A 26-year-old technology industry worker has been charged with the murder of a US health insurance company CEO, accused of using a 3D-printed gun to shoot the executive outside a New York City hotel last week.

Luigi Mangione was arrested inside a McDonald's in Altoona, Pennsylvania, on Monday after a days-long manhunt following the shooting death of 50-year-old UnitedHealthcare chief executive Brian Thompson.

Officials believed Mangione had escaped New York City by bus after first fleeing the scene on a rental bike.

A McDonald’s employee reportedly recognised Mangione from CCTV images of the shooting suspect which had been circulated by authorities.

Mangione has been charged with gun and forgery offences while he remains jailed without bail in Pennsylvania, but New York prosecutors are working to extradite him to the city to face a murder charge over Thompson’s death.

Authorities said Mangione had been found with a so-called ghost gun, a silencer, a fake driver’s licence, a mask, and writings appeared to link him to the crime.

Ghost guns can be self-assembled using metal parts and various 3D-printed plastic pieces, and usually do not have a serial number, making them difficult to trace.

Shell casings from the gun found on Mangione matched those found at the site of the shooting, New York City’s police commissioner Jessica Tisch said on Wednesday.

The casings found at the scene of the crime had the words "deny", "defend", and "depose" written on them, according to authorities.

Mangione’s fingerprints were also found on a water bottle and a food wrapper which police found near the scene in midtown Manhattan, and his clothing and mask were similar to those worn by the shooter, Tisch said.

A three-page written document found by police suggested Mangione had “ill will toward corporate America”, New York Police Department chief of detectives Joseph Kenny said.

In a statement released following Thompson’s death, UnitedHealth Group said it had seen a “huge outpouring of kindness and support” following what it described as a “horrific crime”.

“Our priorities are, first and foremost, supporting Brian’s family; ensuring the safety of our employees; and working with law enforcement to bring the perpetrator to justice,” it said.

“… We ask that everyone respect the family’s privacy as they mourn the loss of their husband, father, brother and friend.”


UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson was shot dead outside a New York City hotel. Photo: UnitedHealth Group / Supplied

Luigi Mangione's privileged upbringing and career in tech

Mangione, who had no prior arrest history, grew up with a wealthy and influential family in the US state of Maryland, authorities said.

His late grandfather Nick Mangione was a successful real estate developer, and one of his cousins is Republican politician Nino Mangione, the Associated Press reported.

In a statement posted by Nino Mangione on Tuesday, the family said it was “shocked and devastated by Luigi’s arrest”.

“We offer our prayers to the family of Brian Thompson and we ask people to pray for all involved,” they said.

Luigi Mangione graduated as dux of an elite Baltimore private high school in 2016.

A former classmate, Freddie Leatherbury, told the Associated Press Mangione was a "smart, athletic, and friendly student who came from a wealthy family".

"Quite honestly, he had everything going for him," he said.

"… He does not seem like the kind of guy to do this, based on everything I'd known about him in high school.”

Mangione fixed bugs in the popular strategy game Civilisation VI during a software programming internship after high school with Maryland-based video game company Firaxis, according to what appeared to be his LinkedIn profile.

He went on to study computer science at the University of Pennsylvania, graduating with master’s and undergraduate degrees in the field.

His work experience included video game development, robotics research, and teaching students about computer science and artificial intelligence, according to the LinkedIn account.

Mangione had also worked as a data engineer with car buying website TrueCar — but the firm told BBC News Mangione had not worked for the company since 2023.


Authorites shared CCTV and surveillance images of a suspect in New York following Brian Thompson's death. Images: NYPD / Supplied

'These parasites had it coming'

Mangione is believed to have grown up with back pain, according to comments from people who knew him.

He stayed in a co-living space in Hawaii called Surfbreak during 2022 but left to get surgery on the US mainland, a spokesperson for the organisation told the Associated Press.

An image posted to an X account believed to belong to Mangione showed what appeared to be an X-ray of a metal rod and screws in a person’s lower spine.

The same X account had posted about topics such as negative impacts of smartphones and social media, falling birthrates, stock market investments, philosophy, and exercise habits.

Mangione had described health insurance companies as “parasitic” in writings seized by law enforcement, according to a document obtained by the Associated Press.

The document reportedly confirmed Mangione had written about the US healthcare system, which he described as the most expensive in the world, and argued US life expectancies had not kept up with health insurers’ profits.

A senior law enforcement official told the New York Times that Mangione’s note said, "these parasites had it coming" and "I do apologize [sic] for any strife and trauma, but it had to be done".

Mangione specifically mentioned UnitedHealthcare in his writings, including its size and revenue, officials said.