Murder charge filed against UnitedHealthcare CEO suspect in New York

A murder charge was filed in New York on Monday night against the man accused of gunning down UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson last week outside a busy New York City hotel, according to online court documents.

Hours before the murder and weapons charges were filed in New York, Luigi Mangione, 26, appeared in court for a preliminary arraignment in Pennsylvania, where he was arrested earlier in the day at a McDonald’s in Altoona. There, he was charged with two felonies — forgery and carrying a firearm without a license — and three misdemeanors: tampering with records or identification, possessing instruments of crime and providing false identification to law enforcement.

After the Pennsylvania court appearance, law enforcement officials told reporters that charges would be filed in New York shortly.

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Online court documents showed Monday night that Mangione has been charged with one count of murder, three counts of criminal possession of a weapon and one count of possession of a forged instrument.

The Manhattan district attorney’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment Monday night.

Law enforcement officials had been looking for the suspected gunman in Thompson’s slaying for days, distributing photos and video of the person who carried out the targeted attack on the CEO.

On Monday, a McDonald’s employee called police about a suspicious person in the Altoona restaurant, and police later said they discovered he had with him a gun similar to the one used in the fatal shooting.

Mangione also carried a fake ID with the same name the suspected gunman used at a New York City hostel, police said. A gun silencer was also found, police said.

Investigators found a handwritten document that “speaks to both his motivation and mindset,” NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch told reporters Monday.

Police did not provide specifics about a possible motive, but NYPD Chief of Detectives Joseph Kenny said Mangione appeared to hold “ill will toward corporate America.”

Thompson, 50, was on his way to UnitedHealth Group’s investor conference at the New York Hilton Midtown when a masked gunman approached from behind and opened fire around 6:45 a.m. Wednesday, security video of the shooting showed.

Other pedestrians had walked past the gunman before he shot Thompson, leading police to believe Thompson was the shooter’s only intended target.

Thompson, who was shot in the back and a leg, was pronounced dead at Mount Sinai West.

The gunman fled on foot and then on a bike into Central Park, authorities said.

Within hours of the shooting, police labeled Thompson’s killing a “premeditated, preplanned targeted attack.”

Three live 9 mm rounds and three discharged 9 mm shell casings were found at the scene, and a cellphone was found nearby.

Three pieces of recovered ammunition had the words “deny,” “delay” and “depose” written on them in marker, one on each, police said.

Thompson, who lived in Minnesota, had recently received threats but had not altered his travel routine, according to his wife, Paulette Thompson.

He was not with a security detail when the shooting unfolded.

“Yes, there had been some threats,” Paulette Thompson told NBC News hours after the attack. “Basically, I don’t know, a lack of coverage? I don’t know details. I just know that he said there were some people that had been threatening him.”

Police believe the gunman arrived in New York City on Nov. 24 by Greyhound bus from Atlanta and stayed at a hostel on the Upper West Side, where he rarely took off or pulled down his mask.

He paid in cash and is thought to have used fake identification to stay at the hostel, police said.

After the shooting, police scoured the city for evidence, including the weapon. Officials also released multiple photos of a person of interest in hope of uncovering the man’s identity.

Mangione graduated with multiple degrees from the University of Pennsylvania in May 2020 and received a BS in engineering and a master of science engineering degree, according to officials with the Ivy League school. Public records and his social media profiles indicate he has lived in Philadelphia and Hawaii and has worked for the University of Pennsylvania.

Mangione attended the private, all-boys Gilman School in Baltimore in high school. He graduated in 2016, the school confirmed.

Thompson’s slaying sent shock waves throughout the corporate and health care worlds, raising questions about appropriate security for top-level executives.

UnitedHealth Group did not regularly employ personal security service for executives, according to the company’s two most recent proxy statements. Companies have to report security expenses of more than $10,000 annually for directors or corporate officers.

Humana and Cigna, two other major health care giants, both said in their most recent proxy statements that they provide personal security to executives. Those records, though, did not reveal which executives received protection or how much was being spent.

Another major player in health insurance, CVS Health, requires its CEO to use corporate aircraft and a corporate driver as part of a disclosed “executive security program,” according to regulatory filings.

The shooting also unearthed a dark, angry American viewpoint on private health providers, with many social media users celebrating Thompson’s death or making possible excuses for his killing.