A massive manhunt and McDonald’s arrest: The seven days since United Healthcare CEO’s shocking execution
Rhian Lubin charts an extraordinary week from the fatal shooting of Brian Thompson, which culminated in a dramatic arrest in a McDonald’s
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The events of the last seven days read like something straight out of a TV crime series.
It all began just before dawn last Wednesday on the streets of Midtown Manhattan, where a hooded gunman staked out his victim, UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, who was due to speak at the company’s annual investor conference.
What ensued was a dramatic six-day manhunt for the 26-year-old suspect, Luigi Mangione, an Ivy League grad and member of a prominent Italian family from Baltimore, who was finally caught in a Pennsylvania McDonald’s eating hashbrowns after police were tipped off by an employee.
The giveaway? Surveillance images of the suspect’s prominent facial features — a large smile and distinguishable dark eyebrows — splashed across the media nationwide.
Mangione has been charged with second-degree murder by prosecutors in New York and is fighting extradition to the state. He has not yet entered a plea, but his lawyer said he expects his client will plead not guilty.
The week culminated in an angry outburst from Mangione, flanked by police officers and dressed in an orange prison jumpsuit, ahead of an extradition hearing on Tuesday. He shouted a cryptic statement about an “insult to the American people” as he was forcibly led into a Pennsylvania courtroom by police.
Aside from a dramatic manhunt, the shocking execution has sparked a polarizing conversation about the state of America’s health care industry and inflamed the anger of millions who have been denied medical care by their insurers.
Here we chart an extraordinary week in the hunt for Thompson’s alleged killer.
Day 1: Wednesday, December 4
The suspect set off from an Upper West Side hostel before dawn. It later emerged he arrived in the city 10 days before allegedly carrying out the fatal attack on Thompson.
He was seen on surveillance video walking back and forth at 54th Street and Sixth Avenue, near the Hilton Hotel where the UnitedHealthcare Group was holding its conference.
While waiting for Thompson, the suspect entered a nearby Starbucks and bought a bottle of water and an energy bar before he returned to the Hilton.
Thompson arrived unescorted and on foot at 6:44 a.m. The suspect walked up behind the CEO, allegedly fired his shots from the ghost gun police say could’ve been made on a 3D printer, and then calmly crossed the street as the victim collapsed on the sidewalk.
He fled on an e-bike toward Central Park, where he discarded a backpack police found days later.
New York Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch, eager to reassure New Yorkers and tourists, held a press conference and said that they believed the shooting in one of the city’s busiest areas was “a brazen, targeted attack.”
The NYPD released the first surveillance images of the suspect pointing the gun at Thompson and riding away on the e-bike.
The annual lighting of the Rockefeller Center Christmas tree, situated round the corner from where the killing took place, went ahead that evening as planned.
Day 2: Thursday, December 5
The hunt intensified the following day as police searched the HI New York City Hostel on the Upper West Side where the suspect had hunkered down in the days leading up to the shooting.
While there were no arrests, more clues began to drop. It was reported that the three words “delay,” “deny” and “depose,” were carved into the live rounds and shell casings found outside the Hilton Hotel where Thompson was shot.
They bear a striking resemblance to Jay Feinman’s 2010 book titled Delay, Deny, Defend: Why Insurance Companies Don’t Pay Claims and What You Can Do About It.
This was also the day when key images of the suspect unmasked in the hostel were released by the NYPD.
Day 3: Friday, December 6
There were still no arrests on day three.
Police revealed that a major breakthrough in the case, however, came from the surveillance images shared the day before.
It emerged that the suspect flashed a “flirtatious” smile to a female hostel worker where he was staying after she asked him to lower his face mask.
“They were having a flirtatious moment and he pulls it down and he gives a big smile and that one informal moment between two human beings remains at this moment the most significant clue to date in this whole case,” former NYPD Deputy Commissioner for Intelligence and Counterterrorism John Miller told CBS News at the time.
Police also discovered that the suspect arrived in the city on a Greyhound bus that originated from Atlanta, though they couldn’t pinpoint exactly where he boarded.
Late on Friday, police revealed they discovered a backpack in Central Park they believed belonged to the suspect. At this point, they also provided an update saying they believed the suspect had already fled the city.
Amidst the hunt, the suspect received an outpouring of support from Americans who are angry with the country’s health insurance industry for denying medical claims.
Meanwhile, several health insurance giants took steps to protect their own executives and pulled down information about them online.
Day 4: Saturday, December 7
Over the weekend, police continued to comb through Central Park for more clues. Scuba divers were seen scouring one of the ponds in search of the missing murder weapon.
The NYPD released another photo of the suspect in the back of a taxi. He was wearing a blue medical-style face mask, but his now-unmistakable eyebrows were in plain view.
The FBI also joined the hunt for the suspect, offering a $50,000 reward for information.
Day 5: Sunday, December 8
While new clues came to light on Sunday — it was revealed that the contents of the backpack included Monopoly money and a Tommy Hilfiger jacket — momentum in the case appeared to be waning.
Divers were spotted in the park again but there were no further breakthroughs on this day.
Day 6: Monday, December 9
Thompson, a father-of-two, was laid to rest at a private service in his Minnesota hometown of Maple Grove.
By Monday lunchtime, meanwhile, reports began swirling that police were questioning a man in Pennsylvania in connection with the case following a tip from a McDonald’s employee in the town of Altoona.
One customer, named Larry, later shared that he and a group of friends were in the fast food joint when they saw the suspect lurking in the back.
He lowered his mask momentarily to eat some hashbrowns.
“That looks like the shooter from New York,” one of the group said.
“The group of us thought it was more of a joke, and we were kidding about it,” Larry later reflected. “But as it turned out, it was him.”
The McDonald’s employee, potentially alerted to the suspect by overhearing the group, called 911.
Altoona police arrived swiftly. “We just didn’t think twice about it. We knew that was our guy,” officer Tyler Frye said.
The suspect was “shaking and nervous,” the officers said.
At a press conference that afternoon, New York City Mayor Eric Adams confirmed police had found “a strong person of interest” in connection with Thompson’s murder.
Police released his name, Luigi Nicholas Mangione, a 26-year-old originally from Baltimore, Maryland, and appeared convinced they had their man.
Initially hit with firearms charges, New York prosecutors later charged Mangione with second-degree murder in connection to last week’s brazen killing.
Details about Mangione’s privileged upbringing and Ivy League education quickly came to light, as well as a positive review he wrote earlier this year for Ted Kaczynski’s Unabomber manifesto. He praised the killer as a “political revolutionary.”
The Mangione family, whose philanthropic foundation has donated to the Greater Baltimore Medical Center and numerous other healthcare institutions, issued a statement conveying their shock and devastation.
Day 7: Tuesday, December 10
Ahead of an extradition hearing at Blair County Courthouse in Hollidaysburg, Pennsylvania, details about Mangione’s own health battles become apparent.
It was reported that Mangione went missing and cut off contact with family and friends last month after undergoing major back surgery.
That afternoon, Mangione appeared in handcuffs and wearing an orange prison jumpsuit as officers hauled him into court.
“It’s completely out of touch and an insult to the intelligence of the American people and their lived experience!” Mangione shouted after stepping out of a police car.
In the courtroom his lawyer, Thomas M.Dickey, told the hearing that his client was contesting extradition to New York.
Dickey said he expects his client to plead not guilty. He will remain in a Pennsylvania jail while fighting a return to New York.