CEO Slaying: ‘Person Of Interest’ Apprehended, Identified

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A person matching the description of the suspect who brutally murdered health insurance executive Brian Thompson in downtown New York City last week was taken into custody at a McDonalds restaurant in Altoona, Pennsylvania on Monday morning (December 9, 2024).

News of the apprehension of 26-year-old Luigi Mangione was first reported by Fox News.

Mangione – who hails from Towson, Maryland – is an avowed anti-capitalist, climate change zealot and devotee of domestic terrorist Ted Kaczynski, a.k.a. the “Unabomber.” After graduating as valedictorian of the private Gilman School in Baltimore, Maryland, he attended the University of Pennsylvania – where he earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees in engineering.

“He matches the description of the identification we’ve been looking for,” New York City mayor Eric Adams said during a press conference announcing the apprehension, adding that Mangione was found “in possession of several items that we believe will connect him to this incident.” 

DNA tests are underway seeking to match Mangione to saliva retrieved from a coffee cup near the scene of the shooting – which would be one of the first steps in linking him to the crime.

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Altoona is a city of just under 50,000 people located approximately 250 miles west of New York City, where Thompson was gunned down last Wednesday morning (December 4, 2024). According to the network, a patron at the McDonalds – which is located at the intersection of East Plank Road and Emerson Avenue in Altoona – noticed Mangione from wanted posters and promptly alerted authorities.

Altoona police responded to the scene and took Mangione in custody without incident.

Mangione was reportedly “sitting and working on a laptop” at the McDonalds when he was first spotted by the patron.

“When police arrived, they spotted the person and found a weapon – believed to be the one used in the murder – in his pocket, along with a fake ID,” Fox reported.

These reports were subsequently confirmed by authorities.

“Responding officers questioned the suspect, who was acting suspiciously and was carrying multiple fraudulent IDs, as well as a U.S. passport,” commissioner Jessica Tisch of the New York Police Department (NYPD) told reporters. “Upon further investigation, officers recovered a firearm on his person as well as a suppressor, both consistent with the weapon used in the murder.”

More on the gun in a moment…

Tisch further confirmed Mangione was found in possession of “a fraudulent new Jersey ID matching the ID our suspect used to check into his New York City hostel before the shooting incident,” as well as “a handwritten document that speaks to both his motivation and mindset.”

“These parasites had it coming,” a line from the manifesto shared with reporters at The New York Post noted.

According to NYPD chief of detectives Joseph Kenny, Mangione’s manifesto revealed that he bore “some ill will toward corporate America,” although he declined to speculate as to whether other executives could find themselves similarly targeted for assassination.

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While Mangione’s motive appears to have been easily uncovered – and somewhat predictable – a bigger question is how he knew to position himself outside of the hotel at the very moment Thompson was entering the building.

As previously reported, a suspect now believed to be Mangione shot Thompson from behind at approximately 6:44 a.m. EST on Wednesday morning as the executive prepared to attend an investors’ meeting in midtown Manhattan. The meeting had been scheduled several weeks in advance, but Thompson arrived at the hotel more than an hour and fifteen minutes ahead of its scheduled start time.

Witnesses said the suspect was reportedly observed “milling around” the hotel in the moments leading up to the attack – “lying in wait,” per police. When Thompson appeared on the sidewalk, the suspect emerged from behind a vehicle parked on the sidewalk and opened fire – striking him in the back and in his leg.

Thompson was rushed to nearby Mt. Sinai West hospital (a.k.a. Roosevelt Hospital), where he succumbed to his injuries and was pronounced dead at 7:12 a.m. EST.

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$DDD is the ticker for Justice!
CEyqpXcqxSYxJEZY91HurPKErPZsKK9ggJQrNmWLpump

the @nypd is investigating the fatal shooting of the CEO of @UHC . The CEO was shot and killed in midtown Manhattan in an targeted attack as he was about to attend the company’s annual investor… pic.twitter.com/Mk0tmmo2n9

— Brokemoneymfer (@Br0kemoneymfer) December 5, 2024

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According to police, the suspect used what is known as a “ghost gun” – possibly generated by a 3D printer – to murder Thompson.

“The gun… appears to be a ghost gun,” Kenny told reporters. “May have been made on a 3D printer. (Had) the capability of firing a nine millimeter round, obviously, that will come out during our ballistics testing.”

Thomson was the chief executive officer of UnitedHealthcare, one of the largest health insurance providers in the world. His widow, Paulette Thompson, told NBC News her husband had been receiving threats prior to the shooting.

“Yes, there had been some threats basically I don’t know, a lack of coverage?” she told NBC News. “I don’t know details. I just know that he said there were some people that had been threatening him.”

Shell casings recovered from the scene were reportedly marked with the words “deny,” “defend” and “depose.” Many have pointed to the similarities of these words to ‘Delay, Deny, Defend’ – the title of a 2010 book written by author and Rutgers professor Jay M. Feinman dealing with the “denial of valid insurance claims” as part of a corporate scheme to “maximize profits.”

UnitedHealthcare has been accused of engaging in precisely such tactics, allegedly denying claims at an elevated rate compared to its industry peers.

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After shooting Thompson, the suspect fled the scene of the crime foot via an adjacent alley (above). Shortly thereafter, he reportedly hopped onto one of the city’s electric bikes and was seen at 6:48 a.m. EST entering Central Park approximately 1,500 feet from where the shooting took place.

Police believe he exited the park at West 77th Street, which is approximately a mile away from the scene of the shooting. At approximately 7:00 a.m. EST, he was spotted on a surveillance camera traveling via bike on West 85th Street nearly two miles from where the shooting took place.

The suspect ditched the bike and walked a few more blocks before hailing a cab to the George Washington Bridge Bus Station, which is where he was last seen prior to Monday’s apprehension.

NYPD detectives had offered a reward of up to $10,000 for information leading to the arrest of the suspect. Late Friday, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) announced its own $50,000 reward.

At the time of his murder,

 “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 statement from UnitedHealthcare noted. “We thank law enforcement and will continue to work with them on this investigation. We ask that everyone respect the family’s privacy as they mourn.”

This is a developing story… please check back for updates.

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR …

Will Folks is the founding editor of the news outlet you are currently reading. Prior to founding FITSNews, he served as press secretary to the governor of South Carolina. He lives in the Midlands region of the state with his wife and eight children.

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