Luigi Mangione: ‘Person of interest’ in NY CEO murder had ghost gun and suppressor

Police in Pennsylvania have arrested a 26-year-old man in connection with the New York City murder of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, authorities said.

The “strong person of interest” was identified as Luigi Mangione, 26, by New York City Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch at a press conference on Monday.

Mr Mangione was taken into custody at a McDonalds in the town of Altoona, Pennsylvania, about 280 miles (450km) west of New York City.

Police said that he was in possession of a “ghost gun” that was likely manufactured using a 3D printer and was capable of firing 9mm rounds. He also had a suppressor.

Authorities said they have not yet charged Mr Mangione in connection with the shooting, although he is facing weapons charges in Pennsylvania.

Investigators had used surveillance photos, bullet casings with cryptic messages written on them, and the suspect’s movements in an effort to track him. They also worked with the FBI and authorities in other states, but it appears a fast food restaurant employee’s tip may have ultimately led to this arrest.

Commissioner Tisch – who described Mr Mangione as a “suspect” – said the seized weapon and suppressor are “both consistent with the weapon used in the murder”.

She added that an employee at the McDonalds in Altoona called the police to report Mr Mangione, as they believed him to be acting suspiciously.

Mr Mangione was in possession of a three-page handwritten document that spoke to the suspect’s “motivation and mindset”, according to Ms Tisch.

New York Chief of Detectives Joseph Kenny said the writings suggested he had “ill will towards corporate America”.

Police said that Mr Mangione was also found in possession of a US passport and a mask “consistent” with the one worn by the suspect in the New York shooting.

They said that they also found a fraudulent New Jersey ID on his person that they claimed was used to check into a hostel in New York City, where the suspect was spotted before the shooting.

An image of the ID obtained by CBS shows that it includes a different name and an address in the town of Maplewood, New Jersey.

Mr Kenny said that Mr Mangione was born and raised in Maryland and has ties to San Francisco, California. Authorities believe he may have attended university in Pennsylvania, but his last known address was in Honolulu, Hawaii.

As a teenager, he attended a private all-boys school in Maryland, where he was class valedictorian.

A LinkedIn account that appears to belong to Mr Mangione says he worked as a data engineer in California, and graduated from the University of Pennsylvania, where he was a teaching assistant and founded a video game development club.

Several posts on his apparent X, formerly Twitter, account suggest that friends were attempting to reach him, with one person posting in October that “nobody has heard from you in months”.

If Mr Mangione is confirmed as the New York shooting suspect, he is unlikely to be immediately returned to the state until a formal extradition proceeding is carried out, CBS reports.

Thompson, 50, was fatally shot in the back on Wednesday morning last week outside the Hilton hotel in Midtown Manhattan where his Minnesota company was holding an investors meeting.

Police say Thompson was targeted in a pre-planned killing.

The words “deny”, “defend” and “depose” were written on shell casings found at the scene.

Investigators believe they could be a reference to what critics call the “three D’s of insurance” – a reference to tactics used by insurance companies to refuse payment claims by patients in America’s complicated and mostly privately run healthcare system.

Thompson led one of the US’s largest health insurance firms, UnitedHealthCare, which has been criticised for how often it denies its customers’ claims.

It was previously reported that the suspect left New York City by bus, and police had been dispatched to Georgia to search for the man seen on surveillance video.

Authorities put together an incomplete timeline of his movements in the city, from his arrival on 24 November to the moments that followed the attack on 4 December.

The man stayed at a hostel in New York and visited a Starbucks before the shooting on Wednesday.

The New York Police Department said that the suspect’s weapon appeared to jam, but that he was able to quickly fix it and continue firing.

After shooting Thompson the suspect fled into Central Park, before taking a cab to a nearby bus station, authorities said.

The New York Police Department searched Central Park over the weekend and located a backpack they believe belonged to the suspect. It contained a jacket and Monopoly money.

NYPD divers searched the park’s lake on Sunday when they failed to recover anything from a similar search conducted earlier in the weekend.

On Friday, the FBI offered a $50,000 (£39,200) reward for information leading to an arrest and conviction.