Police arrest 'person of interest' Luigi Mangione in UnitedHealthcare CEO shooting

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In this photo taken from video, New York Police chief of detectives Joseph Kenny answers questions during a news conference Monday in New York.

In this photo taken from video, New York Police chief of detectives Joseph Kenny answers questions during a news conference Monday in New York. New York City Mayor's Office/AP hide caption

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New York City Mayor's Office/AP

Police in Altoona, Pennsylvania, have arrested 26-year-old Luigi Mangione in connection with the fatal shooting of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson.

Mangione will have a preliminary arraignment at the Blair County Courthouse on Monday evening, where he faces five charges including illegal possession of a firearm and forgery.

Members of the New York police crime scene unit photograph bullets lying on the sidewalk as they investigate the scene outside the Hilton Hotel in midtown Manhattan where Brian Thompson was fatally shot.

At this time, Mangione is considered a "person of interest" in the case that launched a nationwide manhunt and sparked heated discussions about the state of for-profit health care in the United States.

Police say he was found with a ghost gun believed to have been used in the killing, as well as a fake ID and a handwritten, three-page document indicating his motivation. NYPD Chief Detective Joseph Kenny said the document in Mangione's possession indicated some "ill will toward corporate America."

During the press conference featuring the NYPD police chief and embattled Mayor Eric Adams, police said an employee at a McDonald's in Altoona, Pennsylvania, recognized Mangione from photos made public by police and called local authorities.

Thompson was shot dead in Manhattan on Wednesday in what New York police called a "brazen, targeted murder."

Corporal August Stickel of the Altoona Police Department said Mangione was arrested this morning at the fast food restaurant on "unrelated charges."

UnitedHealthcare said in a statement to NPR: "Our hope is today's apprehension brings some relief to Brian's family, friends, colleagues and the many others affected by this unspeakable tragedy. We thank law enforcement and will continue to work with them on this investigation. We ask that everyone respect the family's privacy as they mourn."

Thompson, who took charge of the health care enterprise in 2021, leaves behind a wife and two children.

Who is Luigi Mangione?

According to his LinkedIn profile, Mangione has worked as a data engineer at the car buying website TrueCar Inc. since 2020, and he most recently lived in Honolulu, Hawaii.

The 26-year-old fitness enthusiast had graduated as valedictorian of Baltimore's private Gilman School and went on to attend the University of Pennsylvania, where he received both bachelor's and master's degrees in computer science, with a focus on artificial intelligence.

This image provided by the New York City Police Department shows a person of interest in the investigation of the killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson outside a Manhattan hotel on Wednesday.

Social media pages appearing to belong to Mangione paint a complicated picture of the Ivy League-educated techie, who showed interest in philosophy and high-minded literature.

In one online review by "Luigi Mangione" of the book Industrial Society and Its Future, the anti-technology essay penned by the "Unabomber," Ted Kaczynski, the reviewer wrote: "It's easy to quickly and thoughtless write this off as the manifesto of a lunatic, in order to avoid facing some of the uncomfortable problems it identifies. But it's simply impossible to ignore how prescient many of his predictions about modern society turned out."

Elsewhere on social media, Mangione discussed topics like artificial intelligence, his religious agnosticism and his belief that porn should be regulated "no less than alcohol, cigarettes, and travel."

On X, he retweeted messages decrying the "woke mind virus," and appeared supportive of Elon Musk and Peter Thiel, two tech billionaires who helped thrust Donald Trump and JD Vance to their 2024 election victory — views that seemingly put him at odds with the mythos of a Robin Hood-type figure on a rampage against the wealthy.

Public response to the shooting was mixed

In the aftermath of the shooting, some vocal critics of the U.S. health care system expressed that the shooter's actions could have been the inevitable outcome of a system that prioritizes profits over people's well-being.

A view outside the UnitedHealthcare corporate headquarters on December 4, 2024 in Minnetonka, Minnesota. The shooting of United Healthcare CEO Brian Thompson in New York City this week has triggered an outpouring on social media.

On social media, images of the suspected gunman — mask down and smiling in surveillance camera footage — were circulated as the face of a modern-day folk hero who had taken action against a system perceived to be rife with corruption.

As praise poured in for the act of violent vigilantism, some companies removed the biographical information and photos of their executive leadership from their websites.

A surveillance camera is seen at the 54th Street entrance to the New York Hilton Midtown Hotel in New York on Thursday, where Brian Thompson, the CEO of UnitedHealthcare, was fatally shot on Wednesday.

On a Facebook page appearing to belong to Mangione, comments since his identification as a person of interest ranged from laudatory to insulting.

"I want to donate to your defense fund," one poster wrote in support.

"Thank you for your service, king," said another.

Others expressed their desire to see Mangione locked away for life or facing the death penalty.

"He's done with. Lock away the key. Murder is illegal, mkay?" one critic wrote.

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