The suspectt in the fatal shooting of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson has been identified as Luigi Nicholas Mangione — a 26-year-old Ivy League grad and seething anti-capitalist, cops and sources said.
Mangione, who is originally from Maryland, was arrested at a McDonald’s in Altoona, Pennsylvania after a quick-thinking employee alerted authorities to his whereabouts on Monday, police said.
He was ordered held without bail during his arraignment in a Pennsylvania court Monday evening.
The suspect was found with a a ghost gun, mask and writings linking him to last week’s deadly ambush outside a Midtown Manhattan hotel that sparked a massive days-long manhunt.
Here’s what we know about the person of interest in the wake of his arrest:
Family and upbringing
Cops said the 26-year-old was born and raised in Towson, Maryland, to a wealthy well-known local family — and has a cousin who is a state lawmaker.
Luigi’s family also owns and has developed property throughout the area, including Turf Valley Resort in Ellicott City and the Hayfields Country Club in Cockeysville, local outlets said.
In addition, it reportedly operates the Lorien Health Services nursing homes and the radio station WCBM-AM.
He also has ties to San Francisco and a last known address in Honolulu, Hawaii, according to authorities.
Educational background
Mangione graduated in 2016 as valedictorian from Gilman School — an all-boys high school in Baltimore, Maryland that cost upwards of $37,000 a year.
He went on to study at the University of Pennsylvania where the tech hotshot graduated cum laude with a Bachelor of Science in Engineering (BSE), Computer and Information Science in 2020, according to his LinkedIn profile.
He also completed a Master of Science in Engineering (MSE), Computer and Information Science at the University of Pennsylvania, his profile states.
He says on his LinkedIn that he currently works as a data engineer at a car company based in California.
Political views
Mangione has spewed a wide-range of political opinions on social media — with bizarre posts ranging from calls to ban sex toys in Japan, comparisons of modern America to the fall of Rome, and denouncements of wokeism and DEI practices.
He has expressed his love for a slew of authors, bloggers, thinkers, and revolutionists including Aldous Huxley, Tim Urban, Jonathan Haidt, and Ted Kzacinski.
Mangione previously posted a quote on his Goodreads account from Kaczynski — the infamous “Unabomber’’ who terrorized the country for nearly two decades by mailing deadly bombs before he was nabbed in 1996, sources said.
How the manhunt leading to Luigi Mangione’s arrest unfolded
Mangione was taken into custody about 9:15 a.m. after police got a tip that he was eating at a McDonald’s in Altoona, Pennsylvania, cops said.
An eagle-eyed worker at the fast-food joint had recognized him from the slew of images put out by the NYPD in the wake of last Wednesday’s shooting.
Mangione acted suspiciously when confronted by the officers at the restaurant and produced a fake New Jersey ID with the name “Mark Rosario” — the same one used by the suspected killer at a New York City hostel during his murderous stint, sources and police said.
He also was found to have the gun and a silencer — items “consistent with those used in the murder,’’ NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch said.
In addition, he was caught with a face mask like the one seen in chilling surveillance video of the killer before and after the slaying, officials added.
Possible motive for shooting Brian Thompson
The exact motive is still unclear but sources said it is believed to be tied to the behemoth US healthcare industry’s treatment of a sick relative.
What happens next
He is being held in Pennsylvania on gun charges while authorities continue to build their case against him in the slaying.
The suspect eventually will be extradited to New York to face charges in connection with Thompson’s death, cops said.
