NEW YORK (AP) — Federal prosecutors charged Luigi Nicholas Mangione, 26, of Towson, Maryland, with murder Thursday in connection with the Dec. 4 shooting death of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson in Midtown Manhattan.
According to the criminal complaint unsealed today, Mangione allegedly stalked Thompson for months before gunning him down with a silencer-equipped pistol outside a Manhattan hotel. The shooting occurred as Thompson was heading to his company’s investor conference.
“Brian Thompson was gunned down in cold blood as he walked down a street in midtown Manhattan,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Edward Y. Kim. “Thompson was allegedly killed just because he held the position of chief executive officer of a health insurance company.”
Prosecutors say Mangione meticulously planned the attack, arriving in New York on Nov. 24 to conduct surveillance around Thompson’s hotel and the conference venue. Using false identification, he stayed at an Upper West Side hostel while tracking his target’s movements.
On Dec. 4, around 6:45 a.m., Mangione allegedly positioned himself between two parked cars on West 54th Street before approaching Thompson from behind and firing several shots from a 9mm pistol equipped with a silencer. He then fled by bicycle through Central Park.
Police arrested Mangione five days later at a fast-food restaurant in Altoona, Pennsylvania, after an employee recognized him. He was found carrying the same false identification used in New York and a 9mm pistol with silencer matching the murder weapon.
Attorney General Merrick B. Garland said Mangione “planned his attack for months and stalked his victim for days before murdering him — methodically planning when, where, and how to carry out his crime.”
The charges against Mangione include using a firearm to commit murder, which carries a possible death penalty or life sentence; interstate stalking resulting in death; stalking through interstate facilities resulting in death; and using a silencer in a violent crime, which carries a mandatory minimum of 30 years.
FBI Assistant Director James E. Dennehy said the killing was allegedly meant to “incite national debates” about healthcare, calling it a “carefully premeditated and targeted execution.”
The Manhattan District Attorney’s Office has also brought separate charges against Mangione, with that case expected to proceed before the federal prosecution.
NYPD Commissioner Jessica S. Tisch credited public assistance in identifying the suspect, saying, “It is because of the public’s actions that we now have an alleged killer in custody back in New York City.”
