Man in Pennsylvania Being Questioned by Police in Brian Thompson Murder Investigation

A man in Altoona, Pennsylvania, is being questioned about the murder of United Healthcare CEO Brian Thompson, multiple news outlets reported on Monday, December 9.

Luigi Mangione, who has been named a “person of interest” by the New York Police Department, was traveling on a Greyhound bus and got off to stop at a local McDonalds, where customers reportedly recognized him from wanted flyers circulated by police, ABC News reported.

When officers arrived, they discovered Mangione, 26, had several fake I.D.’s, including one from New Jersey that the suspected killer reportedly used when checking into a Manhattan hostel prior to Thompson’s murder on December 4 outside the Hilton Hotel in midtown Manhattan.

After arriving at the police station, officers discovered Mangione had a gun and a silencer similar to the one used in Thompson’s killing, multiple outlets reported.

Detectives have been investigating whether the gunman might have taken a bus to escape from New York City following the murder. Authorities asked Greyhound for its passenger manifest, to see what name the individual gave them, sources told ABC News. Altoona is located approximately four hours west of Philadelphia and two hours east of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

Thompson was gunned down at approximately 6:45 a.m. as he walked to the midtown Hilton ahead of a United Healthcare shareholders meeting. A man was seen on surveillance video shooting Thompson from behind, then approaching him and shooting him several more times before escaping on foot.

The killer then used an e-scooter to escape into Central Park. On Sunday, December 8, New York Police released new photos showing the shooter’s face behind a mask while in the back of a taxi, wearing the same black hoodie seen in the CCTV of the murder.

The man exposed his full face at a hostel to a desk clerk before killing Thompson, but so far, a photo from the surveillance tape has not resulted in an arrest.

Thompson’s estranged wife, Paulette Thompson, told NBC News on the day of the murder that he had been receiving threats.

“Yes, there had been some threats basically, I don’t know, a lack of coverage? I don’t know details,” she told NBC News. “I just know that he said there were some people that had been threatening him.”.

“I can’t really give a thoughtful response right now,” she continued. “I just found this out and I’m trying to console my children.” Brian and Paulette resided in separate homes in Maple Grove, Minnesota, and shared two sons.

The motive behind the killing remains unknown. However, shell casings discovered at the scene reportedly had the words “deny,” “defend” and “depose” written on them, which may have been a reference to a 2010 book titled Delay, Deny, Defend: Why Insurance Companies Don’t Pay Claims and What You Can Do About It.

On December 6, police commissioner Jessica Tisch revealed that authorities “had reason to believe” the suspect had already left New York City. Law enforcement officials also told CNN that they found the backpack belonging to the suspect in Central Park. The backpack was then sent to a lab in Queens for forensic testing.

On Sunday, December 8, multiple news outlets reported that the backpack contained a jacket and Monopoly money from the popular board game. However, no weapon was recovered.