🎥 Man with 'ghost gun' arrested in killing of insurance company CEO

Police arrested a “strong person of interest” Monday in the brazen Manhattan killing of UnitedHealthcare’s CEO after a quick-thinking McDonald’s employee in Pennsylvania alerted authorities to a customer who was found with a weapon and writings linking him to the ambush.

The 26-year-old man had a gun believed to be the one used in the killing and writings suggesting his anger with corporate America, police officials said. He was taken into custody after police got a tip that he was eating at a McDonald’s in Altoona, Pennsylvania, NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch said at a news conference.

Police identified the suspect as Luigi Mangione was born and raised in Maryland, has ties to San Francisco, and his last known address is in Honolulu, Hawaii, Chief of Detectives Joseph Kenny said at a news briefing.

Here's the latest:

Baltimore’s Gilman School sends an email about Luigi Mangione’s arrest

In an email to parents and alumni, Gilman headmaster Henry P.A. Smyth said it “recently” learned that Mangione, a 2016 graduate, was arrested in the CEO’s killing.

“We do not have any information other than what is being reported in the news,” Smyth wrote. “This is deeply distressing news on top of an already awful situation. Our hearts go out to everyone affected.”

Mangione earned undergraduate and graduate degrees at the University of Pennsylvania

Mangione, a high school valedictorian from a Maryland prep school, earned undergraduate and graduate degrees in computer science in 2020 from the University of Pennsylvania, a spokesman told The Associated Press on Monday.

He had learned to code in high school and helped start a club at Penn for people interested in gaming and game design, according to a 2018 story in Penn Today, a campus publication.

His posts also suggest that he belonged to the fraternity Phi Kappa Psi. They also show him taking part in a 2019 program at Stanford University, and in photos with family and friends in Hawaii, San Diego, Puerto Rico, the New Jersey shore and other destinations.

What is a ghost gun?

Police said the suspect arrested Monday had a ghost gun, a type of weapon that can be assembled at home from parts without a serial number, making them difficult to trace.

The critical component in building an untraceable gun is what’s known as the lower receiver. Some are sold in do-it-yourself kits and the receivers are typically made from metal or polymer.

Altoona police describe how they arrested the suspect

Altoona police say officers were dispatched to a McDonald’s on Monday morning in response to reports of a male matching the description of the man wanted in connection with the United Healthcare CEO’s killing in New York City.

In a news release, police say officers made contact with the man, who was then arrested on unrelated charges. The Altoona Police Department says it’s cooperating with local, state, and federal agencies.

Police are investigating the path the suspect took to Pennsylvania

“This just happened this morning. We’ll be working, backtracking his steps from New York to Altoona, Pennsylvania,” Kenny said.

Suspect will face gun charges

in Altoona, Pennsylvania, police say

“And at some point we’ll work out through extradition to bring him back to New York to face charges here, working with the Manhattan district attorney’s office,” NYPD Chief of Detectives Joseph Kenny said.

Suspect had a ‘ghost gun,’ police say

“As of right now, the information we’re getting from Altoona is that the gun appears to be a ghost gun that may have been made on a 3D printer, capable of firing a 9 mm round,” NYPD Chief of Detectives Joseph Kenny said at a news briefing.

Suspect had handwritten document that ‘speaks to both his motivation and mindset,’ police commissioner says

The document suggested the suspect had “ill will toward corporate America,” police added.

Police identify the suspect as Luigi Mangione

Mangione, 26, was born and raised in Maryland, has ties to San Francisco, and his last known address in Honolulu, Hawaii, Chief of Detectives Joseph Kenny said at a news briefing.

26-year-old arrested with weapon ‘consistent with’ the gun used in killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO

Police have arrested a 26-year-old with a weapon “consistent with” the gun used in the killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, New York City’s police commissioner says.

Thompson, 50, died in a dawn ambush Wednesday as he walked to the company’s annual investor conference at Manhattan hotel. Thompson had traveled from Minnesota for the event.

Man questioned in UnitedHealthcare CEO’s killing had writings critical of the industry, source says

A man being questioned Monday in the killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson had writings that appeared to be critical of the health insurance industry, a law enforcement official told The Associated Press.

The man also had a gun thought to be similar to the one used in the killing, the official said.

Police apprehended the man after receiving a tip that he had been spotted at a McDonald’s near Altoona, Pennsylvania, about 233 miles (375 kilometers) west of New York City, said the official, who wasn’t authorized to discuss details of the investigation and spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity.

Along with the gun, police found a silencer and fake IDs, according to the official.

— Michael R. Sisak

Along with the gun, police found a silencer, fake IDs and writings apparently critical of the health insurance industry

That’s also according to the law enforcement official.

— Michael R. Sisak

Police took the man into custody after getting a tip that he’d been spotted at a McDonald’s

That’s according to a law enforcement official.

— Michael R. Sisak

The NYPD is sending detectives to Pennsylvania to question the person taken into custody

New York City Mayor Eric Adams is expected to address this development at a previously scheduled afternoon news briefing in Manhattan.

What type of rewards are there for information on the police’s suspect?

While still looking to identify the suspect, the FBI has offered a $50,000 reward for information leading to his arrest and conviction. That’s on top of a $10,000 reward offered by the NYPD.

In the days since the shooting, police turned to the public for help by releasing photos and video

That included footage of the attack, as well as images of someone at a Starbucks beforehand.

Photos taken in the lobby of a hostel on Manhattan’s Upper West Side showed the person grinning after removing his mask, police said.

NYPD returns to search Central Park

NYPD dogs and divers returned to New York’s Central Park today while the dragnet for Thompson’s killer stretched into a sixth day.

Investigators have been combing the park since the Wednesday shooting and searching at least one of its ponds for three days, looking for evidence that may have been thrown into it.

What type of gun did the shooter use?

Police say the shooter used a 9 mm pistol that resembled the guns farmers use to put down animals without causing a loud noise. Police said they had not yet found the gun itself.

Ammunition found near Thompson’s body bore the words “delay,” “deny” and “depose,” mimicking a phrase used by insurance industry critics.

Police question man with gun thought to be similar to one used in killing of UnitedHeathcare CEO

A man with a gun thought to be similar to the one used in the killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson was taken into police custody Monday for questioning in Pennsylvania, a law enforcement official told The Associated Press.

The man is being held in the area of Altoona, Pennsylvania, about 233 miles (375 kilometers) west of New York City, the official said. The official was not authorized to discuss details of the ongoing investigation and spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity.

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NEW YORK (AP) — Police have arrested a 26-year-old man with a weapon consistent with the gun used to kill the head of the largest U.S. health insurer, New York’s police commissioner said Monday.

The man was taken into custody after police got a tip that he had been spotted at a McDonald’s in Pennsylvania, NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch said at a news conference.

“They also recovered clothing, including a mask consistent with those worn by our wanted individual,” Tisch said. “Also recovered was a fraudulent New Jersey ID matching the ID our suspect used to check into his New York City hostel before the shooting incident."

NYPD Chief of Detectives Joseph Kenny identified the suspect as Luigi Nicholas Mangione, who was born and raised in Maryland, has ties to San Francisco and a last known address in Honolulu, Hawaii.

Mangione had a ghost gun, a type of weapon that can be assembled at home from parts without a serial number, making them difficult to trace, investigators said.

“As of right now the information we’re getting from Altoona is that the gun appears to be a ghost gun that may have been made on a 3D printer, capable of firing a 9 mm round,” Kenny said. Altoona, Pennsylvania, is about 233 miles (375 kilometers) west of New York City.

Officers questioned Mangione, who was acting suspiciously and carrying multiple fraudulent IDs, as well as a U.S. passport, Tisch said. Mangione was carrying a firearm and officers found a suppressor, “both consistent with the weapon used in the murder,” the commissioner said.

Police found a three-page document with writings suggesting that Mangione had “ill will toward corporate America,” Kenny said.

The handwritten document “speaks to both his motivation and mindset,” Tisch said.

UnitedHealth CEO Brian Thompson, 50, was killed last Wednesday in what police said was a “brazen, targeted” attack as he walked alone to the Hilton from a nearby hotel, where UnitedHealthcare’s parent company, UnitedHealth Group, was holding its annual investor conference, police said.

The shooter appeared to be “lying in wait for several minutes” before approaching the executive from behind and opening fire, Tisch said.

In the days since the shooting, police turned to the public for help by releasing a collection of photos and video — including footage of the attack, as well as images of the suspect at a Starbucks beforehand.

Photos taken in the lobby of a hostel on Manhattan’s Upper West Side showed the suspect grinning after removing his mask, police said.

Investigators have suggested the gunman may have been a disgruntled employee or client of the insurer.

Ammunition found near Thompson’s body bore the words “delay,” “deny” and “depose,” mimicking a phrase used by insurance industry critics.

The gunman concealed his identity with a mask during the shooting yet left a trail of evidence, including a backpack he ditched in Central Park, a cellphone found in a pedestrian plaza and a water bottle and protein bar wrapper that police say he bought at Starbucks minutes before the attack.

Monday’s development came as dogs and divers returned to New York’s Central Park while the dragnet for Thompson’s killer stretched into a sixth day.

Investigators have been combing the park since the shooting and have been searching at least one of its ponds for three days.

On Friday, police found the backpack that they say the killer discarded as he fled from the crime scene to an uptown bus station, where they believe he left the city on a bus.

Retracing the gunman’s steps using surveillance video, investigators say the shooter fled into Central Park on a bicycle, emerged from park without his backpack and then ditched the bicycle.

He then walked a couple blocks and got into a taxi, arriving at at the George Washington Bridge Bus Station, which is near the northern tip of Manhattan and offers commuter service to New Jersey and Greyhound routes to Philadelphia, Boston and Washington, NYPD Chief of Detectives Joseph Kenny said.

The FBI announced late Friday that it was offering a $50,000 reward for information leading to an arrest and conviction, adding to a reward of up to $10,000 that the NYPD has offered. Police say they believe the suspect acted alone.

Late Saturday, police released two additional photos of the suspect that appeared to be from a camera mounted inside a taxi. The first shows him outside the vehicle and the second shows him looking through the partition between the back seat and the front of the cab. In both, his face is partially obscured by a blue mask.

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NEW YORK (AP) — A man with a gun thought to be similar to the one used in the killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson was taken into police custody Monday for questioning in Pennsylvania, a law enforcement official told The Associated Press.

The man is being held in the area of Altoona, Pennsylvania, about 233 miles (375 kilometers) west of New York City, the official said. The official was not authorized to discuss details of the ongoing investigation and spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity.

The development came as dogs and divers returned Monday to New York’s Central Park while the dragnet for Thompson’s killer stretched into a sixth day.

Investigators have been combing the park since the Wednesday shooting and have been searching at least one of its ponds for three days, looking for evidence that may have been thrown into it.

On Friday, police found a backpack in the park that they say the killer discarded as he fled from the crime scene outside the New York Hilton Midtown in Manhattan to an uptown bus station, where they suspect he left the city on a bus.

But they had not yet found the gun or the shooter, nor had they identified him by name.

On Monday, K-9 units sniffed leaf-covered planters between walking paths in Central Park near where police found the shooter’s backpack. Farther along the path that police suspect he took through the park after the shooting, scuba divers geared up and started searching a pond for the third straight day.

Thompson, 50, was killed in what police said was a “brazen, targeted” attack as he walked alone to the Hilton from a nearby hotel, where UnitedHealthcare’s parent company, UnitedHealth Group, was holding its annual investor conference, police said.

The shooter appeared to be “lying in wait for several minutes” before approaching the executive from behind and opening fire, NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch said.

Ammunition found near Thompson’s body bore the words “delay,” “deny” and “depose,” mimicking a phrase used by insurance industry critics.

Retracing the gunman’s steps using surveillance video, investigators say the shooter fled into Central Park on a bicycle at 60th Street and Center Drive, emerged from park without his backpack at 77th Street and Central Park West and then ditched the bicycle about 7 a.m. near 85th Street.

He then walked a couple blocks and got into a taxi, arriving at 7:30 a.m. at the George Washington Bridge Bus Station, which is near the northern tip of Manhattan and offers commuter service to New Jersey and Greyhound routes to Philadelphia, Boston and Washington, NYPD Chief of Detectives Joseph Kenny said.

The FBI announced late Friday that it was offering a $50,000 reward for information leading to an arrest and conviction, adding to a reward of up to $10,000 that the NYPD has offered. Police say they believe the suspect acted alone.

Late Saturday, police released two additional photos of the suspect that appeared to be from a camera mounted inside a taxi. The first shows him outside the vehicle and the second shows him looking through the partition between the back seat and the front of the cab. In both, his face is partially obscured by a blue mask.

Through the park search, the NYPD has taken steps to minimize disruption to visitors, leading to an odd juxtaposition of joggers, tourists and an active crime scene.

On Monday, a 150-foot (50-meter) section of the park was cordoned off with blue and white police tape, giving the divers an area to change and get in the water.

At one point, a group of about 30 French-speaking tourists followed a guide down a path, but they couldn't go any further because of the police tape. Before turning back, many of them whipped out their phones to snap a photo of the divers.