Suspect Detained Following Shooting of UnitedHealthcare's CEO

New York, Dec 10 (NationPress) After a six-day manhunt for the perpetrator responsible for the shooting of the CEO of the largest US health insurer, authorities have finally made a crucial arrest. Mayor Eric Adams announced at a press briefing that a man matching the description of the suspect was apprehended in Altoona, approximately 450 km from New York, with police en route to conduct an interrogation. The suspect has been identified as 26-year-old Luigi Mangione.

The shocking murder of Brian Thompson, the CEO of UnitedHealthcare (UHC), occurred on Wednesday outside a hotel in New York where he was attending an investor’s conference, sending ripples through the upper echelons of corporate America.

Local police acted on a tip from an employee at a McDonald’s restaurant, leading to Mangione's arrest. “He matches the description of the identification we've been looking for, and he's also in possession of several items that we believe will connect him to this incident,” said Adams.

According to New York Chief of Detectives Joseph Kenny, Altoona police discovered a “ghost gun” – manufactured with a 3D printer – capable of firing the .9 mm bullets that caused Thompson's death, along with a silencer, counterfeit identification, and a three-page handwritten document.

This document reportedly contained grievances against both the health insurance industry and corporate America.

Mangione is said to be a graduate of the Ivy League University of Pennsylvania, where he studied computer science, and he previously resided in Hawaii.

The shooter showed a level of sophistication in executing the attack, timing his presence outside the hotel when Thompson was expected, fleeing the scene on an electric bicycle, discarding a backpack in Central Park, and taking a taxi to a bus station to escape the city.

Notably, he inscribed the bullets with terms like “deny,” “depose,” and “defend,” which are commonly used by insurance companies to reject treatment claims.

These inscriptions share similarities with the title of a critical book on the industry, “Delay Deny Defend: Why Insurance Companies Don’t Pay Claims and What You Can Do About It,” authored by Jay Feinman.

Current reports indicate that the document found contained anti-insurance industry messages.

Additionally, he left behind a backpack filled with play money from a game.

Thompson, aged 50, had been the CEO of UHC since 2021, having climbed the ranks during his 20-year tenure, earning nearly $10 million annually while leading a company with 140,000 employees and annual revenues of $281 billion.

A report from a Senate panel previously criticized UHC for a high rate of claim denials.

Many expressed sympathy for Thompson on social media, reflecting their own grievances against health insurance companies and a general opposition to large corporations.

Despite his meticulous planning and efforts to conceal his identity, Mangione inadvertently revealed his face during check-in at a budget hostel, leading to his identification.

He is currently detained in Altoona on charges of using a fake ID and unlawfully possessing a firearm.

Under American law, an individual arrested in one state cannot be swiftly transferred to another state; the police must navigate an extradition process through a local court to move the suspect.