brazen shooting outside a Midtown Manhattan hotel last week has been arrested, New York City officials said on Tuesday (AEDT).
The suspect, identified as Luigi Mangione, 26, was arrested in Altoona, Pennsylvania after he was spotted at a McDonald’s by someone who believed he resembled the gunman, officials said at a news conference.
Police have taken Luigi Mangione into custody in connection with Brian Thompson’s death.Credit: Facebook
Mangione was led into the Blair County courthouse in Altoona for his arraignment on Monday night (Tuesday AEDT), where gun and forgery charges were read against him. The judge asked Mangione if he understood the charges against him, and he said he did. No plea was entered.
Prosecutors, citing false IDs and a large sum of cash found on Mangione, argued he was a flight risk and asked that bail be denied, which it was.
Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro said he expected Mangione to face charges in New York shortly.
The suspect in the fatal shooting of UnitedHealthcare executive Brian Thompson in a taxi. Credit: New York Police Department via AP
Mangione was found with a “ghost gun” – a firearm assembled from parts, making it untraceable – and a silencer consistent with the weapon used to shoot Thompson, New York City Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch said, as well as clothing and a mask similar to those worn by the killer.
The ghost gun may have been produced by a 3D printer, said NYPD chief of detectives Joseph Kenny.
Mangione had multiple fraudulent identifications, including a fake New Jersey ID that matched the one used by the gunman to check into a Manhattan hostel days before the shooting, officials said.
Police also found a handwritten document that speaks to “both his motivation and his mindset”, Tisch said.
“It does seem that he has some ill will toward corporate America,” Kenny said of the suspect.
Mangione has been arrested on firearms charges by Altoona police, and New York detectives are on their way to Pennsylvania to question him, Tisch said.
Luigi Mangione in a photo issued by police to ABC (US).Credit: ABC
Thompson, 50, was gunned down outside a Manhattan hotel early on Wednesday morning by a masked man who appeared to wait for his arrival before shooting the executive from behind.
Police had not publicly identified a motive but have said Thompson appeared to be deliberately targeted.
The words “deny”, “defend”, and “depose” were carved into shell casings found at the scene, several news outlets have reported.
The words evoke the title of a 2010 book critical of the insurance industry: Delay, Deny, Defend: Why Insurance Companies Don’t Pay Claims and What You Can Do About It.
The suspect ran from the scene and then rode a bike into Central Park.
Surveillance video captured him exiting the park and taking a taxi to a bus station in northern Manhattan, where police believe he used a bus to flee the city.
A Facebook profile that appears to belong to Mangione identified him as a native of Towson, Maryland, and a former student at the University of Pennsylvania.
Photos appear to show Mangione at Stanford University wearing Stanford-branded clothing.
Neither university immediately responded to requests for comment.
An X account that appears to be owned by Mangione says he has an MSE and BSE in computer science from the University of Pennsylvania and lives in Honolulu, Hawaii.
Thompson’s murder unleashed a wave of frustration from Americans who have seen their health insurance claims or care denied, faced unexpected costs, or paid more for premiums and medical care – all trends that are rising, according to recent data.
Thompson, a father of two, had been chief executive of UnitedHealth Group’s insurance unit since April 2021, part of a 20-year career with the company.
He was in New York to attend the company’s annual investor conference.
A UnitedHealth spokesperson declined to comment on the latest reports.
Reuters
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