Luigi Mangione’s Mom Could ‘See Him’ Shooting UnitedHealthcare CEO

What’s New

Luigi Mangione’s mother had told detectives before her son’s arrest that she could “see him” fatally shooting the CEO of UnitedHealthcare, Brian Thompson.

Why It Matters

New York City Police Department Chief of Detectives Joseph Kenny said Tuesday that a sergeant in San Francisco reached out after the NYPD released a photo of the suspected shooter, saying that Mangione bore a resemblance to the subject of a local missing persons case.

“They had a conversation where she didn’t indicate that it was her son in the photograph, but she said it may be something she can see him doing,” Kenny said. “That information was going to be passed along to the detectives the next morning, but fortunately, we apprehended him before we could act on that.”

What To Know

Luigi Mangione was charged with one count of murder in the first degree and two counts of murder in the second degree, including one of murder in the second degree as an act of terrorism “for the brazen, targeted and premeditated shooting on Brian Thompson,” Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg announced on December 17.

There are also additional charges related to criminal possession of a weapon. The maximum penalty for first-degree murder and second-degree as an act of terrorism is life without parole. The maximum for second-degree murder is 25 years to life.

Mangione, 26, was arrested in Pennsylvania last week following a search for a gunman believed to have fatally shot Thompson, 50, on December 4 in Manhattan.

Thompson was shot outside the Hilton hotel in Midtown, where UnitedHealthcare was holding its investor conference. A hooded attacker who appeared to have been lying in wait fled on foot to a back alley and then took an e-bike in the direction of Central Park.

Mangione is being held without bail in Pennsylvania, where he is charged with possession of an unlicensed firearm, forgery and providing false identification to police. The most serious of those charges, forgery, is punishable by up to 10 years in prison.

The NYPD said Mangione’s fingerprints appear to match those found near the site of the shooting. Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch said at a news conference last week that the shell casings recovered at the site matched the 3D-printed gun that Mangione possessed when he was detained in Altoona, Pennsylvania.

A manifesto found with Mangione suggested his actions were fueled by anger toward the health insurance industry, describing executives as “parasites.”

What People Are Saying

District Attorney Alvin Bragg, at the press conference: “This was not an ordinary killing, not to suggest any killing is ordinary.”

NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch, at the press conference: “The unsealing of today’s indictment brings us one step closer to ensuring justice for Brian Thompson and his family…We have seen a shocking and appalling celebration of cold-blooded murder. Social media has erupted with praise for this cowardly attack.”

President-elect Donald Trump, at a press conference Monday: “How people can like this guy, that’s a sickness, actually…It seems like there’s a certain appetite for him. I don’t get it.”

UnitedHealth Group’s CEO Andrew Witty, in an op-ed for The New York Times: “He [Thompson] believed decisions about healthcare should start with the individual and championed plans in which consumers could see costs and coverage options up-front, so they could decide what’s best for themselves and their families.”

Republican Texas Senator Ted Cruz, on X: “Leftism is a mental disease. The suspected murderer, an Ivy League graduate, ‘subscribed to anti-capitalist and climate-change causes, according to law-enforcement.’ And the murderer has been widely celebrated by leftists online. Tragic & sick.”

What Happens Next

The New York Police Department is waiting for a hearing in Pennsylvania to take place, where Luigi Mangione will hopefully waive his extradition to New York.