The Daily Populous Tuesday December 10th, 2024 night edition
Authored by abcnews.go.com and submitted by boskee

Luigi Mangione was arrested by Altoona police on Monday.

Luigi Mangione is in custody in Altoona, Pennsylvania, as a suspect in the brazen Midtown Manhattan murder of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson last week, according to authorities.

Mangione, a 26-year-old from Maryland, has been arrested by Altoona police on unrelated charges, according to authorities.

Luigi Mangione is seen inside the police station in Altoona, Pennsylvania, Dec. 9, 2024. Obtained by ABC News

He has been charged with five crimes, including carrying a gun without a license, forgery, falsely identifying himself to authorities and possessing "instruments of crime," according to a newly released criminal complaint.

The charging document alleges that Mangione lied about his identity to police and carried the ghost gun without a license.

When Altoona police asked him if he had ever been to New York City, Mangione started shaking, according to the charging document. He didn't answer the question directly, police said.

Police officers were dispatched to a McDonald’s Restaurant for reports of a male matching the description of the United Healthcare CEO murder suspect, in Altoona, Pa., Dec. 9, 2024. WJAC

Charges could be filed against Mangione in the homicide as early as Monday or Tuesday, authorities said. Investigators are working to determine whether anyone else was involved in Thompson's death.

Mangione was on a Greyhound bus traveling through Altoona on Monday morning, sources said, when he got off and walked into a McDonald's where a witness recognized him from the images of the suspect circulated by police.

Mangione was sitting and eating when a McDonald's employee reported him, New York City Mayor Eric Adams said at a news conference Monday afternoon.

"He matches the description of the person we are looking for," Adams said.

A customer thought Mangione looked suspiciously like the shooting suspect and alerted the employee, who called police, authorities said.

Adams said they believed we had a "strong person of interest" in the shooting death. Officials later confirmed during a news briefing in Altoona Monday night that Mangione is now a suspect in the killing.

An undated NYPD handout image obtained by Reuters on Dec. 5, 2024, shows an individual wanted for questioning in connection with the killing of UnitedHeatlhcare CEO Brian Thompson, in an unknown location. Nypd/via Reuters

Mangione had a ghost gun capable of firing a 9 mm round and a suppressor, police said. The gun and suppressor were "consistent with the weapon used in the murder," NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch said. The gun "may have been made on a 3D printer," police said.

This is an image of the ghost gun recovered from Luigi Mangione in Altoona, PA, law enforcement sources told ABC News. Obtained by ABC News

Mangione also had a three-page handwritten document "that speaks to his motivation and mindset," Tisch said.

"It does seem that he had some ill will toward corporate America," police said.

Luigi Mangione is seen in this undated photo from his account on X. Via X

Authorities are going through his writings more thoroughly to understand his motive.

Mangione also had multiple fake IDs with him, including a fake New Jersey ID matching the ID the suspect used to check into a hostel in New York City before the shooting, Tisch said.

He was carrying a U.S. passport that identified him as Luigi Mangione, police said.

An image of the fake ID used by the Midtown Manhattan shooting suspect to check into an Upper West Side hostel. ABC News

Police also recovered clothes, including a mask, "consistent with those worn by our wanted individual," Tisch said.

Police said it appears Mangione, a 2020 graduate of the University of Pennsylvania, acted alone and they did not have his name before now.

A New York police officer stands outside the Hilton Hotel in midtown Manhattan where Brian Thompson, the CEO of UnitedHealthcare, was fatally shot, Dec. 4, 2024, in New York. Stefan Jeremiah/AP

A New York City Police officer walks through brush and foliage in Central Park near 64th Street and Central Park West in New York City, Friday, Dec. 6, 2024. Ted Shaffrey/AP

Authorities said they're working to trace his movements from New York City to Pennsylvania.

Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro said he was traveling between Philadelphia and Pittsburgh with stops in between, including in Altoona.

Police said they are working to develop a full sense of his timeline in Pennsylvania and how long he has been in Altoona.

Shapiro thanked the individual at McDonald's "who acted as a hero."

Gov. Josh Shapiro, center, speaks during a press conference regarding the arrest of suspect Luigi Mangione, Dec. 9, 2024, in Hollidaysburg, Pa., in the fatal shooting of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson. Ted Shaffrey/AP

"I want to ask all of our fellow Pennsylvanians to demonstrate the same type of thoughtfulness and courage and smarts as the individual at McDonald's did this morning and help law enforcement here in Pennsylvania as we continue with our investigation," Shapiro said during a press briefing Monday evening.

He also thanked the Altoona police who "acted swiftly" to apprehend Mangione.

Shapiro lamented how some online have celebrated rather than condemned Thompson's killing.

"I understand people have real frustration with our health care system," Shapiro said. "This killer is not a hero. He should not be hailed."

A UnitedHealth Group spokesperson said in a statement Monday, "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. We thank law enforcement and will continue to work with them on this investigation."

This undated photo provided by UnitedHealth Group shows UnitedHealthcare chief executive officer Brian Thompson. UnitedHealth Group via AP

On Wednesday morning, the masked gunman shot Thompson at point-blank range outside the New York Hilton Midtown, where Thompson's company was holding an investors conference.

Tisch described the attack as "brazen" and "targeted."

Police place bullet casing markers outside of a Hilton Hotel in Midtown Manhattan where United Healthcare CEO Brian Thompson was fatally shot on Dec. 4, 2024 in New York City. Spencer Platt/Getty Images

New video obtained by ABC News shows the killer waiting for Thompson moments before the shooting.

The video shows others pass by, and then, when the masked gunman sees Thompson, he runs across the street and opens fire. The video, which has not previously been seen publicly, appears to support the police narrative that the shooter targeted Thompson because he loitered while others wandered by.

A photo issued by the New York City police department shows a person of interest in the shooting outside of the New York Hilton hotel where UnitedHealthcare's CEO Brian Thompson was killed, Dec. 4, in New York City. NYPD Handout/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock

Right after the shooting, the suspect fled by bike through Central Park to the Upper West Side. He then took a taxi to the Port Authority bus facility at 178th Street and boarded a bus out of New York City, according to police.

Thompson, the CEO of major insurance group UnitedHealthcare, was shot to death at point-blank range in Midtown Manhattan on Dec. 4, 2024. ABC News

An "enormous amount of forensic evidence" has been recovered, as well as "hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of hours" of video, police said Monday.

On Sunday, members of the New York Police Department's dive team searched underwater in Central Park near the Bethesda Fountain. Nothing was found, police said.

New York Police Department divers search a body of water in Manhattan's Central Park on Sunday, Dec. 8, 2024. WABC

The suspect's backpack -- with a jacket and Monopoly money inside -- was found nearby in Central Park.

A backpack recovered by police in Central Park during the investigation into the fatal shooting of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, Dec. 6, 2024. Obtained by ABC News

ABC News' Bill Hutchinson, Jon Haworth, Ivan Pereira and David Brennan contributed to this report.

VoluptuousGinger on December 9th, 2024 at 18:17 UTC »

The man who is being held in Pennsylvania was also in possession of a two-page document railing against the health care industry and suggesting that violence is the answer, a police official who has seen the document told CNN.

ActualDiver on December 9th, 2024 at 17:47 UTC »

He also had a handwritten manifesto about how healthcare insurance companies put profit above care.

theManWOFear on December 9th, 2024 at 17:31 UTC »

Imagine evading police in the most surveilled city in the U.S. only to be caught by some old dude from Altoona, PA eating a McMuffin.