How police caught the suspect in fatal shooting of UnitedHealthcare CEO

High-tech drones were deployed, hundreds of hours of video were analyzed and state-of-the-art tools analyzed a “massive amount” of forensic evidence. But when an arrest occurred high level murder At UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, authorities were briefed on “old police work.”

Five days after Thompson was gunned down on a sidewalk in midtown Manhattan, Luigi Mangione 26 years old NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch was identified as a “person of interest” in the homicide that “grabbed the attention of the entire nation.”

Mangione, a former high school teacher with no known criminal record, was arrested Monday morning at a McDonald’s in Altoona, Pennsylvania, about 100 miles east of Pittsburgh, after an employee recognized the gunman from surveillance photos released by the NYPD. by calling 911.

He was subsequently charged with five felonies, including carrying a handgun without a license, forgery, falsely identifying himself to authorities and possessing “instruments of crime,” according to a criminal complaint released Monday night.

Altoona police responding to a tip from the employee confronted Mangione while eating at the fast-food restaurant, investigators said.

“Upon further investigation, officers recovered a firearm in his possession, as well as a suppressor, both consistent with the weapon used in the murder,” Tisch said.

Mangione — who grew up in Maryland and then lived in both San Francisco, California, and Honolulu, Hawaii — was charged with possession of a firearm, among other charges, but has not been charged with Thompson’s murder, Tisch said.

NYPD Chief of Detectives Joe Kenny described the weapon found in Mangion as a “phantom gun” that was made with a 3D printer and was capable of firing a 9mm.

Mangion also owned a three-page handwritten document that, Tisch said, “speaks both to his motivation and his mindset.”

Kenny added that the document contained writing that expressed “ill will toward corporate America.”

They found multiple fraudulent IDs on Mangion, as well as a U.S. passport, Tisch said.

“A fraudulent New Jersey ID matching the ID our suspect used to check in to his New York hostel before the shooting was also recovered,” Tisch said.

Kenny said police did not identify Mangione by name before he was arrested.

Tisch said police deployed drones, K-9 units and SCUBA divers during the investigation. He said investigators also relied on the expertise and technology of the FBI, in addition to its intelligence and counterterrorism offices, to help crack the case.

“For just over five days, our NYPD investigators combed through thousands of hours of video, followed hundreds of tips and processed forensic evidence, DNA, fingerprints, IP addresses and much more to tighten the web,” Tisch said. . “Our detectives also went door to door interviewing potential witnesses and doing the good old fashioned police work our investigators are known for.”

The commissioner added: “It is this combination of old-school detective work and new-age technology that has led to this result today.”

Thompson’s murder happened around 6:40 a.m. Wednesday outside the New York Hilton hotel, where the executive was scheduled to attend a shareholder meeting.

The gunman, who was wearing a mask and hooded jacket, was caught on surveillance video ambushing Thompson from behind in what investigators described as a “brave and targeted shooting.”

Kenny said the big break in the investigation came just hours into the investigation, when police obtained a surveillance photo of the suspect at a Starbucks near the New York Hilton on West 56th Street and 6th Avenue.

“There’s a lot of relief in this case because we’ve recovered an incredible amount of forensic evidence, an incredible amount of video. So I wouldn’t be able to put it in one thing. But if we had to, it would be to release that photo,” Kenny said. “We took that photo and asked the citizens for help in identifying this subject, and the citizens responded.”

Kenny said detectives spent hundreds of hours combing through “every video source we could gather.” Using the video, detectives were able to follow the killer from the scene of the shooting on foot and by bicycle through Midtown Manhattan, Central Park, and uptown Manhattan. Detectives also obtained video of him shortly after he arrived in the city by bus.

Police later released clearer images of the suspect, including one that showed his face as he checked into an upper Manhattan hostel, and a close-up shot of him wearing a mask in the back of a taxi.

“The footage we shared with the public was widely circulated, and the tips we received led to the recovery of crucial evidence,” Tisch said, acknowledging the “instrumental role of the media and the public in this case.”

Tisch added, “We should never underestimate the power of the public to be our eyes and our ears in these investigations.”

He said it was the third time in as many weeks that a tip from the public led to an arrest in a high-profile case, including a triple stabbing homicide in Manhattan and several armed robberies in Queens, while he was a police officer. shot

Kenny said the investigation is far from over, as detectives continue to look into whether the gunman had any help.

“We believe, at this point, our investigation is only pointing towards who played,” Kenny said.

Looking forward, Tisch said, “we will work through extradition to return him to New York to face the charges here, working with the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office.”