(Bloomberg) -- Luigi Mangione, a “person of interest” in the fatal shooting of UnitedHealth Group Inc. executive Brian Thompson, was charged with possessing an illegal gun and using a fake identification after being arrested in Pennsylvania Monday.
Mangione, 26, appeared in court in Hollidaysburg, for a preliminary arraignment on five counts, including forgery, carrying a gun without a license and showing law enforcement false identification, according to a criminal complaint released by the Pennsylvania court system.
Earlier on Monday, Mangione was seen in a McDonald’s restaurant in Altoona, where he was recognized by an employee who alerted authorities.
Mangione’s arrest signals an end to a five-day manhunt for the killing of the UnitedHealth executive that police say was targeted and premeditated. Monday night’s hearing was Mangione’s first encounter with the criminal justice system in connection with the shooting. He’s expected to face charges next in New York, where the crime occurred.
“That process will continue to play out and justice will be delivered in this case,” Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro said at a press briefing. The governor said that Mangione traveled from Philadelphia to Pittsburgh and made several stops in between, including in Altoona.
With Mangione’s arrest on Pennsylvania gun charges, New York officials would need to have Mangione extradited to face charges for the Dec. 4 fatal shooting. Details on a lawyer for Mangione were not immediately available.
During a press conference on Monday, the Blair County District Attorney said that once charges are filed by New York, Pennsylvania will need to file a fugitive complaint. Mangione would then be given the option to waive or fight extradition. If he chooses to contest, it could take more than a month to file the paperwork needed to get him to New York.
‘Started to Shake’
Two officers responded to the McDonald’s sighting in Altoona for a “suspicious male” who looked like the person in the photos of the Manhattan shooting, according to the criminal complaint. He was sitting at a table in the back of the restaurant wearing a medical mask with a backpack on the floor.
One of the police officers asked Mangione to pull down the mask. They immediately recognized him from footage in the New York shooting, according to the complaint. The officer asked for identification and Mangione handed over a New Jersey driver’s license with the name “Mark Rosario” and a July 1998 birthdate. The officer then asked if he’d been to New York recently.
“The male became quiet and started to shake,” according to the complaint.
Additional police responded and Mangione was told he was under investigation and that if he lied about his identity, he would be arrested. He then said his name is Luigi Mangione and provided a May 1998 birthdate.
An officer asked Mangione why he had lied about his name and he replied, “I clearly shouldn’t have,” he responded. They arrested him for forgery and providing false information to law enforcement. He was handcuffed and searched, then taken to the police station. A black pistol and a silencer, both of which had been made with a 3D printer, were found in his backpack.
The pistol had a metal slide and a plastic handle with a metal threaded barrel, and one loaded Glock magazine with six nine-millimeter rounds. A loose round was also found in the backpack.
Thompson, 50, was shot in the back and leg in the early hours of the morning outside of the New York Hilton Midtown. UnitedHealth was hosting its investor day at the hotel, where Thompson, the chief executive of UnitedHealth’s insurance division, was slated to speak that morning.
Shapiro railed against those who “have looked to celebrate” instead of condemning Thompson’s killer.
“In some dark corners this killer is being hailed as a hero,” the governor said. “Hear me on this, he is no hero.”
(Updates with more details from criminal complaint in paragraph 4.)
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