Person of Interest in Murder of Minnesota CEO Identified

Altoona, PA (AP) - Police arrested a “strong person of interest” Monday in the brazen Manhattan killing of UnitedHealthcare’s CEO after a quick-thinking McDonald’s employee in Pennsylvania alerted authorities to a customer who was found with a weapon and writings linking him to the ambush.

The 26-year-old man had a gun believed to be the one used in the killing and writings suggesting his anger with corporate America, police officials said. He was taken into custody after police got a tip that he was eating at a McDonald’s in Altoona, Pennsylvania, NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch said at a news conference.

Police identified the suspect as Luigi Mangione. Mangione was born and raised in Maryland, has ties to San Francisco, and his last known address is in Honolulu, Hawaii, Chief of Detectives Joseph Kenny said at a news briefing.

Here's the latest:

Former classmate of Mangione says 'he had everything going for him’
Freddie Leatherbury hasn’t spoken to Mangione since they graduated in 2016 from Gilman School in Maryland. He said Mangione was a smart, friendly and athletic student who came from a wealthy family, even by the private school’s standards.

“Quite honestly, he had everything going for him,” Leatherbury said.

Leatherbury said he was stunned when a friend shared the news of their former classmate’s arrest.

“He does not seem like the kind of guy to do this based on everything I’d known about him in high school,” Leatherbury said.

Mangione comes from a prominent Maryland family
One of his cousins is Republican Maryland state legislator Nino Mangione, a spokesperson for the delegate’s office confirmed Monday.

Luigi Mangione is one of 37 grandchildren of Nick Mangione Sr., according to a 2008 obituary.

Mangione Sr. grew up poor in Baltimore’s Little Italy and rose after his World War II naval service to become a millionaire real estate developer and philanthropist, according to a 1995 profile by the Baltimore Sun. He and his wife Mary Cuba Mangione, who died in 2023, directed their philanthropy through the Mangione Family Foundation, according to a statement from Loyola University commemorating her death. They donated to a variety of causes, ranging from Catholic organizations to higher education, to the arts.

Mangione Sr. was known for Turf Valley Resort, a sprawling luxury retreat and conference center outside Baltimore that he purchased in 1978. The father of 10 children, Nick Mangione Sr. prepared his five sons — including Luigi Mangione’s father, Louis Mangione — to help manage the family business, according to a 2003 Washington Post report.

The Mangione family also purchased Hayfields Country Club north of Baltimore in 1986. On Monday afternoon, Baltimore County police officers had blocked off an entrance to the property, which public records link to Luigi Mangione’s parents. A swarm of reporters and photographers gathered outside the entrance.

UnitedHealth Group comments on the arrest
“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 spokesperson for UnitedHealth Group said Monday. “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.”

Baltimore’s Gilman School sends an email about Luigi Mangione’s arrest
In an email to parents and alumni, Gilman headmaster Henry P.A. Smyth said it “recently” learned that Mangione, a 2016 graduate, was arrested in the CEO’s killing.

“We do not have any information other than what is being reported in the news,” Smyth wrote. “This is deeply distressing news on top of an already awful situation. Our hearts go out to everyone affected.”

Mangione earned undergraduate and graduate degrees at the University of Pennsylvania
Mangione, a high school valedictorian from a Maryland prep school, earned undergraduate and graduate degrees in computer science in 2020 from the University of Pennsylvania, a spokesman told The Associated Press on Monday.

He had learned to code in high school and helped start a club at Penn for people interested in gaming and game design, according to a 2018 story in Penn Today, a campus publication.

His posts also suggest that he belonged to the fraternity Phi Kappa Psi. They also show him taking part in a 2019 program at Stanford University, and in photos with family and friends in Hawaii, San Diego, Puerto Rico, the New Jersey shore and other destinations.

What is a ghost gun?
Police said the suspect arrested Monday had a ghost gun, a type of weapon that can be assembled at home from parts without a serial number, making them difficult to trace.

The critical component in building an untraceable gun is what’s known as the lower receiver. Some are sold in do-it-yourself kits and the receivers are typically made from metal or polymer.

Altoona police describe how they arrested the suspect
Altoona police say officers were dispatched to a McDonald’s on Monday morning in response to reports of a male matching the description of the man wanted in connection with the United Healthcare CEO’s killing in New York City.

In a news release, police say officers made contact with the man, who was then arrested on unrelated charges. The Altoona Police Department says it’s cooperating with local, state, and federal agencies.

Police are investigating the path the suspect took to Pennsylvania
“This just happened this morning. We’ll be working, backtracking his steps from New York to Altoona, Pennsylvania,” Kenny said.

Suspect will face gun charges
in Altoona, Pennsylvania, police say
“And at some point we’ll work out through extradition to bring him back to New York to face charges here, working with the Manhattan district attorney’s office,” NYPD Chief of Detectives Joseph Kenny said.

Suspect had a ‘ghost gun,’ police say
“As of right now, the information we’re getting from Altoona is that the gun appears to be a ghost gun that may have been made on a 3D printer, capable of firing a 9 mm round,” NYPD Chief of Detectives Joseph Kenny said at a news briefing.

Suspect had handwritten document that ‘speaks to both his motivation and mindset,’ police commissioner says
The document suggested the suspect had “ill will toward corporate America,” police added.

Police identify the suspect as Luigi Mangione
Mangione, 26, was born and raised in Maryland, has ties to San Francisco, and his last known address in Honolulu, Hawaii, Chief of Detectives Joseph Kenny said at a news briefing.

26-year-old arrested with weapon ‘consistent with’ the gun used in killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO
Police have arrested a 26-year-old with a weapon “consistent with” the gun used in the killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, New York City’s police commissioner says.

Thompson, 50, died in a dawn ambush Wednesday as he walked to the company’s annual investor conference at Manhattan hotel. Thompson had traveled from Minnesota for the event.

Man questioned in UnitedHealthcare CEO’s killing had writings critical of the industry, source says
A man being questioned Monday in the killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson had writings that appeared to be critical of the health insurance industry, a law enforcement official told The Associated Press.

The man also had a gun thought to be similar to the one used in the killing, the official said.

Police apprehended the man after receiving a tip that he had been spotted at a McDonald’s near Altoona, Pennsylvania, about 233 miles (375 kilometers) west of New York City, said the official, who wasn’t authorized to discuss details of the investigation and spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity.

Along with the gun, police found a silencer and fake IDs, according to the official.

— Michael R. Sisak