Police say fingerprints of the man suspected of shooting dead a US health insurance boss match those found near the crime scene in New York, according to Sky News’ US partner NBC News.

Luigi Mangione has been charged with the murder of UnitedHealthcare chief executive Brian Thompson, who was shot dead in Manhattan last week.

Dressed in an orange prison uniform, the 26-year-old appeared at Blair County Courthouse on Tuesday, where he decided to challenge his extradition to New York, triggering a legal process that could last weeks.

But as prosecutors seek to build a case against the alleged suspect, NBC News quoted an official close to the case who claimed investigators have found prints near the scene in New York that match Mangione’s own.

It isn’t clear where the prints were taken from.

Police said the suspect previously visited a Starbucks before the shooting, and then was seen on an e-bike cycling away from the scene.

Speaking recently, Mangione’s attorney Thomas Dickey said: “Listen, I haven’t seen any evidence that says he’s the shooter.

“I haven’t seen anything. I have not seen one scintilla, one speck, one drop of any evidence yet.”

NBC News also reported, citing two sources familiar with the ongoing investigation, that Mangione was carrying a notebook when found.

In it, he allegedly wrote: “What do you do? You wack the CEO at the annual parasitic bean-counter convention.

“It’s targeted, precise, and doesn’t risk innocents.”

‘These parasites had it coming’

After a high-profile manhunt, Mangione was arrested after a tip off from a McDonald’s worker, and he was found with a gun, mask and writings, police said, that linked him to the ambush attack.

NBC News spoke to a customer who spotted Mangione in the restaurant in Altoona, around 230 miles (370km) west of New York.

The man, who only gave his name as Larry, said his friend told him “that looks like the shooter from New York”, adding that a backpack looked similar to one the suspect was carrying.

Larry added: “I thought it was one of the employees, because they go back here on break, and they put their hoods up, and he was in the corner with his hood up.”

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Mangione had three pages of writings on him at the time he was taken into custody, officials also told NBC News.

Those writings reportedly said “frankly these parasites had it coming” and “I wasn’t working with anyone” during broader criticism of the US healthcare industry and large corporations, including UnitedHealthcare.

Pennsylvania prosecutor Peter Weeks said Mangione, who gave officers a fake ID, was found with a passport and $10,000 (£7,840) in cash – $2,000 of it in foreign currency.

An Ivy League tech graduate, Mangione’s alleged actions have catapulted him to online notoriety, with Etsy and eBay among the websites selling T-shirts and other products referencing him.

Some on social media have expressed sympathy and support for Mangione.

Support for him appears to come from long-standing resentment over the US healthcare system and allegations that firms like UnitedHealthcare go to great lengths to avoid paying for treatments in order to maximise profits.

Etsy and eBay are among the websites selling T-shirts and other products referencing New York shooting suspect Luigi Mangione.

One design features his picture with the caption “Free Luigi, F*** the System”.

“Deny, defend, depose” – words reportedly written on the bullets that killed UnitedHealthcare boss and father-of-two Brian Thompson – appear on other listings, including mugs and stickers, while some use pictures from Mangione’s social media.

A stylised image of the suspect alongside “Free Luigi” features in one eBay listing available in the UK.

Online tools make it quick to do mock-ups of such designs and create listings – which are only printed when a sale is made, a booming system known as “print on demand”.

It’s unclear how many have actually been sold.

One seller told NBC News he planned to donate any proceeds he makes to a charity that assists people with paying their medical bills.

Mangione was charged with the insurance boss’s murder on Monday after being caught eating in a McDonald’s.

Some on social media have expressed sympathy and support for the suspect, viewing him as a “hero” and criticising those who alerted police.

Support for Mangione appears to come from resentment over the US healthcare system and accusations firms go to great lengths to avoid paying for treatments in order to maximise profits.

In a statement, an eBay representative said that “eBay policies do not prohibit the sale of items with the phrase ‘Deny. Defend. Depose,’ however, items that glorify or incite violence, including those that celebrate the recent murder of UHC CEO Brian Thompson, are prohibited”.

Etsy didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.

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Mangione, 26, tussled with police officers on Tuesday as they escorted him to court for an extradition hearing.

It’s emerged the suspect comes from a privileged background, and went to private school and a prestigious Ivy League university.

Brian Thompson, 50, was the boss of America’s biggest health insurer and a married father of two.

He was shot in Manhattan on 4 December by a gunman who shot him from behind.

Mr Thompson’s wife said he was an “incredibly loving father to our two sons” and a “loving, generous, talented man who truly lived life to the fullest”.

A man arrested in connection with the fatal shooting of UnitedHealthcare chief executive Brian Thompson has been named as Luigi Mangione.

The 26-year-old was arrested on a firearms charge by police in Altoona, Pennsylvania, on Monday morning, following the shooting of Mr Thompson by a masked gunman in Manhattan last Wednesday.

He has not been charged with the killing of Mr Thompson, officials said on Monday.

Detectives from the New York City Police Department (NYPD) have travelled to Pennsylvania to question Mangione.

Here’s what we know about him so far…

Arrest

According to officials from the NYPD, Mangione was arrested in Altoona on Monday after a tip-off from a McDonald’s employee who recognised him from the police appeals.

Altoona is around 230 miles to the west of New York and in the state of Pennsylvania.

According to police, he had a silencer and a gun “both consistent with the weapon used in the murder”.

They said the gun appeared to be a “ghost gun” – a type of weapon that can be assembled at home from parts and without a serial number – and that it was possibly made using a 3D printer.

Mangione also had a fake New Jersey ID – with the name Mark Rosario – matching a document used by the suspect to check into a hostel in the city before the attack, NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch told a press conference on Monday.

He was found carrying a “handwritten document” which Ms Tisch said spoke “to both his motivation and mindset”.

NYPD chief of detectives Joseph Kenny said that from the document, it appeared the suspect had “some ill-will towards corporate America”.

Background

According to police, Mangione was born and raised in the state of Maryland and has links to San Francisco in California and Hawaii’s capital Honolulu.

His social media lists him as being from Towson, a well-to-do area to the north of the city of Baltimore. He is said to have attended Gilman school – a private all-boys school in the city.

Fees cost up to $37,000 (£29,000) depending on the age of the student and the school boasts an impressive list of alumni, including businessmen, NFL stars and former state senators.

After graduating in 2016, it appears Mangione went on to attend the University of Pennsylvania.

According to his social media, he studied computer science and during his time there launched a gaming research group named UPGRADE (UPenn Game Research and Development Environment).

He later co-founded his own computer game company, which focused on small, simplistic games.

According to his LinkedIn page, Mangione moved to California in 2020, where he worked for a digital retailing website for new and used cars.

Magione lists himself as from Honolulu on his LinkedIn page, while pictures shared on his public Instagram page show him on the island of Hawaii.

What about his social media presence?

Mangione appears to have an active social media presence.

One account, appearing under his name and picture on the X platform, regularly shares and reposts think pieces, with frequent topics such as artificial intelligence (AI), philosophy, and the future of humanity in a world of ever-more powerful technology.

The account praised the book What’s Our Problem? by the popular American author Tim Urban – who often addresses such topics – in January 2024 saying he “believed it would go down in history as the most important philosophical text of the early 21st century”.

While the account does address political issues, it seemingly does not express views on the American healthcare and insurance system.

In another account matching his name and photograph on the user-generated book review site Goodreads, he appeared to give a four-star review to a text called Industrial Society and Its Future by Theodore Kaczynski.

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The piece, which rallied against technological advancement, became known as the Unabomber Manifesto after its author began a nearly 20-year mail bombing campaign which he said was designed to protect nature.

Three people were killed and dozens others injured in the bombing campaign, which ended with his arrest in 1996.

In the review, the account seemingly run by Mangione wrote: “When all other forms of communication fail, violence is necessary to survive. You may not like his methods, but to see things from his perspective, it’s not terrorism, it’s war and revolution.

“‘Violence never solved anything’ is a statement uttered by cowards and predators.”

Brian Thompson shooting

Brian Thompson, 50, was the chief executive of UnitedHealthcare – the fourth-largest public company in the United States.

He was targeted by what experts claim was a “seasoned, professional killer”, who shot him on 4 December as he was walking into a Manhattan hotel where his company was holding a conference.

Investigators said last week the words “defend”, “deny”, and “depose” were written on the cases of bullets found at the scene, which are similar to the title of a book that criticises health insurance companies.

The shooting happened at 6.45am on Wednesday 4 December – just before sunrise.

Mr Thompson was in New York City for UnitedHealthcare’s annual investors conference, which was due to start at 8am.

As he walked towards the entrance of the Hilton hotel on Sixth Avenue, in Manhattan’s midtown, a gunman appeared from two parked cars behind him.

The suspect drew his weapon and fired at least three times at close range – around 15ft (4.6m) away from him on the pavement.

Mr Thompson was shot in the back and the calf and died from his injuries.

UnitedHealthcare is the largest provider of Medicare Advantage plans in the US and manages insurance for employers and state and federally funded programmes.

It is the fourth largest public company in the country – behind Walmart, Amazon, and Apple.