US police apprehend person of interest in UnitedHealthcare CEO’s killing

A person of interest in the killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson is in custody, according to New York City police officials.

Police arrested 26-year-old Luigi Mangione in Altoona, Pennsylvania, a small city that’s a four-hour drive west of Philadelphia, on firearm charges on Monday, said Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch at a press briefing.

A witness recognized the man from images of the suspect that were circulated by police after he walked into a McDonald’s on Monday morning. After police arrested him, they found a gun similar to the one used in the slaying of Thompson last week. Mangione is “a strong person of interest” in the investigation, said New York City Mayor Eric Adams.

Mangione was carrying multiple fake IDs, including a fake New Jersey identification that matched the one the suspect used to check into a hostel before the shooting, Tisch said. He also had “a handwritten document that speaks to both his motivation and mindset,” she said.

“It does seem he has some ill will toward corporate America,” said New York Chief of Detectives Joseph Kenny at the briefing.

Mangione was born and raised in Maryland and has ties to San Francisco, officials said. His last known address was in Honolulu, Hawaii. He had no prior arrests in New York City and no known arrests elsewhere.

NYPD detectives are en route to Pennsylvania to interview him, officials said.

Background: Thompson, the 50-year-old head of UnitedHealth Group’s insurance business, was fatally shot outside of a Hilton in Midtown Manhattan on Wednesday. Police have since been searching for the shooter.

The motive is unknown, but the killing has led to a wave of online vitriol against health insurers over how often the companies deny medical care and how they conduct business.