Luigi Mangione, the man arrested in connection with the killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, has been charged with murder by New York prosecutors as he remains jailed in Pennsylvania on other charges.
Mangione was originally charged Monday for possession of an unlicensed firearm, forgery and providing false identification to police following his arrest at a McDonald’s in Altoona, Pa.
The Associated Press reported that according to an online court docket, the murder charge was added by Manhattan prosecutors Monday evening, with the 26-year-old expected to be eventually extradited to New York.
The Maryland-born man was arrested by police after a McDonald’s employee recognized him and called local police, authorities said on Monday.
When police investigated the call and approached Mangione, Altoona Police Deputy Chief Derek Swope said they “immediately recognized him as the suspect in the New York City shooting” after he was asked to remove his facemask in the restaurant.
“The suspect didn’t have to say a lot after that question to show that he was very nervous at that point,” Swope told reporters Monday evening after Mangione had been arraigned.
A judge ordered Mangione to be held without bail and police released a mugshot to the public on Monday.
Luigi Mangione, the suspect in the killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, is pictured in this recently released mugshot from the Pennsylvania Department of Corrections on Dec. 9, 2024.
Pennsylvania Department of Corrections
It’s not known at this time if Mangione has an attorney to comment on the allegations.
When asked if he needed a public defender in court, Mangione asked if he could “answer that at a future date,” the Associated Press reported.
How was Luigi Mangione found?
According to a Pennsylvania criminal complaint, Mangione was found to be wearing a blue medical mask and looking at a laptop when police located him sitting at the back of the restaurant.
He initially gave them a fake ID, the complaint says, but he “became quiet and started to shake” when an officer asked him if he had visited New York recently.
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Earlier on Monday, New York Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch said Mangione had been carrying a gun like the one used to kill Thompson and the same fake ID the shooter used to check into a New York hostel prior to the shooting, along with a passport and other fraudulent IDs.
“They also recovered clothing, including a mask consistent with those worn by our wanted individual,” Tisch said.
NYPD Chief of Detectives Joseph Kenny said in the Monday press conference that Mangione had a ghost gun in his possession that could fire a 9-mm round, as well as a suppressor, both of which police said were “consistent” with the weapon used in the shooting.
It’s believed the gun was 3D-printed.
He also was found with a three-page handwritten document that officials on Monday said “speaks to both (his) motivation and mindset.”
Kenny said on Monday that Mangione was born and raised in Maryland. He said the 26-year-old also had connections to San Francisco and Honolulu, the latter of which was his last known address.
Kenny said the document appeared to show Mangione had “some ill will toward corporate America.”
Brian Thompson, 50, was killed last Wednesday in what police said was a “brazen, targeted” attack as he walked alone to the Hilton from a nearby hotel, where UnitedHealthcare’s parent company, UnitedHealth group, was holding its annual investor conference.
Police said the shooter appeared to be “lying in wait for several minutes” before approaching Thompson from behind and opening fire. The 9-mm pistol used, police said, resemble the guns farmers use to put down animals without causing a loud noise.
The shooting set off a days-long manhunt for the suspect, with police releasing a collection of photos and video — including footage of the attack, and images of a person of interest at a Starbucks before the shooting — in hopes the public could help locate the shooter.
Photos from the lobby of a hostel on Manhattan’s Upper West Side showed the person police called a suspect in the investigation grinning after removing his mask, according to police.
The shooter left various evidence in New York, despite having obscured his face in the shooting, including a backpack he ditched in Central Park, a cellphone found in a pedestrian plaza, a water bottle and a protein bar wrapper.
New details about Luigi Mangione
The Associated Press and other media outlets have reported that Mangione is the grandson of a wealthy, self-made real estate developer and philanthropist, and cousin of a current Maryland state legislator.
He was valedictorian at his elite Baltimore prep school, where he lauded his classmates’ “incredible courage to explore the unknown and try new things” in his 2016 graduation speech.
He earned undergraduate and graduate degrees in computer science in 2020 from the University of Pennsylvania, a spokesperson for the school confirmed to The Associated Press.
“Our family is shocked and devastated by Luigi’s arrest,” Mangione’s family said in a statement posted on social media late Monday by his cousin, Maryland lawmaker Nino Mangione. “We offer our prayers to the family of Brian Thompson and we ask people to pray for all involved.”
He also worked for a time for the car-buying website TrueCar and left in 2023, CEO Jantoon Reigersman said by email.
From January to June 2022, Mangione lived at Surfbreak, a “co-living” space at the edge of touristy Waikiki in Honolulu.
Like other residents of the shared penthouse catering to remote workers, Mangione underwent a background check, said Josiah Ryan, a spokesperson for owner and founder R.J. Martin.
“Luigi was just widely considered to be a great guy. There were no complaints,” Ryan said. “There was no sign that might point to these alleged crimes they’re saying he committed.”
At Surfbreak, Martin learned Mangione had severe back pain from childhood that interfered with many aspects of his life, from surfing to romance, Ryan said.
“He went surfing with R.J. once but it didn’t work out because of his back,” Ryan said, but noted that Mangione and Martin often went together to a rock-climbing gym.
Mangione left Surfbreak to get surgery on the mainland, Ryan said, then later returned to Honolulu and rented an apartment.
Martin stopped hearing from Mangione six months to a year ago.
—with files from Global News’ Sean Boynton and The Associated Press
