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Authorities on Monday apprehended a 26-year-old man accused of the calculated murder of a senior health insurance executive on a bustling New York street. Police credited the swift arrest to the sharp observation of a McDonald’s employee in Pennsylvania, who flagged the suspicious behavior of a customer, leading to a crucial tip-off.
Police have detained Luigi Mangione for questioning in connection to the murder of a senior UnitedHealthcare official last week, New York Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch confirmed, as the investigation into the high-profile case deepens.
Luigi Mangione is currently in custody in Altoona, Pennsylvania, after being apprehended with a weapon described by New York’s Chief of Detectives Joseph Kenny as a “ghost gun.” The firearm, capable of firing 9MM rounds, was also equipped with a suppressor, raising further concerns in the investigation.
Luigi Mangione was identified in a McDonald’s in Altoona, Pennsylvania, some 300 miles from New York, after an alert from an observant employee. In addition to carrying fake IDs that mirrored those used by the killer before the murder, Mangione also had a handwritten manifesto condemning the insurance industry, The New York Times reported, quoting a law enforcement source.
Tisch reported that New York detectives were en route to Altoona, while Chief of Detectives Kenny stated that Mangione’s possessions indicated a deep resentment toward corporate America. Authorities were also investigating whether the shooter had used a long-barrel veterinary gun, which is commonly used for euthanizing animals, in the execution of the crime.
The gunman walked up behind Brian Thompson, the senior executive at UnitedHealthcare — one of the country’s largest medical insurers — and shot him dead last Wednesday in front of bystanders, in an attack captured by a surveillance camera and since seen by millions.
Thompson was attending an investor conference in the Midtown business district.
Detectives said the suspect fled the crime scene on foot, before riding a bike to Central Park, and later boarding a bus from a terminal in the north of the city connecting New York to surrounding states and beyond.
Police would not confirm media reports that the words “delay” and “deny” — language often used by insurance companies to reject claims — were written on shell casings found at the scene.
Video footage shows Thompson on the sidewalk outside the New York Hilton Midtown when a man in a hooded top, his lower face covered, approaches from behind, then fires several shots at his 50-year-old victim, who crumples to the ground.
A smiling image of the suspect, captured at a youth hostel where he had lodged before the attack, surfaced in the media. Reports indicate he had casually removed his mask to engage in light conversation with a receptionist, unknowingly lowering his guard before the deadly assault.
Authorities soon found a gray backpack in Central Park, suspected to be the killer’s. Inside, they uncovered a jacket and an unusual stash of Monopoly money, a finding that has sparked curiosity and speculation, according to US media reports.