A 26-year-old male suspect, Mangione, accused of brazenly shooting and killing Thompson, the CEO of UnitedHealthcare under UnitedHealth Group, outside a hotel in Manhattan, New York last week, was apprehended on Monday after a five-day manhunt.
The male suspect appeared in Blair County, Pennsylvania court on Monday evening, facing preliminary charges related to firearms.
New York City Police Commissioner Tisch announced at a press conference on Monday that the suspect was arrested at a McDonald's fast-food restaurant in Altoona, Pennsylvania.
She said a fast-food restaurant employee identified him as resembling the gunman while he was dining in the restaurant.
She stated that the suspect was carrying a "ghost gun" and a silencer, consistent with the weapon used in Thompson's shooting. A ghost gun is a firearm assembled from parts and therefore untraceable.
She noted that the suspect's clothing and a mask he was carrying were also similar to those of the perpetrator. He also had a handwritten note on him that indicated "his motives and mindset."
According to authorities, the suspect harbored hostility towards U.S. corporations. He possessed multiple fake identifications, including a fake New Jersey ID, which matched the ID used by the gunman when checking into a Manhattan hotel days before the shooting.
Mangione was born and raised in Maryland, graduated in 2020 from the University of Pennsylvania with a major in Computer and Information Science and a minor in Mathematics, and also obtained a master's degree in Computer and Information Science from the School of Engineering and Applied Science.