The man suspected of killing UnitedHealth (UNH.N), opens new tab executive Brian Thompson in a brazen shooting outside a Manhattan hotel was arrested and arraigned on gun and forgery charges on Monday, ending a massive five-day manhunt.
The suspect, identified as Luigi Mangione, 26, was captured in Altoona, Pennsylvania, after he was spotted eating at a McDonald’s by a customer and an employee who believed he resembled the gunman, officials said at a news conference.
When approached by two police officers inside the McDonald’s and asked if he had recently been in New York, Mangione began to shake and went quiet, one of the responding officers said at a press conference. He had been wearing a mask and sitting alone with a laptop and backpack.
A search of the backpack at the police station turned up a black “ghost gun” – a firearm assembled from parts, making it untraceable – loaded with a magazine and a silencer. Pennsylvania authorities said the weapon, as well as clothing and a mask, were similar to those used by the killer.
Mangione was led into the Blair County courthouse in Altoona for his arraignment on Monday night, where gun and forgery charges were read against him. The judge asked Mangione if he understood the charges against him, and he said he did. No plea was entered.
Prosecutors, citing false IDs and a large sum of cash that were found on Mangione, argued he was a flight risk and asked that bail be denied, which it was. Several electronic devices were also found with the suspect, and they were being examined by police.
