A Pennsylvania McDonald’s worker helped lead authorities to the arrest of a suspect in the killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson in Manhattan. The employee reported a customer who matched the description of the suspected gunman, enabling police to apprehend 26-year-old Luigi Nicholas Mangione on Monday morning.

Mangione was detained at 9:15 a.m. in Altoona, Pennsylvania, about 85 miles east of Pittsburgh. Officers discovered a gun believed to be the weapon used in the shooting, along with a handwritten, three-page manifesto expressing anger at corporate America. He also had a ghost gun—a weapon assembled at home that is difficult to trace—alongside other items consistent with the crime, including a silencer.

According to police, Mangione was carrying multiple fraudulent IDs, a U.S. passport, and clothing and a mask similar to those worn by the gunman. He also had a fake New Jersey ID that matched one used to check into a New York City hostel before the attack, New York Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch said. Mangione is currently being held on gun charges in Pennsylvania and will eventually be extradited to New York to face charges for Thompson’s death.

The killing unfolded early last Wednesday, starting when the suspect left a hostel on Manhattan’s Upper West Side at 5:41 a.m. Surveillance footage captured him pacing outside the New York Hilton Midtown with a distinctive backpack just 11 minutes later. At 6:44 a.m., he shot Thompson near a side entrance to the hotel, fled on foot, and then rode a bicycle into Central Park. Security cameras later showed the suspect exiting the park without the backpack and taking a taxi to a bus terminal near the George Washington Bridge. Police believe he likely left the city by bus, though the trail of video evidence goes cold after his arrival at the terminal.

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Mangione has a compelling background that contrasts sharply with his alleged crime. Born and raised in Maryland, he graduated as valedictorian of Baltimore’s elite Gilman School in 2016. He went on to earn undergraduate and graduate degrees in computer science from the University of Pennsylvania by 2020, where he co-founded a gaming and game design club. He also participated in a 2019 program at Stanford University and has been seen in social media posts traveling to destinations like Hawaii, Puerto Rico, and San Diego.

NYPD Chief of Detectives Joseph Kenny added that Mangione has connections to San Francisco, while his last known address is in Honolulu. Despite his prestigious educational background and associations, including with the fraternity Phi Kappa Psi, investigators are now piecing together how Mangione ended up as a suspect in this high-profile case.

The Gilman School, where Mangione graduated, is renowned for producing prominent alumni such as sportswriter Frank Deford and former Arizona Governor Fife Symington. The school has also been attended by the children of prominent figures, including Orioles legend Cal Ripken Jr.  

Police are still investigating the case, including Mangione’s potential motives and how he managed to evade detection in the immediate aftermath of the crime.

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