Police have arrested a suspect in the fatal shooting of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, five days after the 50-year-old executive was gunned down outside a hotel in midtown Manhattan.
In a press conference Monday, NYPD commissioner Jessica Tisch confirmed that law enforcement had arrested Luigi Mangione, 26, shortly after he was identified as a “person of interest.” Mangione was found, police said, at a McDonald’s in Altoona, Pennsylvania, after a restaurant employee phoned in the tip. He traveled to Altoona by Greyhound bus and showed police the same fake ID that was used to check into the Manhattan hostel. Per police, the suspect was carrying a “ghost gun”—a firearm put together with parts bought online—as well as a suppressor, and had clothes that matched the gunman’s.
Mangione, who was born in Maryland and has no criminal record in New York, currently faces gun charges, said Joseph Kenny, the chief of detectives. The suspect’s exact motive—political or otherwise—remains unclear. However, he was found with a three-page manifesto that Tisch said “speaks to his motivation and mindset.”
“It does seem he has some ill will toward corporate America,” Kenny added. “We believe he was acting alone.”
A spokesperson for UnitedHealthcare said the company hopes the arrest “brings some relief to Brian’s family, friends, [and] colleagues,” adding: “We thank law enforcement and will continue to work with them on this investigation.”
Thompson’s killing on December 4 and the resulting manhunt captivated the internet and sparked a vigorous—and at times grisly—debate about the deficiencies of the American health care system. Thompson was shot on a busy Manhattan street outside the New York Hilton Midtown, where he was arriving for his company’s annual investor conference. His shooter, who wore a hooded jacket, then fled the scene on an electric bike. He later disappeared into Central Park, kicking off parallel investigations by both state and federal law enforcement as well as amateur online sleuths.
Early details of the crime suggested it was planned well in advance. The suspect allegedly arrived in New York on November 24, traveling via a Greyhound bus that departed from Atlanta, police said. He later allegedly used a fake New Jersey ID to check into an Upper West Side hostel, where he kept his face covered for most of his stay. But surveillance cameras caught the man lowering his mask in the hostel lobby while reportedly flirting with an employee. Investigators later released images and footage of the man walking around Manhattan, visiting Starbucks, and riding in the back of a taxi. They also recovered a water bottle suspected to have been left by the gunman at the site of the shooting and a backpack reportedly containing a Tommy Hilfiger jacket along with Monopoly money.
The most intriguing clue—and the one that arguably captured the internet’s imagination—was the three words written on the bullets used to kill Thompson: “delay,” “deny,” and “depose.” The inscriptions echo a phrase commonly used to criticize the health insurance industry and its claim-denial practices.
In the days after Thompson’s death, social media flooded with stories of claim denials, substandard coverage, and struggles to afford medical care—with many Americans openly cheering the shooter or calling for a wider conversation about the industry and the company Thompson led. Public polling shows that Americans strongly dislike the insurance industry: In a 2023 Gallup poll, a mere 5% of Americans described health insurers’ services as “excellent,” while 20% said that the cost of dealing with a serious medical condition caused them to put off treatment.
UnitedHealthcare in particular has been the subject of a series of high-profile nonpayment and coverage-denial scandals. The company is also being sued over its alleged use of a computer algorithm to deny rehab care to vulnerable seniors in Medicare Advantage plans. (UnitedHealth Group has strongly disputed the lawsuit.)
