ALTOONA, Pa. (AP) 鈥� After on a New York sidewalk, police searched for the masked gunman with dogs, drones and scuba divers. Officers used the city's . Investigators analyzed DNA samples, fingerprints and internet addresses. Police went door-to-door looking for witnesses.
When came , those sprawling investigative efforts shared credit with an alert civilian's instincts. A Pennsylvania McDonald's customer noticed another patron who resembled the man in the oblique security-camera photos that New York police had publicized.
, a 26-year-old Ivy League graduate from a prominent Maryland real estate family, was arrested Monday in the killing of , who headed one of the United States鈥� largest medical insurance companies.
He remained jailed in Pennsylvania, where he was initially charged with possession of an unlicensed firearm, forgery and providing false identification to police. By late evening, prosecutors in Manhattan had added a charge of murder, according to an online court docket. He's expected to be extradited to New York eventually.
It鈥檚 unclear whether Mangione has an attorney who can comment on the allegations. Asked at Monday's arraignment whether he needed a public defender, Mangione asked whether he could 鈥渁nswer that at a future date.鈥�
Mangione was arrested in Altoona, Pennsylvania, after the McDonald's customer recognized him and notified an employee, authorities said. Police in Altoona, about 233 miles (375 kilometers) west of New York City, were soon summoned.
They arrived to find Mangione sitting at a table in the back of the restaurant, wearing a blue medical mask and looking at a laptop, according to a Pennsylvania police criminal complaint.
He initially gave them a fake ID, but when an officer asked Mangione whether he鈥檇 been to New York recently, he 鈥渂ecame quiet and started to shake,鈥� the complaint says.
When he pulled his mask down at officers' request, 鈥渨e knew that was our guy,鈥� rookie Officer Tyler Frye said at a news conference in Hollidaysburg.
New York Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch said at a Manhattan news conference that Mangione was carrying like the one used to kill Thompson and the same fake ID the shooter had used to check into a New York hostel, along with a passport and other fraudulent IDs.
NYPD Chief of Detectives Joseph Kenny said Mangione also had a three-page, handwritten document that shows 鈥渟ome ill will toward corporate America."
A law enforcement official who wasn鈥檛 authorized to discuss the investigation publicly and spoke with The Associated Press on condition of anonymity said the document included a line in which Mangione claimed to have acted alone.
鈥淭o the Feds, I鈥檒l keep this short, because I do respect what you do for our country. To save you a lengthy investigation, I state plainly that I wasn鈥檛 working with anyone,鈥� the document said, according to the official.
It also had a line that said, 鈥淚 do apologize for any strife or traumas but it had to be done. Frankly, these parasites simply had it coming.鈥�
Pennsylvania prosecutor Peter Weeks said in court that Mangione was found with a passport and $10,000 in cash 鈥� $2,000 of it in foreign currency. Mangione disputed the amount.
Thompson, 50, was killed last Wednesday as he walked alone to a midtown Manhattan hotel for an investor conference. Police quickly came to see the shooting as a targeted attack by a gunman who appeared to wait for Thompson, came up behind him and a 9 mm pistol.
Investigators have said 鈥渄elay,鈥� 鈥渄eny鈥� and 鈥渄epose鈥� on ammunition found near Thompson鈥檚 body. The words mimic a phrase used .
From surveillance video, New York investigators gathered that the shooter fled by bike into Central Park, emerged, then took a taxi to a northern Manhattan bus terminal.
Once in Pennsylvania, he went from Philadelphia to Pittsburgh, 鈥渢rying to stay low-profile鈥� by avoiding cameras, Pennsylvania State Police Lt. Col. George Bivens said.
A grandson of a wealthy, self-made real estate developer and philanthropist, Mangione is a cousin of a current Maryland state legislator. Mangione was valedictorian at his elite Baltimore prep school, where his 2016 graduation speech lauded his classmates鈥� 鈥渋ncredible courage to explore the unknown and try new things.鈥�
He went on to earn undergraduate and graduate degrees in computer science in 2020 from the University of Pennsylvania, a spokesperson said.
鈥淥ur family is shocked and devastated by Luigi鈥檚 arrest,鈥� Mangione鈥檚 family said in a statement posted on social media late Monday by his cousin, Maryland lawmaker Nino Mangione. 鈥淲e offer our prayers to the family of Brian Thompson and we ask people to pray for all involved.鈥�
Luigi Nicholas Mangione worked for a time for the car-buying website TrueCar and left in 2023, CEO Jantoon Reigersman said by email.
From January to June 2022, Mangione lived at Surfbreak, a 鈥渃o-living鈥� space at the edge of Honolulu tourist mecca Waikiki.
Like other residents of the shared penthouse catering to remote workers, Mangione underwent a background check, said Josiah Ryan, a spokesperson for owner and founder R.J. Martin.
鈥淟uigi was just widely considered to be a great guy. There were no complaints,鈥� Ryan said. "There was no sign that might point to these alleged crimes they鈥檙e saying he committed.鈥�
At Surfbreak, Martin learned Mangione had severe back pain from childhood that interfered with many aspects of his life, from surfing to romance, Ryan said.
鈥淗e went surfing with R.J. once but it didn鈥檛 work out because of his back," Ryan said, but noted that Mangione and Martin often went together to a rock-climbing gym.
Mangione left Surfbreak to get surgery on the mainland, Ryan said, then later returned to Honolulu and rented an apartment.
Martin stopped hearing from Mangione six months to a year ago.
Although the gunman obscured his face during the shooting, he left a trail of evidence in New York, including a he ditched in Central Park, a cellphone found in a pedestrian plaza, a water bottle and a protein bar wrapper.
In the days after the shooting, the NYPD collected hundreds of hours of surveillance video and released multiple clips and still images in hopes of enlisting the public鈥檚 eyes to help find a suspect.
鈥淭his combination of old-school detective work and new-age technology is what led to this result today,鈥� Tisch said at the New York news conference.
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Scolforo reported from Altoona and Hollidaysburg, Pennsylvania. Contributing were Associated Press writers Cedar Attanasio and Jennifer Peltz in New York; Michael Rubinkam and Maryclaire Dale in Pennsylvania; Lea Skene in Baltimore and Jennifer Sinco Kelleher in Honolulu.
Michael R. Sisak And Mark Scolforo, The Associated Press
