NEW YORK — Luigi Mangione, the suspect in the murder of Brian Thompson, CEO of UnitedHealthcare outside a New York City hotel, is now charged with murder, according to court documents.
The New York City Police Department and Mayor Eric Adams announced on Monday the 26-year-old he was arrested earlier in the day about forgery and illegal weapons charges in pennsylvania At the time, he was still considered a person of interest in the case.
“He matches the description of the identification we’ve been looking for, he also has several elements that we believe will connect him to this incident,” Adams said Monday. “How did we do it? Good old fashioned police work.”
NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch said a tipster called police after seeing a man who looked like the person of interest at a McDonald’s in Altoona, Pennsylvania.
“The suspect was at a McDonald’s and was recognized by an employee who then called local police. Responding officers questioned the suspect, who was acting suspiciously and carrying multiple fraudulent identifications, as well as a North- American,” he said. “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, from according to those warned by our wanted person”.
“Additionally, officers recovered a handwritten document that speaks to both his motivation and his mindset,” Tisch added.
NYPD officials described the weapon as a possible “ghost gun,” and said the written document was three pages long.
Tisch said Mangione was also found in possession of the same false New Jersey ID that the subject used to check into a hostel on the Upper West Side of Manhattan, where it was located seen in surveillance footage without a mask. He was later seen at the Port Authority Bus Terminal in Washington Heights and is believed to have boarded a bus there after the shooting.
The CEO of UnitedHealthcare was killed in Manhattan
BRYAN R. SMITH/AFP via Getty Images/United Health Group
Thompson, 50, was shot by a masked shooter on Dec. 4 outside the Hilton Midtown Hotel, where UnitedHealthcare was scheduled to hold its annual investor conference.
The NYPD called it a “premeditated, pre-planned and targeted attack” and launched an intense manhunt. Police offered a $10,000 reward for information leading to an arrest, and the FBI later increased the reward to $50,000.
Researchers quickly began to band together a timeline of the shooting, including the suspect’s movements and escape route. The following day, the police released the images of a person wanted for questioning, while he was concentrated in the hostel where he was staying.
NYPD
Police had numerous leads early in the investigation. They were able to track the suspect’s movements before the shooting and his escape on a bicycle through Central Park.
Investigators spent days searching the park and found a backpack containing a jacket and Monopoly money, but not the murder weapon. Dive teams in scuba gear continued to comb a pond near the park’s Bethesda Fountain for the gun.
CBS News
Police also found spent shells at the scene “delay” and “deny” meticulously written about them. Researchers believe these words were related a reference made by critics of the health insurance industry.
Officers also recovered a cellphone from the scene, as well as a bottle of water and a candy wrapper they believe the suspect left at a Starbucks before the shooting.
Meanwhile, investigators have been looking into all aspects of Thompson’s life to try to find a motive.
“They’re going to look at the business end, you’ve got a company that’s laying people off. They’re going to look at the personal stories, and they’re going to focus on the letters, the desperate people who were denied care or tests. or something that could have saved a life or they blame the company,” said former NYPD Deputy Commissioner for Intelligence and Counterterrorism John Miller.
Thompson, a married, father of two children, He had been in New York City for two days before he was killed. His wife, Paulette, spoke of the family’s loss.
“Brian was a wonderful person with a big heart who lived life to the fullest,” she said. “He will be greatly missed by everyone. Our hearts are broken and we are completely devastated by this news.”
Check back soon for the latest updates on this developing story.
contributed to this report.