According to authorities, a suspect in the murder of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson was taken into custody in Pennsylvania on Monday while in possession of a firearm and several forged identification documents.
According to police, Luigi Mangione, 26, was taken into custody at an Altoona McDonald’s after a patron identified him from pictures that were circulated during the days-long manhunt that ensued after Thompson’s killing.
He was charged with three misdemeanors, including tampering with documents or identification, possessing instruments of crime, and giving false identification to law enforcement, and two felonies, including forgery and carrying a handgun without a license, when he was arraigned in Pennsylvania on Monday night.
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He did not enter a plea and was refused bail. According to officials, charges related to Thompson’s death from last week should be brought in New York “very soon.”
When authorities ordered Mangione to remove his mask, they said they instantly identified him as the person of interest in Thompson’s fatal shooting.
“The male became quiet and started to shake,” according to the police complaint, when they inquired about whether he had lately visited New York.
Although Mangione was initially helpful, authorities reported Monday night that he was no longer being helpful.
According to authorities, Mangione was discovered in a hostel in New York City with a gun that resembled the one used in the massacre and a phony ID that bore the same name as the alleged shooter.
According to New York City Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch, officers also found a handwritten document that reflects his motive and attitude.
According to authorities, Mangione was born and reared in Maryland, has connections to San Francisco, and last lived in Hawaii. He has never been arrested before.
Three handwritten pages containing proof of a motive were found in the document, according to New York City officials.
Whether the pages named Thompson or not was not immediately apparent.
Law enforcement officials told NBC News that investigators are also examining Mangione’s internet posts regarding domestic terrorist Ted Kaczynski.
Kaczynski, whose bombs murdered three people, had long expressed disapproval of the problems in contemporary America and had other anti-establishment beliefs.
NYPD Chief of Detectives Joseph Kenny stated, “We don’t think that there’s any specific threats to other people mentioned in that document.” “But it does seem that he has some ill will toward corporate America.”
Additionally, Mangione possessed a weapon that may have been handmade, evading detection by any government or law enforcement organization.
According to the information we’re receiving from Altoona, Kenny stated that the gun might have been manufactured using a 3D printer and looks to be a ghost gun.
He claimed to be in possession of a silencer and a ghost pistol that could fire 9 mm rounds.
According to the police, the arrest was made possible in large part by the public’s assistance.
“This case has a lot of linchpins,” Kenny stated. “We’ve recovered an enormous amount of forensic evidence, an enormous amount of video, and once again, with your help, the public’s help.”
According to Tisch, police discovered a phony ID used in a hostel in New York City along with clothing that matched the suspected shooter’s.
“Mark Rosario,” a 26-year-old Maplewood resident, was stated as the name on a fake New Jersey driver’s license, according to a photograph of the ID that NBC New York was able to obtain.
According to several law enforcement sources who spoke to NBC News, that identity is the same one Thompson’s alleged killer used to check into a hostel in New York the days before the attack.
“Multiple fraudulent IDs, as well as a U.S. passport,” Tisch stated, referring to the detained individual. However, authorities don’t think he was planning a global getaway.
Thompson was killed in front of the New York Hilton Midtown,about 280 miles from Altoona, by a masked assailant who approached from behind.
The shooter opened fire around 6:45 a.m.,security video showed, before he ran away and then fled on a bike into Central Park, authorities said.The last video of the alleged gunman put him at a bus depot in upper Manhattan, police said.
Three pieces of ammunition were recovered with the words deny, delay and depose written on them in marker, one on each, police said.
The FBI has posted a $50,000 reward for information leading to the arrest of the gunman in addition to the combined $10,000 offered by Crime Stoppers and New York police.
“Our hope is that today s apprehension brings some relief to Brian s family, friends, colleagues, and the many others affected by this unspeakable tragedy,” a UnitedHealthcare representative said Monday. “We thank law enforcement and will continue to work with them on this investigation.”
Thompson s death sent shock waves throughout the corporate and health care worlds, raising questions about appropriate security for top-level executives.
The shooting also exposed a deep, ugly resentment against private health care companies associal media feedswere flooded with posts celebrating or at least seeking to justify Thompson’s slaying.
Thompson, who lived in Minnesota,had recently received threatsbut hadn t altered his travel routine, said his wife, Paulette Thompson.
He wasn’t with a security detail when he was shot.
Yes, there had been some threats, Paulette Thompson said hours after the attack. Basically, I don t know, a lack of coverage? I don t know details. I just know that he said there were some people that had been threatening him.”
Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro criticized online praise that followed Thompson’s slaying.
“Some attention in this case, especially online, has been deeply disturbing, as some have looked to celebrate instead of condemning this killer, Shapiro said Monday evening at a news conference detailing the arrest and charges.
“Brian Thompson was a father to two. He was a husband, and he was a friend to many, and yes, he was the CEO of a health insurance company, he said. In America, we do not kill people in cold blood to resolve policy differences or express a viewpoint.”
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