Luigi Mangione: Man with California ties charged with murder over UnitedHealthcare shooting

LOS ANGELES - Luigi Mangione, the man who got arrested in the shooting of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson in New York City last week, is facing a murder charge.

On Monday, Luigi Mangione was named by the New York Police Department as the man in custody in connection with the Dec. 4 killing. During a press conference, authorities confirmed that the 26-year-old was detained at a McDonald's in Altoona, Pennsylvania, located nearly 300 miles outside of New York City.

Later in the day, the Associated Press reported that prosecutors have filed murder and other charges against Mangione.

Joseph Kenny, the NYPD Chief of Detectives, said Mangione has no prior arrest history in New York. He was born and raised in Maryland and has ties to San Francisco, California, with his last known address in Honolulu, Hawaii, according to Kenny.  

It was later revealed he worked at TrueCar with headquarters in Santa Monica. "While we generally don’t comment on personnel matters, we can confirm that Luigi Mangione has not been an employee of our company since 2023," a company spokesperson said. 

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Mangione was a graduate of the prestigious private high school Gilman in Baltimore, Maryland. The school released a statement following news of Mangione's "suspected involvement," calling the case "deeply distressing news on top of an already awful situation." The Gilman School is a private all-boys school in Baltimore for students from kindergarten through 12th grade.

Authorities believe he went to college in Pennsylvania.

Officials said they recovered several items including a manifesto, clothing, a mask similar to the one worn during the crime, multiple fake IDs and a U.S. passport. Authorities also recovered a firearm and a suppressor similar to the weapon used in Thompson's murder.

According to court documents, Mangione started shaking when police in Altoona, Pa., approached him Monday at a McDonalds.

He was wearing a blue medical mask and was looking at a silver laptop computer when officers approached him at the fast-food chain, the documents say.

Officers asked Mangione to pull down his mask and the officers immediately recognized him as the suspect wanted for Thompson's murder in NYC. Officers had seen photos of the suspect from media sources, court documents say.

Mangione gave officers a fake ID with the name Mark Rosario - police ran the ID and determined it to be fake. Officers then asked Mangione why he lied.

He replied, "I clearly shouldn't have," according to court documents. Mangione was then placed into custody.

Speaking about the manifesto that reportedly was found on Mangione in Altoona, Kenny said "We don't think that there's any specific threats to other people mentioned in that document, but it does seem that he has some, some ill will toward corporate America."

"He's going to be facing gun charges there. And at some point, we'll work out through extradition to bring him back to New York to face charges here, working with the Manhattan District Attorney's Office," Kenny continued.

Prior to the news of the murder charge on December 9, Mangione was charged with forgery, firearms not to be carried without a license, tampering with records or identification, possessing instruments of a crime and false identification to law enforcement authorities, according to a police criminal complaint.

He appeared in court Monday night for a preliminary arraignment.

Over the weekend, police released new photos of the gunman, showing the masked man taking a cab in New York.

Police have said they believe the gunman arrived in New York from Atlanta on a Greyhound bus the day before Thanksgiving. 

Monday marks the sixth day since Thompson was killed.

Video shows the gunman firing shots from behind Thompson, striking him several times.

Authorities say the words "deny," "defend," and "depose" – a phrase critics use to describe insurance company tactics – were written on the ammo casings left behind at the scene. New York City police believe the shooting was premeditated and targeted.