A suspect in the death of Brian Thompson, a UnitedHealth executive, is charged with murder

The suspect in the heinous shooting death of a UnitedHealth executive, which sparked a search that ended with his detention in Pennsylvania earlier Monday, was charged with murder by New York authorities.

A frantic five-day manhunt for the suspected killer came to an end with the action.

According to officials during a news conference, the suspect, Luigi Mangione, 26, was apprehended in Altoona, Pennsylvania, when a customer and an employee saw him eating at a McDonald’s and thought he looked like the shooter.

According to a news conference, Mangione trembled and became silent when two police officers asked him if he had recently visited New York while he was inside the McDonald’s. He had been seated by himself with a laptop and backpack, wearing a mask.

A black “ghost gun”—a firearm made from pieces that cannot be tracked down—loaded with a magazine and a silencer was discovered during a police station investigation of the rucksack.

Authorities in Pennsylvania claimed that the weapon, along with certain clothes and a mask, matched those worn by the murderer.

On Monday night, Mangione was escorted into the Blair County courthouse in Altoona for his arraignment, where he was charged with forgery and possession of a firearm. Mangione said that he understood the charges against him when the court asked him if he did. There was no plea.

According to court documents, New York prosecutors charged Mangione with murder and four associated firearms counts.

Citing forged identification documents and a substantial quantity of cash discovered on Mangione, Pennsylvania prosecutors claimed he was a flight risk and requested that bail be refused, which was granted. Police were also examining a number of electronic devices that were discovered with the suspect.

At a press conference, Pennsylvania police stated that they were investigating whether Mangione had any collaborators and whether he had any further murders in mind. They claimed that he had been in Pennsylvania for a few days and that they were looking into his precise location and activities there.

According to authorities, Mangione, a native of Maryland, had several false identities, including one that was identical to the one the shooter used to check into a hostel in Manhattan just days prior to the attack.

Earlier on Monday, New York City Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch stated that police had also discovered a handwritten document that reflects “both his motivation and his mindset.”

The NYPD’s chief of detectives, Joseph Kenny, stated that Mangione had “ill will toward corporate America,” even though the document made no mention of specific targets.

According to school records, Mangione was valedictorian of a private all-boys school in Baltimore in 2016 before graduating with dual engineering degrees from the University of Pennsylvania, a prominent Ivy League university, in 2020. According to officials, Honolulu was his final known residence.

Early on Wednesday morning, Thompson, 50, was shot dead outside a hotel in Manhattan by a man wearing a mask who seemed to wait for him before shooting the executive from behind.

After fleeing the scene, the suspect entered Central Park on a bicycle. He was seen leaving the park on surveillance footage and riding in a taxi to a bus station in northern Manhattan, where authorities suspect he took a bus to escape the city.

DENY DEFEND DEPOSE

According to police, Thompson seems to have been singled out on purpose, and they were looking into whether anyone else might have been in danger.

According to multiple news sites, shot casings discovered at the scene were engraved with the phrases “deny,” “defend,” and “depose.” The phrase is reminiscent of the title of a 2010 book in which the insurance business is criticized: “Delay, Deny, Defend: Why Insurance Companies Don’t Pay Claims and What You Can Do About It.”

According to a Facebook profile purporting to be Mangione’s, he was a University of Pennsylvania alumnus and a resident of Towson, Maryland. Mangione appears to be wearing Stanford-branded apparel in photos taken at Stanford University.

According to an X account that seems to belong to Mangione, he resides in Honolulu, Hawaii.

Americans who have experienced unanticipated expenses, had their health insurance claims or care refused, or had to pay more for premiums and medical care—all of which are on the rise, according to recent data—were infuriated by Thompson’s murder.

At a press conference with Altoona police and prosecutors, Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro said he understood the concerns that some Americans had been expressing online since Thompson’s murder because they were upset with health insurance companies and their refusal to pay for certain treatments. However, he disapproved of the suspect’s exaltation in some online communities.

“In America we do not kill people in cold blood to resolve policy differences or express a viewpoint,” stated Shapiro.
As the CEO of UnitedHealth Group’s (UNH.N) new tab insurance unit since April 2021, Thompson, a father of two, has worked for the corporation for 20 years. He had been in New York for the annual investor conference of the company.

“Our hope is that today’s apprehension brings some relief to Brian’s family, friends, colleagues and the many others affected by this unspeakable tragedy,” a representative from UnitedHealth stated.