US Attorney’s Office Announces New Charges Against Suspect in Shooting Death of UnitedHealthcare CEO

The Attorney General of the United States, Merrick Garland, announced this Thursday new federal charges against the main suspect in the shooting death of Brian Thompson, CEO of UnitedHealthcare, in downtown Manhattan (New York), Luigi Mangione, accused of harassment and murder and use of a silencer in a violent crime.

“Today, the Department of Justice has filed federal murder charges against Luigi Mangione. He planned his attack for months and stalked his victim for days before murdering him, methodically planning when, where and how to carry out his crime,” he declared.

According to the complaint, Mangione planned Thompson’s death over the past few months in an attempt to start a public debate about the healthcare industry, targeting the victim and his whereabouts. To do this, he traveled to New York more than a week before the murder, time which he took advantage of to reconnoiter the area.

On December 4, he placed himself between two vehicles and, as Thompson passed, he approached from behind and fired several shots with a pistol, causing his death. The weapon was equipped with a silencer. Afterwards, he fled on his bicycle, until five days later, when he was arrested in Altoona (Pennsylvania) when he was identified by a worker at a fast food restaurant.

Mangione is charged with one count of use of a firearm to commit murder, which carries a maximum penalty of death or life in prison; interstate harassment resulting in death, which carries a maximum penalty of life in prison; harassment through the use of interstate facilities resulting in death, which carries a maximum penalty of life in prison; and one count of discharging a firearm equipped with a silencer in furtherance of a violent crime, which carries a maximum penalty of life in prison.

He also faces charges in Pennsylvania in connection with the firearm and fake identification he allegedly had in his possession when he was arrested. At this time, the suspect has not pleaded guilty to the charges.

The 26-year-old suspect began his day in a prison in Hundingdon, Pennsylvania, and ended it in a federal prison in New York. In between, he has participated in three court hearings, accused of four new charges and traveled in several vehicles, a plane and a helicopter, with cameras following him.

The young man, who was born in Maryland and belongs to a wealthy family in Baltimore, attended a segregated private high school and later graduated from the prestigious University of Pennsylvania, considered elite in the United States. Mangione suffered from back pain since childhood, a health problem for which he underwent surgery. Investigators suspect that the motive for the crime would be his rejection of the insurance industry, which he accuses of corruption.