Luigi Mangione, 26, has been charged with the murder of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, who was fatally shot in the back last Wednesday morning outside the Hilton Hotel in Midtown Manhattan.
Thompson, 50, was attending an investors’ meeting hosted by the medical insurance giant when the attack occurred.
Mangione was arrested on Monday, December 9, at a McDonald’s in Altoona, Pennsylvania, after a customer recognized him from media reports.
Upon his arrest, police found a “ghost gun” that could have been 3D-printed, a loaded magazine, a US passport, and $10,000 in cash, $2,000 of which was in foreign currency.
He also had a three-page handwritten document expressing anger toward corporate America, with phrases such as “These parasites had it coming” and “I do apologize for any strife and trauma, but it had to be done.”
Investigators believe Mangione may have targeted Thompson out of frustration with corporate practices in the U.S. healthcare system.
Shell casings found at the crime scene had words such as “deny,” “defend,” and “depose” inscribed on them, potentially referencing tactics critics claim are used by insurance companies to reject claims.
A manhunt following the shooting saw authorities deploying advanced digital surveillance tools, drones, and divers to comb through Central Park Lake.
However, Mangione’s name was not initially on the list of suspects. His arrest came as a surprise when a McDonald’s customer alerted employees, who notified the police.
Mangione, an Ivy League graduate from the University of Pennsylvania and a former data engineer, reportedly became socially withdrawn in recent months due to a chronic back injury.
He had previously lived in a surfing community in Hawaii but left when his condition worsened. Friends and acquaintances described his recent behavior as increasingly erratic.
In a court hearing in Pennsylvania, Mangione was charged with possession of an unlicensed firearm and provided a fake New Jersey driver’s license with the name Mark Rosario.
He appeared calm during the proceedings, though he disputed the cash amount in his possession. New York authorities later added murder and four other charges, including weapons offenses.
Mangione’s family, prominent in Maryland real estate, expressed shock and devastation over his arrest, extending their prayers to the family of Brian Thompson.
His paternal grandparents were developers, and one of his cousins serves as a Republican state legislator in Maryland.
The incident has raised concerns about security for corporate executives and heightened scrutiny of systemic issues in the U.S. healthcare industry.
Mangione is now awaiting a decision on whether he will waive his extradition to New York or contest it, a process that could take days or weeks.
