Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg on Tuesday announced the indictment of Luigi Mangione for the murder of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson.
The 26-year-old was charged with murder in the first degree in furtherance of terrorism as well as two counts of murder in the second degree.
Bragg called Thompson’s killing a “brazen, targeted, and premeditated shooting” during a Tuesday afternoon press conference, NBC News said.
“This was a frightening, well-planned, targeted murder that was intended to cause shock and attention and intimidation,” Bragg added, according to NBC News. “It incurred [sic] in one of the most bustling parts of our city, threatening the safety of local residents and tourists alike, commuters and business people just starting out on their day.”
Surveillance video showed a figure walk up to Thompson outside a hotel in Manhattan on the morning of Dec. 4 and fatally shoot him. Police said the suspect briefly lowered his mask in another location and that image was captured by security video and widely circulated.
Mangione was spotted Dec. 9 in a McDonald’s in Altoona, Pennsylvania, after which police arrived to question him. Authorities said they found a ghost gun in his possession as well as thousands of dollars of U.S. and foreign currency and false identification. Manhattan prosecutors filed murder and other charges against Mangione on the night of Dec. 9.
Police said Mangione’s fingerprints match those found at the scene of Thompson’s fatal shooting — and a notebook found on Mangione details plans for the shooting, according to reports from CNN and the New York Times.
Mangione, who is in custody in Pennsylvania, has been fighting extradition to New York. His Pennsylvania attorney, Thomas Dickey, said Mangione would plead not guilty in the New York and Pennsylvania cases, NBC News said.
This is a developing story and may be updated.
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