Police arrested a “strong person of interest” in Pennsylvania in connection with the New York City murder of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, New York authorities have announced.
The individual was identified as 26-year-old Luigi Mangione by New York City Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch at a press conference on Monday.
Mr Mangione was taken into custody in the town of Altoona, Pennsylvania, about 280 miles (450km) west of New York City.
Authorities said they have not yet charged Mr Mangione in connection with the shooting.
Commissioner Tisch said that an employee at a McDonalds in Altoona called the police to report Mr Mangione, as they believed him to be acting suspiciously.
The individual was found with a gun similar to the one used in the targeted killing, matched the physical description of a person of interest being sought by police, carried multiple fake IDs, and was taken into custody, police said.
Mr Mangione was in possession of handwritten documents that speak to the suspect’s “motivation and mindset”, according to Ms Tisch. New York Chief of Detectives Joseph Kenny said the writings suggested he had “ill will towards corporate America”.
Police said that the Mr Mangione was also found in possession of a US passport, a mask “consistent” with the one worn by the suspect in the New York shooting, as well as a firearm and a suppressor.
If he is confirmed as the New York shooting suspect, he is unlikely to be immediately returned to the state until a formal extradition proceeding is carried out, CBS reports.
Thompson, 50, was fatally shot in the back on Wednesday morning last week outside the Hilton hotel in Midtown Manhattan where his Minnesota company was holding an investors meeting.
Police say Thompson was targeted in a pre-planned killing.
The words “deny”, “defend” and “depose” were written on shell casings found at the scene.
Investigators believe they could be a reference to what critics call the “three D’s of insurance” – a reference to tactics used by insurance companies to refuse payment claims by patients in America’s complicated and mostly privately run healthcare system.
Thompson led one of the US’s largest health insurance firms, UnitedHealthCare, which has been criticised for how often it denies its customers’ claims.
Investigators had used surveillance photos, bullet casings with cryptic messages written on them, and the suspect’s movements in an effort to track him. They also worked with the FBI and authorities in other states, but it appears a fast food restaurant employee’s tip that may have ultimately led to this arrest.
It was previously reported that the suspect left New York City by bus, and police had been dispatched to Georgia to search for the man seen on surveillance video.
Authorities put together an incomplete timeline of his movements in the city, from his arrival on 24 November to the moments that followed the attack on 4 December.
The man stayed at a hostel in New York and visited a Starbucks before the shooting on Wednesday.
The New York Police Department said that the suspect’s weapon appeared to jam, but that he was able to quickly fix it and continue firing.
After shooting Thompson the suspect fled into Central Park, before taking a cab to a nearby bus station, authorities said.
The New York Police Department searched Central Park over the weekend and located a backpack they believe belonged to the suspect.It contained a jacket and Monopoly money.
NYPD divers searched the park’s lake on Sunday when they failed to recover anything from a similar search conducted earlier in the weekend.
On Friday, the FBI offered a $50,000 (£39,200) reward for information leading to an arrest and conviction.
By BBC News
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