New York: A 26-year-old man was arrested on Monday and charged with murder along with several other crimes in the targeted killing of a health insurance executive on a New York street.
Luigi Mangione faces charges including one count of murder, two counts of second-degree criminal possession of a weapon, one count of second-degree possession of a forged document, and one count of third-degree criminal possession of a weapon, court officials said. According to the documents AFP.
Investigators continue to question Mangyon in connection with last week’s brutal murder, which sparked a nationwide manhunt and international headlines.
He arrived at a Pennsylvania courthouse shortly after 6:00 p.m. (2300 GMT) on Monday wearing a black sweatshirt and was escorted by NYPD detectives to Altoona police where he was arraigned, broadcasters showed. .
Mangyon is next scheduled to appear in court on December 23.
Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro said murder charges would be pursued in New York state, saying at a media briefing that “we don’t kill people in cold blood to settle policy differences or express a point of view. ”
Police have not confirmed reports that the words “delay” and “denial” — language used by insurers to deny claims — were written on casings found at the crime scene, suggesting the crime. Point to a possible political motive.
The suspect lived with severe back pain and underwent surgery for the condition last year, the New York Times reported, citing friends of Mangion.
A photo on one of his social media accounts included an X-ray of an apparently injured spine.
Mangione was apprehended by officers after a tip from staff at an Altoona McDonald’s branch, where he was found wearing a mask and beanie while using a laptop, and gave officers a fake ID, the charging documents show.
They then searched for what police called a “ghost gun” capable of firing 9mm rounds and equipped with a suppressor that could have been made on a 3D printer.
When officers asked if he had been to New York recently, Mangione “became silent and shook,” according to the criminal complaint.
One of the fake IDs found was one used to check into a Manhattan hostel before the attack, New York police said, along with a document that showed Mangione’s “motivation.” Motivated and Minded”.
Mangione was born and raised in Maryland, attended the Ivy League University of Pennsylvania, and was living in Hawaii before the murder.
Mangione’s LinkedIn profile shows he worked as a data engineer at California-based online auto marketplace TrueCar, which he said he left in 2023.
His family released a joint statement late Monday saying they were shocked and devastated by Logie’s arrest.
They escaped on a motorcycle.
In last Wednesday’s shooting, the gunman walked up to Brian Thompson, a senior executive at UnitedHealthcare — one of the nation’s largest health insurers — and shot him dead in front of bystanders.
The attack was captured by a surveillance camera and the footage was viewed by millions of people around the world, sparking interest in the mystery surrounding the killer’s motives.
Thompson, 50, was attending an investor conference in the midtown business district.
Detectives said the suspect fled the scene on foot before riding a motorcycle in Central Park and later boarding a bus from a terminal north of the city that connects New York to surrounding states and beyond. .
Video footage shows Thompson on the sidewalk outside the New York Hilton Midtown when a man wearing a hooded top, his lower face covered, comes up from behind and fires several shots at the father of two. , which falls to the ground.
A photo released of the suspect was obtained from the youth hostel where the gunman apparently stayed before the hit, with media reporting that he pulled down his mask to flirt with the receptionist.
The highly profitable U.S. medical insurance system is a source of deep frustration and anger among many Americans because of its high costs and limited coverage, and some greeted Thompson’s death with an absence of sympathy.
A Facebook post mourning his loss shared by United Health Group garnered more than 71,000 laughing emojis within two days before the counter was deactivated.
Mangione must now be extradited from Pennsylvania to New York to face murder charges, police said.