Luigi Mangione latest: Gun found on suspect matches shell casings at the crime scene, police say
UnitedHealthcare CEO shooting suspect is fighting extradition to New York where he faces a second-degree murder charge in connection to Brian Thompson’s death
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The gun seized during the suspect’s arrest in Pennsylvania matched the shell casings found at the scene of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson’s murder, police say.
Fingerprints taken from Luigi Mangione also match prints on a water bottle and protein bar wrapper found near the scene of the Midtown homicide, NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch announced at a press conference Wednesday.
These lab results mark the first forensic tie between Mangione and the crime scene.
The discoveries come one day after Mangione’s lawyer, Thomas Dickey, told reporters that he hasn’t “seen any evidence that he’s the shooter.” His client faced an extradition hearing Tuesday in Pennsylvania after New York prosecutors charged him with second-degree murder in connection with last week’s brazen killing in Midtown Manhattan.
“It’s completely out of touch and an insult to the intelligence of the American people and their lived experience!,” Mangione yelled as he was escorted in handcuffs into the Blair County Courthouse. The 26-year-old was denied bail and will remain in a Pennsylvania jail while he fights extradition to New York.
Authorities are also investigating Mangione’s notebook that laid out his plot to “wack” Thompson at his “parasitic bean-counter convention”, according to The New York Times.
Luigi Mangione shouts about ‘insult to the American people’ as he’s dragged into court by police
Value of Luigi Mangione ‘meme coins’ soar as he faces murder charges in UnitedHealthcare CEO shooting
Who is Luigi Mangione: What to know about man charged with murder in UnitedHealthcare CEO’s shooting death
Who is Brian Thompson? Everything we know about the UnitedHealthcare CEO and his murder in New York City
Residents of wealthy New Jersey area abuzz after Luigi Mangione lists town on fake ID
Police say that Luigi Mangione, the suspect in the fatal shooting of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, was carrying a fake ID when he was arrested.
The license showed an address in Maplewood, New Jersey, a leafy town oustide of Newark.
Mangione, who grew up outside of Baltimore and lived in Hawaii after going to school in Pennsylvania, doesn’t appear to have any strong ties to the area.
Nonetheless, the fake ID has caused quite a stir for residents in Maplewood itself.
“Just about everyone in my life has been texting me since the news broke,” one resident told NorthJersey.com. “We joked the address is the tree house in the backyard. I get healthcare is a problem, but it is still a tragedy. And a ridiculous cover up.”
‘It’s a shock for all of us’: Uncle of Luigi Mangione speaks out
The Mangione family, known in the Baltimore area for its business success and charitable works, is reeling from the news that Luigi Mangione has been charged with fatally shooting UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson.
Jerry O’Keefe, Luigi’s uncle, told The New York Post on Tuesday that the allegations came as a total surprise.
“It’s a shock for all of us,” he said.
“We don’t know anything more than what’s been reported in the media,” he added.
Multiple ‘meme coins’ inspired by Luigi Mangione hit market
Crypto enthusiasts have created multiple new “meme coins” themed on the fatal shooting of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson.
The new assets include a meme coin called “Deny. Defense. Depose,” after the words reportedly inscribed on bullet cases found at the scene of the shooting.
Another is simply named LUIGI, presumably for Luigi Mangione, who has been charged with Brian Thompson’s killing.
LUIGI soared to a $60 million market capitalization in a matter of hours after being launched, according to crypto news site 99 Bitcoins.
“Some will call him a terrorist, some will call him a hero,” one crypto trader wrote on X. “Either way he will make you think about today’s society.”
Bail should have been set, Mangione’s attorney says
The attorney for murder suspect Mangione said he believes the judge should have set bail for his client.
Mangione faces a second degree murder charge, among others in New York, along with firearm charges in Pennsylvania. He was denied bail on Tuesday.
“To simply say no bail, with all due respect to the judge, I believe bail should have been set,” Dickey said.
“The judge could set a $1 million bail. It could be $5 million bail, but damn it, you get bail. That’s what you do.”
Mangione’s attorney said he’s ‘looking forward to helping him out’
Tom Dickey, Mangione’s attorney, told reporters that he has a “strong bond with his client and that he is “looking forward to moving forward and helping him out.”
Dickey, an attorney based in Altoona, Pennsylvania, confirmed earlier that he was retained to represent Mangione in the case.
He would not say, however, whether or not he was hired by the suspect’s prominent family.
“We’re going to fight this along the rules and with the constitutional protections that my client has,” Dickey said of the fight against extradition to New York.
Who gets the reward money for the capture of Mangione?
The FBI and the NYPD Crime Stoppers Unit offered a combined reward of up to $60,000 to help capture the suspect in CEO Brian Thompson’s murder.
Now that Luigi Mangione has been arrested, there’s is a question of who can claim the reward money.
Pennsylvania State Police Lt. Col. George Bivens said a customer at a McDonald’s in Altoona, Pennsylvania, recognized Mangione from the news on Monday and alerted an employee, who called the police “to check it out further.”
So who can claim the reward money?
Both the “customer at the McDonald’s” and “the McDonald’s employee that called 911 and reported this individual inside of their restaurant” were thanked by Kaz Daughtry, the NYPD’s deputy commissioner, at a news conference Monday. He did not name them.
According to CNN, it could take months for the individual or individuals to successfully claim the $60,000 reward. And we may never know who they are.
Mangione silent as he’s escorted out of courthouse after hearing
Luigi Mangione yelled out and struggled against officers as he was escorted into the courthouse in Pennsylvania for his extradition hearing on Tuesday.
But he was silent as he was led out of the courthouse into a police car where he will now be transported to Huntingdon State Correctional Institution, a state prison about 25 miles away.
White House denounces killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson
In a press briefing on Tuesday, the White House on Tuesday denounced the killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson.
“And so, while we’re certainly not going to comment on the investigation, we condemn — we condemn violence in the strongest term,” Press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters.
“Obviously, this is horrific. Violence to combat any sort of corporate greed is unacceptable. I’m going to let the investigation move forward, and I’m not going to speak to any manifestos or anything that is coming out to this.”
Jean-Pierre also offered her condolences to Thompson’s loved ones and said the federal government stands ready “to provide further support if needed” to local and state authorities, CNN reported.
Prosecutors will seek governor’s warrant to extradite Mangione to NY
Prosecutors will seek a governor’s warrant to extradite Mangione to New York from Pennsylvania, the office of Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg confirmed to NBC New York after the suspect’s court appearance.
New York Gov. Kathy Hochul will submit the warrant for Mangione.
At the hearing on Tuesday, he was denied bail on felony charges of forgery and carrying a firearm without a license.
Blair County District Attorney Peter Weeks told reporters after the hearing that he believes the New York charges take precedence as “there is no more significant assault than homicide” but added: “That doesn’t mean we’re getting rid of our charges.”