Luigi Mangione, a 26-year-old Ivy League alumnus and former software engineer, faces charges on five counts following the murder of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson. These include forgery, carrying a gun without a license and showing law enforcement false identification, according to a criminal complaint released by the state court system.
The six-day manhunt after the murder of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson ended with Mangione’s arrest in Pennsylvania.
According to a criminal complaint, he was found in possession of a suspected 3D-printed “ghost gun,” a silencer, and forged New Jersey identification, which police allege was used to secure a stay at a New York City hostel on November 24.
The breakthrough in the case came when an alert customer at a McDonald’s in Altoona, Pennsylvania, recognized Mangione and tipped off authorities. Police apprehended him and discovered a firearm believed to be the murder weapon linked to the shooting. They also recovered a manifesto containing anti-capitalist rhetoric and grievances about profits in the healthcare industry, which investigators believe may have been a motive.
Despite his privileged upbringing, Mangione had grown critical of corporate structures. Hailing from a wealthy Maryland property family, he attended the elite Gilman School. He earned both bachelor’s and master’s degrees in engineering and computer science from the University of Pennsylvania in 2020. He worked as a software engineer at TrueCar until early 2023, but his writings suggest he later developed discontent with capitalism and the healthcare industry.
Brian Thompson, 50, was gunned down early on November 29 while walking to the Hilton Hotel on Sixth Avenue for UnitedHealth Group’s annual investor conference. Surveillance footage captured a masked assailant approaching Thompson from behind, firing multiple shots with what police believe was a silenced weapon, and fleeing on a bicycle into Central Park.
