Person of Interest in Custody for Murder of United Healthcare CEO outside Hilton Hotel

The city is breathing a sigh of relief now that a person of interest in the assassination of United Healthcare CEO Brian Thompson has been taken into custody on Dec. 9 in Altoona, PA

NYPD detectives were enroute to the town to question 26-year-old Luigi Nicholas Mangione who was spotted by an employee at McDonald’s, thought he looked suspicious and contacted local police.

“At this time, he is believed to be our person of interest in the brazen, targeted murder” of Thompson, said NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch at a City Hall press conference Dec. 9.

She said a “combination of old-school detective work and new-age technology is what led to this result today. And we must also acknowledge the instrumental role the media and the public played in this case. The images that we shared with the public were spread far and wide, and the tips we received led to the recovery of crucial evidence.”

Adams said, “a McDonald’s employee, did something we ask every American to do: If you see something, say something, but most importantly, do something. And they did. And because of that, we believe we have a strong person of interest to deal with this case.”

The suspect was taken into custody on local gun charges but is expected to be extradited to NYC. He was said to have a ghost gun, possibly made with a 3D printer and capable of firing a 9 mm bullet, said NYPD chief of Detectives Joseph Kenny at the press conference. He said Mangione also had clothing and a mask consistent with the clothes the suspect was wearing at the time of the murder and a fake New Jersey driver’s license that was the same as the one the suspect used to check into the HI Hostel on Amsterdam Ave. ten days before the shooting. At the time of his apprehension, Mangione also had a “three page manifesto” with him at the time he was apprehended, but NYPD detectives had not yet seen its content as of Monday.

It was believed that the suspect, who initially fled into Central Park after shooting Thompson around 6:45 a.m. on Dec. 4 outside of the Hilton Hotel on Sixth Ave and 54th St. had hopped on a bus at the Port Authority Bus Terminal by the George Washington Bridge near W. 178th St. within an hour of the shooting. But after that the trail had gone cold, even as the FBI, the Port Authority Police and local authorities joined in the manhunt and police searched the paths and waterways in Central Park. A backpack was recovered on Friday.

Police learned from videos that he had arrived in NYC by bus on Nov. 24 via the mid-town Manhattan Port Authority Bus Terminal.He wore a mask constantly except for a few moments when he was flirting with the receptionist at the hostel, who reportedly said she wanted to see his “handsome face.” That photo and several other photos were widely circulated and police credited the media for distributing the picture far and wide.

Although his last none address was Honolulu, Hawaii, police said he had ties to Pennsylvania area, where he reportedly attended the University of Pennyslvania after graduating as the valedictorial a Gillman High School, private all boys school in Baltimore, MD. He also had ties to the San Francisco area. Kenny said he had no known criminal record in the U.S. prior to his arrest in Pennsylvania.