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NYPD: Suspect arrested in CEO’s killing had ties to Hawaii

NYPD/HANDOUT VIA REUTERS
                                An undated New York City Police Department handout image obtained by Reuters on Dec. 5 shows an individual wanted for questioning in connection with the killing of UnitedHeatlhcare CEO Brian Thompson, in an unknown location.
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NYPD/HANDOUT VIA REUTERS

An undated New York City Police Department handout image obtained by Reuters on Dec. 5 shows an individual wanted for questioning in connection with the killing of UnitedHeatlhcare CEO Brian Thompson, in an unknown location.

NYPD NEWS via REUTERS
                                An image of the individual sought in connection to the investigation of the shooting death of Brian Thompson, the CEO of UnitedHealth’s insurance unit, is seen in this still image from surveillance video taken in a taxi in New York City.
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Swipe or click to see more

NYPD NEWS via REUTERS

An image of the individual sought in connection to the investigation of the shooting death of Brian Thompson, the CEO of UnitedHealth’s insurance unit, is seen in this still image from surveillance video taken in a taxi in New York City.

NYPD/HANDOUT VIA REUTERS
                                An undated New York City Police Department handout image obtained by Reuters on Dec. 5 shows an individual wanted for questioning in connection with the killing of UnitedHeatlhcare CEO Brian Thompson, in an unknown location.
NYPD NEWS via REUTERS
                                An image of the individual sought in connection to the investigation of the shooting death of Brian Thompson, the CEO of UnitedHealth’s insurance unit, is seen in this still image from surveillance video taken in a taxi in New York City.

A 26-year-old Maryland native whose last known address was in Hawaii was arrested today on gun charges and for questioning in connection with last week’s killing of a health insurance executive in midtown Manhattan that prompted a search up and down the East Coast, the New York Police Department said.

The man being questioned was identified as Luigi Mangione, 26, New York police commissioner Jessica Tisch said at a news briefing this afternoon. He was detained in a McDonald’s in Altoona, Pennsylvania, after an employee recognized him and called authorities at 9:15 a.m.

“He was sitting there eating,” Joseph Kenny, the NYPD’s chief of detectives, said at the briefing.

He was born and raised in Maryland, lived in San Francisco and in Honolulu until recently, Kenny said.

Mangione had been a member of Hub Coworking Hawaii, a coworking space in Kakaako, according to the co-founder of the coworking space. He often came in with peers from Surfbreak, a “coliving” space for “digital nomads” and remote workers with locations in Honolulu and Puerto Escondido, Mexico. His membership had been inactive for more than a year.

When Mangione was approached in Altoona today, he had a gun, a silencer and other false identification cards similar to those they believe the killer used in New York, according to one of the law enforcement officials and a person briefed on the investigation. The gun appears to be a so-called ghost gun, assembled from parts that may have been made from a 3D printer, Kenny said.

Mangione showed the police the same fake New Jersey identification that the man believed to be the gunman presented when he checked into a hostel on the Upper West Side of Manhattan on Nov. 24, a senior law enforcement official said. He was also carrying identification with his name on it, along with other forms of fake ID, according to law enforcement officials.

The gun appears to be a so-called ghost gun, assembled from parts that may have been made from a 3D printer, Kenny said.

Mangione was also carrying a handwritten manifesto that criticized health care companies for putting profits above care, according to two law enforcement officials.

He was born and raised in Maryland, and has lived in San Francisco and Honolulu, police said.

Mangione attended Gilman School in Baltimore, a private high school, where he wrestled and graduated in 2016 as the class valedictorian. The school sent an email to alumni this afternoon.

“This is deeply distressing news on top of an already awful situation,” Henry P.A. Smyth, head of school, wrote. “Our hearts go out to everyone affected.”

On social media, a man named Luigi Mangione posted pictures of his travels with friends and family.

He earned both a bachelor’s degree and a master’s degree in engineering at the University of Pennsylvania and graduated in 2020. His major was in computer science, and he minored in mathematics.

He has not been charged in connection with the killing.

New York police investigators arrived in Altoona, in western Pennsylvania, about 280 miles from the city, later today.

The killing set off a search that stretched well beyond New York City and commanded days of national attention after Wednesday morning’s attack on Brian Thompson, 50, CEO of UnitedHealthcare, outside a hotel in Manhattan. Authorities believe the killer left New York by bus shortly after.

Mangione arrived in Altoona on a Greyhound bus, a senior law enforcement official said. Thompson’s killer is also believed to have taken a Greyhound when he arrived in New York City 10 days before the shooting.

Here’s what else to know:

>> New photographs released: Police over the weekend released two images they said showed the suspect, including one of him in the back seat of a taxi on the day of the shooting. They examined thousands of hours of footage from surveillance cameras to glean information about the man’s movements over the course of what they believed were his 11 days in New York City, starting with his arrival on a bus that originated in Atlanta on Nov. 24. They also recovered bullet casings at the scene with the words “depose,” “deny” and “delay” written on them — a possible reference to terms used by insurers to avoid paying claims.

>> A recovered backpack: Officers also recovered a backpack in Central Park on Friday that they believe the man may have discarded as he cycled away from the scene of the shooting toward the Upper West Side, before he caught the cab. They had yet to publicly confirm if the backpack belonged to the man or contained any items of value to the investigation. Police found Monopoly money in the backpack, according to a law enforcement official briefed on the investigation.

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This article originally appeared in The New York Times.

© 2024 The New York Times Company

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