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.
It’s beginning to feel like “Midnight Sun” diplomacy.
In parts of Alaska, the sun doesn’t set in summer, casting light through the night but leaving you disorientated.
Ukraine latest: Zelenskyy reject’s Putin’s proposal
The Trump-Putin summit is pitched as “transparent” but it’s difficult to find any path to peace right now.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt has reduced it to a “listening exercise” where Donald Trump will seek a “better understanding” of the situation.
There isn’t much to understand – Russia wants territory, Ukraine isn’t ceding it – but Ms Levitt rejects talk of them “tempering expectations”.
It’s possible to be both hopeful and measured, she says, because Mr Trump wants peace but is only meeting one side on Friday.
It’s the fact that he’s only meeting Vladimir Putin that concerns European leaders, who fear Ukraine could be side-lined by any Trump-Putin pact.
Volodymyr Zelenskyy claims Mr Putin wants the rest of Donetsk and, in effect, the entire Donbas region in eastern Ukraine.
He’s ruled out surrendering that because it would rob him of key defence lines and leave Kyiv vulnerable to future offensives.
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‘Steps have been taken to remedy the situation’ in Pokrovsk
European leaders – including Sir Keir Starmer – will hold online talks with Mr Zelenskyy twice on Wednesday, on either side of a virtual call with Mr Trump and US Vice President JD Vance.
Their concerns may be getting through, hence the White House now framing the summit as a cautious fact-finding exercise and nothing more.
The only thing we really learned from the latest news conference is that the first Trump-Putin meeting in six years will be in Anchorage.
Alaska itself, with its history and geography, is a layered metaphor: a place the Russians sold to the US in the 1800s.
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Russian traditional nesting dolls with images of Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump at a gift shop in Moscow. Pic: Reuters
A remote but strategic frontier where the lines of ownership and the rules of negotiation are once again being sketched out.
On a clear day, you can see Russia from Alaska, but without Mr Zelenskyy in the room, it’s difficult to see them conquering any summit.
In the place where the sun never sets, the deal might never start.
Donald Trump has said he would try to return territory to Ukraine as he prepares to meet Vladimir Putin and lay the groundwork for a deal to bring an end to the war.
“Russia has occupied a big portion of Ukraine. They’ve occupied some very prime territory. We’re going to try and get some of that territory back for Ukraine,” the US president said at a White House news conference ahead of Friday’s summit in Alaska.
Mr Trump also said: “There’ll be some land swapping going on. I know that through Russia and through conversations with everybody, to the good of Ukraine.”
He said he’s going to see what Mr Putin “has in mind” to end the three-and-a-half-year full-scale invasion.
Donald Trump speaks to reporters at the White House. Pic: Reuters
And he said if it’s a “fair deal,” he will share it with European and NATO leaders, as well as Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who have been liaising closely with Washington ahead of the meeting.
Asked if Mr Zelenskyy was invited to the summit with Mr Putin in Alaska, Mr Trump said the Ukrainian leader “wasn’t a part of it”.
“I would say he could go, but he’s gone to a lot of meetings. You know, he’s been there for three and a half years – nothing happened,” Mr Trump added.
The US president said Mr Putin wants to get the war “over with” and “get involved” in possible talks but acknowledged Moscow’s attacks haven’t stopped.
“I’ve said that a few times and I’ve been disappointed because I’d have a great call with him and then missiles would be lobbed into Kyiv or some other place,” he said.
Mr Trump said he will tell Mr Putin “you’ve got to end this war, you’ve got to end it,” but that “it’s not up to me” to make a deal between Russia and Ukraine.
Vladimir Putin is set to meet Donald Trump in Alaska. Pic: Reuters
Zelenskyy says Russia ‘wants to buy time’
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said Russia “wants to buy time, not end the war”.
“It is obvious that the Russians simply want to buy time, not end the war,” he wrote in a post on X, after a phone call with Canada’s Prime Minister Mark Carney.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. Pic: Reuters
“The situation on the battlefield and Russia’s wicked strikes on civilian infrastructure and ordinary people prove this clearly.”
Mr Zelenskyy said the two “agreed that no decisions concerning Ukraine’s future and the security of our people can be made without Ukraine’s participation”, just as “there can be no decisions without clear security guarantees”.
Sanctions against Russia must remain in force and be “constantly strengthened,” he added.
European leaders meet ahead of call with Trump
Meanwhile, European officials have been holding meetings ahead of a phone call with Mr Trump on Wednesday.
The European Union’s foreign policy chief, Kaja Kallas, has been speaking to foreign ministers virtually, saying on X that work “on more sanctions against Russia, more military support for Ukraine and more support for Ukraine’s budgetary needs and accession process to join the EU” is under way.
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‘Russians want to carry on fighting’
Over the weekend, European leaders released a joint statement, welcoming Mr Trump’s “work to stop the killing in Ukraine”.
“We are convinced that only an approach that combines active diplomacy, support to Ukraine and pressure on the Russian Federation to end their illegal war can succeed,” read the statement.
It was signed by UK Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer, French President Emmanuel Macron, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk, Finland’s President Alexander Stubb, and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.
“We underline our unwavering commitment to Ukraine’s sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity,” they said.
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Attacks continue
Despite Donald Trump’s efforts to convince Vladimir Putin to commit to a ceasefire and negotiations, Russian attacks on Ukraine have only intensified in the past few months.
Ukraine’s president has said that, in the past week, Russia launched more than 1,000 air bombs, nearly 1,400 drones and multiple missile strikes on Ukraine.
On 9 July, Russia carried out its largest aerial attack on Ukraine since the start of the war, launching more than 740 drones and missiles, breaking its records from previous weeks.
Furthermore, Mr Zelenskyy has said Russia is preparing for new offensives.
And then there were two.
It will be a Trump-Putin bilateral summit in Alaska.
Ukraine latest: Trump details talks with Putin
The US president has ruled out a trilateral meeting including Volodymyr Zelenskyy and is framing the talks as low stakes.
He described it as a “feel out” meeting “to see what the parameters” are, and stressed “it’s not up to me to make a deal.”
A strategic preemption perhaps, setting expectations low, and preparing the public for failure.
But he remains wedded to the notion that “land swapping” will shape any deal to end the war in Ukraine.
“Good stuff” and “bad stuff” for both sides, he said, positioning himself as the pragmatic mediator between the two.
He expressed irritation with Mr Zelenskyy’s assertion that he doesn’t have the constitutional power to concede land, though did say he hopes to get “prime territory” back for Ukraine.
Volodymyr Zelenskyy will not be attending the summit. Pic: AP
The dealmaker-in-chief
Mr Trump promised to brief the Ukrainian president and European leaders immediately after his meeting with Mr Putin.
And he voiced confidence in his ability to quickly assess the potential for a deal, boasting his business acumen.
“At the end of the meeting, probably the first two minutes, I’ll know exactly whether or not a deal can be made,” he said.
Asked how he would know, he replied: “That’s what I do, make deals.”
Members of his cabinet nodded in approval.
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Putin ‘wants war to be over’
A law-and-order crackdown in the US capital seems timed to bolster his diplomatic stance.
He branded crime in Washington “a national emergency”, took federal control of police and deployed the National Guard.
It may seem strange that Mr Trump is talking about “taking back” Washington, ahead of a rare summit with Mr Putin.
But he’s positioning himself as bold and uncompromising before he faces a man deemed bold and uncompromising.
A telling gaffe
And he conflated the two, saying: “This is a tragic emergency, and I’m going to see Putin, I’m going to Russia on Friday.”
He isn’t going to Russia. He’s going to Alaska. But that gaffe revealed how central Mr Putin is to his narrative, even domestically.
Vladimir Putin has been reluctant to meet his Ukrainian counterpart. Pic: Sputnik/Reuters
Mr Putin wants to lock in the gains Russia has made since invading Ukraine, while Mr Trump presses for a ceasefire.
But it’s hard to envisage any ice-breaking peace deal emerging from Friday’s summit in Alaska.
How could there be when Mr Zelenskyy is out in the cold?
For now, this is a Trump-Putin power play.
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