A 26-year-old man has been charged with murder over last week’s fatal shooting of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson in New York City.
Luigi Mangione was taken into custody at a McDonald’s in the town of Altoona, Pennsylvania, about 280 miles (450km) west of New York City on Monday after a customer at the fast-food outlet recognised him.
He was found in possession of a 3D-printed gun and a handwritten document that indicated “motivation and mindset”, according to police.
Mr Mangione then appeared in a Pennsylvania court to be arraigned on five initial counts and was denied bail.
Just hours later, New York investigators charged Mr Mangione with murder and four other counts including firearms charges.
Mr Thompson, 50, was fatally shot in the back last Wednesday morning outside the Hilton hotel in Midtown Manhattan where UnitedHealthcare, the medical insurance giant he led, was holding an investors’ meeting.
Police say he was targeted in a pre-planned killing.
The shooting triggered a huge manhunt, with New York City investigators using one of the world’s largest digital surveillance systems as well as police dogs, drones and divers in a Central Park lake to search for the attacker.
Mr Mangione is in jail in Pennsylvania, where he was formally charged with possession of an unlicensed firearm, forgery and providing false identification to police.
He was handcuffed at the wrists and ankles when he appeared in court there earlier on Monday.
Wearing jeans and a dark blue jersey, Mr Mangione appeared calm during the hearing, occasionally looking around at those present, including the media.
But it was ultimately a McDonald’s customer in Altoona that recognised the suspect from media coverage and alerted an employee, who then tipped off the police.
When police arrived, Mr Mangione showed them a fake New Jersey driver’s licence with the name Mark Rosario, said court papers.
He “became quiet and started to shake” when an officer asked if he had been to New York recently, the criminal complaint adds.
When he was told he would be arrested if he lied about his name, he gave his real name, according to the court papers.
Asked why he lied, he told officers that “I clearly shouldn’t have”.
A search of his backpack uncovered a 3D-printed pistol, a 3D-printed silencer and a loaded magazine with six rounds of 9mm ammunition.
Prosecutors said he was also carrying a US passport and $10,000 cash, $2,000 of it in foreign currency, though Mr Mangione disputed the amount in court.
Investigators revealed that finding him was a complete surprise, as they did not have his name on a list of suspects before Monday.
