Law enforcement officials have arrested a suspect in the shooting death of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, who was killed early Wednesday morning outside his midtown Manhattan hotel.
The suspect, who was spotted and detained in a McDonald’s in Altoona, Pennsylvania, has been identified as 26-year-old Luigi Mangione, according to New York police commissioner Jessica Tisch, who held a news briefing on Monday afternoon. Altoona is about 280 miles from New York City in western Pennsylvania.
According to police, a McDonald’s employee recognized Mangione, whose picture has been circulating along with a $10,000 NYPD and $50,000 FBI reward, and called authorities at about 9:15 a.m.
“He was sitting there eating,” Joseph Kenny, the Police Department’s chief of detectives, said at Monday’s briefing.
Mangione was reportedly carrying a “handwritten manifesto that criticized healthcare companies for putting profits above care, according to two law enforcement officials,” as reported by the New York Times. When approached by police, he reportedly showed them the same New Jersey fake ID that was used to check into a Manhattan hostel where the alleged CEO shooter is said to have stayed.
“Responding officers questioned the suspect, who was acting suspiciously and carrying multiple fraudulent IDs as well as a U.S. passport,” according to police commissioner Tisch. “[They] recovered a firearm on his person, as well as a suppressor, both consistent with the weapon used in the murder, and clothing, including a mask, consistent with those worn by our wanted individual.”
Tisch added that the department received hundreds of tips and processed forensic evidence including DNA, fingerprints, and ID addresses in the course of its manhunt.
Mangione is currently in custody in Pennsylvania on local firearms charges, though he has not been charged with the shooting crime at the time of this writing. NYPD chief of detectives Kenny said at the time of the arrest that “he was in possession of a ghost gun that had the capability of firing a 9mm round.”
“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 UnitedHealthcare told Fast Company. “We thank law enforcement and continue to work with them on this investigation. We ask that everyone respect the family’s privacy as they mourn.”
There is no known motive yet in Thompson’s death.
The CEO shooting has been met with a strong response on social media punctuated by jokes about the tragedy, sparking a nationwide conversation about the current state of the American healthcare system.
On Monday afternoon, social media accounts thought to belong to Mangione were gaining thousands of followers.
This story has been updated with additional details and a statement from UnitedHealthcare.