Officials: 'Person of interest' in UnitedHealthcare CEO shooting

Police in Pennsylvania on Monday arrested a “strong person of interest” in connection to the fatal shooting of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson outside a hotel in New York City last week, officials said.

Officials identified the man as 26-year-old Luigi Nicholas Mangione. He was born in Maryland and his last known residence was Honoloulou. He was arrested on firearms charges and taken in for questioning related to Thompson’s death. He has not been charged with Thompson’s killing at this time.

“We have a strong person of interest in the shooting that shook our city last week,” New York City Mayor Eric Adams said during a news conference on Monday. “CEO Brian Thompson of United Healthcare was a victim of a senseless act of violence.”

Earlier Monday, authorities in Altoona, Pennsylvania, were questioning a man in part because he was found with a gun similar to the one used in the shooting, NBC News reported, citing two sources familiar with the matter. Altoona is roughly 300 miles west of New York City and about 100 miles east of Pittsburgh.

The man was spotted by people at a local McDonald’s and police were called to investigate, three senior officials told NBC News.

When police arrived, they noticed the man had a fake New Jersey ID and was taken in for questioning, two senior officials told NBC News. At the police station, investigators found the man had a gun similar to the one used in Thompson’s killing, the officials said.

Officials said police in Pennsylvania recovered a handwritten document from the person of interest that speaks to a possible motivation and mindset for the shooting.

Thompson, 50, was shot dead outside a Hilton hotel in Manhattan on Wednesday. He was slated to speak at the health insurance company’s annual investor conference at the hotel that day, but was killed in what police say was a targeted attack. A massive manhunt operation followed in the days after the shooting.

Police had not identified the gunman before his arrest nor did they confirm a possible motive.

Investigators found shell casings last week at the scene of the shooting with the words “deny,” “defend” and “depose” written on them. Those words are also similar to those in the title of a 2010 book about insurance, although police said at the time that there was no known connection.

Over the weekend, investigators found a backpack in New York City’s Central Park that possibly belongs to the shooter, a senior official told NBC News. Three sources familiar with the investigation said the backpack contained only a jacket, and two sources said some Monopoly money was found in it.

More in U.S.

Police believe the shooter may have arrived in New York City last month on a bus that departed from Atlanta.

This is a developing story. Check back for updates.

This article was originally published on MSNBC.com

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