(Bloomberg) -- A 26-year-old man named as a person of interest in the fatal shooting of UnitedHealth Group Inc. executive Brian Thompson was arrested in Pennsylvania on Monday after a five-day manhunt.
The man, identified as Luigi Mangione, was recognized by an employee while he was eating at a McDonald’s restaurant in Altoona. He was found with a manifesto, multiple fake identifications and a so-called ghost gun with a suppressor, similar to the one used in the shooting, according to police. The document found on the man speaks to both his “motivation and mindset,” New York Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch said at a news briefing on Monday.
Mangione will have his first court appearance Monday evening in nearby Hollidaysburg, according to court officials, who didn’t stipulate the charges. New York police earlier said he was being held in Pennsylvania on gun charges unrelated to the shooting.
A person familiar with the matter described the manifesto, which Mangione was carrying on his body, as anti-capitalist and critical of health-care companies’ profit motives. It said he acted alone and was self-funded, said the person, who declined to elaborate further.
It’s the biggest break in the case since Thompson, 50, was shot in the back and leg early Wednesday morning outside of the New York Hilton Midtown, in what police say was a targeted and premeditated killing. The company was hosting its investor day at the hotel, where Thompson, the chief executive of UnitedHealth’s insurance division, was slated to speak that morning.
Detectives from the New York Police Department are headed to Altoona to assist in the investigation with local authorities. Police combed thousands of videos, deployed dogs and used scuba divers, and relied on the help of the public to aid in their investigation, Tisch said.
Mangione’s last known address was in Honolulu, but he was born in Maryland, according to the police, and he has no known prior arrests.
A LinkedIn account of an individual matching Mangione’s name and description show him working as a data engineer at TrueCar Inc. and that he attended the University of Pennsylvania for undergraduate and graduate degrees in engineering, computer and information science.
Altoona Arrest
Altoona is in central Pennsylvania, about 280 miles (450 kilometers) west of New York City.
Mangione carried a fake New Jersey identification, which police believe was used by the shooting suspect to check in to a hostel on Manhattan’s Upper West Side. His gun will be taken for ballistics testing.
“Officers made contact with that male and he was subsequently arrested on unrelated charges,” said Altoona police Lieutenant William Hanelly. “We are cooperating with local, state and federal agencies.”
Investigators say the killer fled the midtown area by bike and then hailed a cab on the Upper West Side soon after gunning Thompson down. He directed the driver to a bus station in Washington Heights, where he boarded a long-distance bus out of the city, they say.
Investigators had also been awaiting results of tests on DNA pulled from an Ethos water bottle that was found in the alleyway of the building that houses the former Ziegfeld Theater, where the shooter is believed to have pre-positioned the e-bike used for his getaway and where he dropped a Motorola burner phone, Bloomberg has reported.
Police released photos of the suspect without a face mask taken at the youth hostel on Manhattan’s Upper West Side where he had stayed prior to the attack. Authorities believe the suspect traveled by a bus that originated in Atlanta to Manhattan on Nov. 24 after paying for his ticket in cash.
The words “delay,” “depose” and “denied” were written on shell casings and a live round recovered in front of the hotel where Thompson was shot, Bloomberg has reported, providing investigators with potential clues.
The inscriptions loosely echo the book title Delay, Deny, Defend, which describes tactics allegedly used by insurers to deny claims. Law enforcement officials have been looking at whether it suggested a potential motive — anger against health insurers.
A private funeral for Thompson’s friends and family was set for Monday, while the company is still working on logistics to safely hold a memorial service, according to people familiar with the matter.
“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. We thank law enforcement and will continue to work with them on this investigation,” UnitedHealth said in a statement. “We ask that everyone respect the family’s privacy as they mourn.”
--With assistance from Nacha Cattan, Brandon Sapienza, Riley Griffin and Misyrlena Egkolfopoulou.
(Updates with information on court appearance in third paragraph.)
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