The 26-year-old suspect in the fatal shooting of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson who was arrested Monday in central Pennsylvania following a five-day manhunt has ties to Philadelphia.
Luigi Mangione was apprehended after a customer of an Altoona McDonald’s recognized him and alerted an employee, who then called police, authorities said. At a court hearing Tuesday afternoon, he fought extradition to New York, where the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office has approved murder charges against him. New York Gov. Kathy Hochul said she would sign a governor’s warrant to facilitate the move.
“It’s completely out of touch and an insult to the intelligence of the American people and their lived experience,” Mangione appeared to yell toward members of the media in a video showing sheriff’s deputies leading him into the Blair County courthouse for the legal proceeding.
He spent four years attending the University of Pennsylvania, where he graduated in 2020 with both bachelor’s and master’s degrees in engineering, a Penn spokesperson confirmed to Metro.
Gov. Josh Shapiro, during a news conference Monday night, said Mangione, in the aftermath of the killing, traveled from Philadelphia to Pittsburgh, making stops in-between, before being captured in Altoona. He spent “several days” in Pennsylvania, added State Police Lt. Col. George Bivens.
Investigators are still attempting to retrace Mangione’s steps, authorities said Tuesday. Anyone with information is asked to reach out to State Police at 1-800-4PA-TIPS or https://www.p3tips.com/tipform.aspx?ID=107.
Thompson was shot early on the morning of Dec. 4 outside a hotel in Midtown Manhattan. The brazen attack made worldwide headlines and engendered more than a little support from Americans fed up with the country’s healthcare industry.
The words “deny,” “defend,” and “depose” were written on the spent shell casings at the scene, an apparent reference to criticism of how insurance companies reject and fight medical claims.
“Some attention in this case, especially online, has been deeply disturbing, as some have looked to celebrate, instead of condemning, this killer,” Shapiro said. “In America, we do not kill people in cold blood to resolve policy differences or express a viewpoint.”
“In some dark corners, this killer is being hailed as a hero. Hear me on this, he is no hero,” the governor added. “The real hero in this story is the person who called 911 at McDonald’s this morning.”
Altoona officers arrested Mangione at around 9:15 a.m. Monday inside the fast-food restaurant. Among the items in his possession were a three-page, hand-written manifesto, New York Police Department officials said.
“It does seem that he has some ill will toward corporate America,” NYPD Chief of Detectives Joseph Kenny told reporters at an earlier news conference.
Police also recovered a self-assembled 3D-printed firearm, known as a “ghost gun,” a 3D-printed suppressor, a mask and multiple fake identifications, including a New Jersey card that the suspect used to check into a New York hostel prior to the shooting, according to the NYPD.
Mangione was charged with five counts in Blair County, where Altoona is located, related to his arrest, including forgery, carrying an unlicensed firearm and falsely identifying himself to law enforcement.
In anticipation of the homicide charges, he was denied bail. Mangione is being housed at State Correctional Institution – Huntingdon, also in central Pennsylvania, according to the state’s Department of Corrections.
During his time at Penn, Mangione founded a video game development club and majored in computer science.
A LinkedIn page indicated he worked as a data engineer, and his Facebook profile shows he grew up in Towson, Maryland. Kenny said Mangione’s last known address was in Honolulu, Hawaii, adding that he also had ties to California.
