Brian Thompson shooting latest: Luigi Mangione identified as person of interest in UnitedHealthcare CEO’s murder
NYPD deploys detectives to Altoona, Pennsylvania, as a man been detained after being spotted by an ‘elderly patron’ in a McDonald’s
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A man who was questioned in Pennsylvania in connection with the killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson has been identified as 26-year-old Luigi Mangione, New York City police said Monday.
Mangione was identified in a McDonald’s in Altoona, Pennsylvania after a patron at the fast food joint apparently recognized him from the images circulated by the NYPD following last week’s shooting and alerted police.
He was carrying a ghost gun, a suppresser, “multiple fraudulent IDs,” including one the NYPD believes was used by the gunman, and a handwritten, three-page manifesto that was critical of the health care system. Authorities also recovered clothing and masks that are “consistent with” those seen on the suspect in photos.
Mangione was arrested on firearm charges, but has not been charged in the fatal shooting of the CEO outside a Hilton hotel in midtown Manhattan last Wednesday. He is, however, considered to be a “strong person of interest in the shooting that shook our city,” Mayor Eric Adams said at a Monday press conference
NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch said it was a “combination of old-school detective work and new age technology” that helped lead police to Mangione, who has ties to Maryland, California, Hawaii, and does not have an arrest record, police said.
The arrest comes as a private funeral is set to be held Monday for Thompson, the 50-year-old CEO who was gunned down as he arrived at the hotel last week for an investors’ conference.
Who is Brian Thompson? Everything we know about the UnitedHealthcare CEO and his murder in New York City
Colin Jost jokes about ‘hot’ UnitedHealthcare CEO shooter in SNL’s ‘Weekend Update’
A timeline of the murder of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson and the search for his killer
When a medical insurance CEO was shot dead, people celebrated his death. What does this tell us about American healthcare?
See it: New photos of suspect released by NYPD
Senator John Fetterman slams New York Magazine piece on suspect
Senator John Fetterman condemned a New York Magazine story about the death of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson titled, “The UnitedHealthcare Shooting was Inevitable.”
“No shortage of shitty takes on the 2024 election or on this assassination,” Fetterman, a Democrat from Pennsylvania, wrote on X. “The public execution of an innocent man and father of two is indefensible, not ‘inevitable.’
“Condoning and cheering this on says more about YOU than the situation of health insurance,” he added.
Thompson’s death has prompted a much larger conversation on social media about the American insurance industry. Many posters have shared dark jokes on social media while revealing stories of injustices in the healthcare system.
Read more on the phenomenon from The Independent’s Richard Hall:
Reactions to the killing of insurance CEO reveal a deep anger over US healthcare
The reaction to Thompson’s murder reveals a deep anger among many Americans about the unfairness of the US health insurance industry, Richard Hall writes
SNL jokes about UnitedHealthcare CEO’s killer
Saturday Night Live ‘Weekend Update’ hosts Michael Che and Colin Jost joked about the man suspected of killing UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson on the latest episode Saturday evening.
“This week, New York City officials sent a tough message on crime: If you shoot somebody in the middle of the street, you better get on your bike, hop on a bus, and get the heck out of here,” Jost said.
“The manhunt continued for the assassin who gunned down the CEO of UnitedHealthcare on Wednesday, and it really says something about America that a guy was murdered in cold blood, and the two main reactions were, ‘Yeah, well, healthcare stinks,’ and also, ‘Girl, that shooter hot,’” Jost added.
“It’s also so crazy that the shooting happened three blocks from here in broad daylight, and the guy just bicycled away,” he continued. “Probably because they have every cop in the city guarding our Christmas tree.”
New Yorkers held UnitedHealthcare CEO shooter look-alike competition
New York residents held a look-alike competition for the man suspected of killing UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, according to reporter Talia Jane.
When asked who organized the competition, one person joked, “the FBI.”
This comes amid a national trend of communities hosting celebrity look-alike competitions. Previous contests included face-offs between look-alikes of Timothee Chalamet, Dev Patel and Jeremy Allen White.
NYPD officers arrive in Atlanta to continue manhunt
New York Police Department officers arrived in Atlanta, Georgia on Saturday to continue their investigation into the man suspected of killing UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, according to CNN.
Police say the suspect arrived in New York City on November 24 after jumping on a Greyhound bus departing from Atlanta, Georgia. However, officials are not yet sure exactly where he boarded.
Atlanta police are assisting with the investigation.
The FBI joined the investigation earlier this week as well, offering a $50,000 reward for information on the suspect.
