Luigi Mangione: What we know about man arrested in connection with Brian Thompson shooting
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.
Luigi Mangione, 26, was found at a McDonald’s, after a worker recognised him and called the police
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.
Luigi Mangione had a fake New Jersey ID
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.
Luigi Mangione Pic: LinkedIn
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.
Luigi Mangione. Pic: Facebook
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.
Chief Executive Officer of UnitedHealthcare Brian Thompson.
Pic: Business Wire/AP
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.
Police shared this picture of the suspect following the shooting. Pic: NYPD
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.
A police officer stands near the scene where the CEO of United Healthcare Brian Thompson was shot. Pic: Reuters
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.
US
Trump ‘very disappointed’ in Russian strikes on Ukraine and calls for Putin to ‘sit down and sign a deal’
Donald Trump has said he’s “very disappointed” with Russia as he continues to push for a peace deal to end the war in Ukraine.
On Saturday, the US president met with Volodymyr Zelenskyy at the Vatican for their first face-to-face meeting since their explosive White House summit.
The Ukrainian president said the meeting ahead of Pope Francis’s funeral could end up being “historic.” Hours later, Mr Trump questioned Vladimir Putin’s appetite for peace in a Truth Social post.
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From Saturday: Trump meets Zelenskyy at funeral
Speaking before boarding Air Force One on Sunday, Mr Trump again said the meeting went well, and that the Ukrainian leader was “calmer”.
“I think he understands the picture, I think he wants to make a deal,” he said, before turning to Mr Putin and Russia.
“I want him to stop shooting, sit down and sign a deal,” the US president said, adding he was “very disappointed that they did the bombing of those places (including Kyiv, where nine people were killed in a Russian airstrike on Friday) after discussions”.
However, Mr Trump said he thinks Mr Zelenskyy is ready to give up Crimea, which the Ukrainian leader has repeatedly said he would refuse to do.
He added that “we’ll see what happens in the next few days” and said “don’t talk to me about Crimea, talk to Obama and Biden about Crimea”.
Russia annexed Crimea in 2014, while Barack Obama was president.
Meanwhile, US secretary of state Marco Rubio told Sky’s US partner network NBC News that a peace deal to end the war was “closer in general than they’ve been any time in the last three years, but it’s still not there”.
“If this was an easy war to end, it would have been ended by someone else a long time ago,” he added on the Meet the Press show.
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It comes after North Korea confirmed it had deployed troops to fight for Russia, months after Ukraine and Western officials said its forces were in Europe.
State media outlet KCNA reported North Korean soldiers made an “important contribution” to expelling Ukrainian forces from Russian territory, likely to be the Kursk region.
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KCNA said leader Kim Jong Un made the decision to deploy troops to Russia and notified Moscow, and quoted him as saying: “They who fought for justice are all heroes and representatives of the honour of the motherland.”
It also quoted the country’s ruling Workers’ Party as saying the end of the battle to liberate Kursk showed the “highest strategic level of the firm militant friendship” between North Korea and Russia.
Last June, Mr Kim and Mr Putin signed a comprehensive strategic partnership treaty after a state visit – his first to the country in 24 years.
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From June 2024: Putin drives Kim around in luxury limo during state visit
The North Korean leader promised at the time “full support and solidarity to the Russian government, army and people in carrying out the special military operation in Ukraine”.
Virginia Giuffre, who accused Prince Andrew of sexual assault, has died aged 41.
In a statement to Sky’s US partner network NBC News on Friday, her family said she took her own life in the Perth suburb of Neergabby, Australia, where she had been living for several years.
“It is with utterly broken hearts that we announce that Virginia passed away last night at her farm in Western Australia,” her family said.
“She lost her life to suicide, after being a lifelong victim of sexual abuse and sex trafficking.
“Virginia was a fierce warrior in the fight against sexual abuse and sex trafficking. She was the light that lifted so many survivors.
“In the end, the toll of abuse is so heavy that it became unbearable for Virginia to handle its weight.”
Pic: AP
Police said emergency services received reports of an unresponsive woman at a property in Neergabby on Friday night.
“Police and St John Western Australia attended and provided emergency first aid. Sadly, the 41-year-old woman was declared deceased at the scene,” a police spokeswoman said.
“The death is being investigated by Major Crime detectives; early indication is the death is not suspicious.”
Sexual assault claims
Prince Andrew has denied all claims of wrongdoing. File pic: Reuters
Ms Giuffre sued the Duke of York for sexual abuse in August 2021, saying Andrew had sex with her when she was 17 and had been trafficked by his friend, the billionaire paedophile Jeffrey Epstein.
The duke has repeatedly denied the claims, and he has not been charged with any criminal offences.
In March 2022, it was announced Ms Giuffre and Andrew had reached an out-of-court settlement – believed to include a “substantial donation to Ms Giuffre’s charity in support of victims’ rights”.
‘An incredible champion’
Sigrid McCawley, Ms Giuffre’s attorney, said in a statement that she “was much more than a client to me; she was a dear friend and an incredible champion for other victims”.
“Her courage pushed me to fight harder, and her strength was awe-inspiring,” she said. “The world has lost an amazing human being today.”
“Rest in peace, my sweet angel,” she added.
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Dini von Mueffling, Ms Giuffre’s representative, also said that “Virginia was one of the most extraordinary human beings I have ever had the honour to know”.
“Deeply loving, wise, and funny, she was a beacon to other survivors and victims,” she added. “She adored her children and many animals.
“She was always more concerned with me than with herself. I will miss her beyond words.
“It was the privilege of a lifetime to represent her.”
Ms Giuffre said at the end of March she had four days to live after a car accident, posting on social media that “I’ve gone into kidney renal failure”. She was discharged from hospital eight days later.
Raised mainly in Florida, she said she was abused by a family friend early in life, which led to her living on the streets at times as a teenager.
She said that in 2000, she met Ghislaine Maxwell, a British socialite who was convicted in 2021 on federal sex trafficking and conspiracy charges and was sentenced to 20 years in prison.
Ghislaine Maxwell and Jeffrey Epstein. Pic: US Department of Justice
Ms Giuffre said Maxwell then introduced her to Epstein and hired her as his masseuse, and said she was sex trafficked and sexually abused by him and associates around the world.
‘A survivor’
After meeting her husband in 2002, while taking massage training in Thailand at what she said was Epstein’s behest, she moved to Australia and had a family.
She founded the sex trafficking victims’ advocacy charity SOAR in 2015, and is quoted on its website as saying: “I do this for victims everywhere.
“I am no longer the young and vulnerable girl who could be bullied. I am now a survivor, and nobody can ever take that away from me.”
:: Anyone feeling emotionally distressed or suicidal can call Samaritans for help on 116 123 or email jo@samaritans.org in the UK. In the US, call the Samaritans branch in your area or 1 (800) 273-TALK.
Donald Trump has met Volodymyr Zelenskyy ahead of the Pope’s funeral, Vatican sources have told Sky News.
The US and Ukrainian presidents had a “very productive discussion”, according to a White House Official, and have also agreed to hold further talks after the service.
They are among world leaders, including Sir Keir Starmer and Emmanuel Macron, who are attending the funeral of Pope Francis.
Follow live updates: Zelenskyy among world leaders joining thousands of mourners
There was applause from some of those gathered in St Peter’s Square when the Ukrainian leader walked out.
The former British ambassador to Russia Sir Tony Brenton said the event presents diplomatic opportunities, including the “biggest possible meeting” between Mr Trump and Mr Zelenskyy.
Trump and Zelenskyy meet for first time since Oval Office row. Pic: Reuters
He told Sky News it could mark “an important step” in starting the peace process between Russia and Ukraine, and is their first face-to-face meeting after a very public row between the presidents at the White House in February.
The bilateral meeting comes after Mr Trump’s peace negotiator Steve Witkoff held talks with Vladimir Putin at the Kremlin.
They discussed “the possibility of resuming direct negotiations between Russia and Ukraine”, Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov said.
Russia and Ukraine have not held direct talks since the early weeks of the war, which began in February 2022.
Mr Trump has claimed a deal to end the war is “very close” and has urged Mr Zelenskyy to “get it done” in a post on his Truth Social platform.
He has previously warned both sides his administration would walk away from its efforts to achieve a peace if the two sides do not agree a deal soon.
Meanwhile, the Polish Armed Forces said a Russian military helicopter violated its airspace over the Baltic Sea on Friday evening, in a post on X.
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