‘Person of interest’ in custody in shooting of UnitedHealthcare CEO: NYPD | gun violence news

Police are searching for the gunman after Brian Thompson was shot dead in a ‘brazen’ midtown Manhattan attack.

Police in Pennsylvania have taken into custody a “person of interest” in the fatal shooting of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson last week, according to the New York Police Department (NYPD).

NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch said Monday that the man was identified by an employee at a McDonald’s restaurant in Altoona, Pennsylvania, based on photos released by police. The worker then alerted police in the city, which is located about 375 km (233 miles) west of New York City.

The suspect, identified by Tisch as 26-year-old Luigi Nicholas Mangione, was found to be in possession of multiple fake IDs and a US passport at the time of his arrest. One of the IDs matched one the suspect had used to check into a New York City hostel before the shooting, he said.

Mangione had a 3D-printed firearm, known as a “ghost gun”, and a suppressor device when he was arrested, and police said “including a mask, worn by our wanted individual.” Clothes matching the clothing were recovered. Tish said.

NYPD Chief of Detectives Joseph Kenney told reporters that Mangione was also found with articles indicating “malfeasance toward corporate America.”

He said detectives were being sent to Pennsylvania to question Mangione, who has not been immediately charged.

‘Shameless’ attack

The arrest comes five days after Thompson, 50, was shot outside a hotel in midtown Manhattan where he was attending a conference.

The brutal early morning attack was captured on surveillance cameras, but the attacker managed to escape by entering the vast Central Park on a bike. The suspect was last seen near a bus terminal in upper Manhattan.

A backpack believed to be the attacker’s was later found in Central Park, where police dogs and divers were continuing to search for further evidence on Monday.

Police have released several photos of the suspect in recent days and are continuing to piece together his movements.

Al Jazeera’s Kristen Saloumi, reporting from outside the hotel where Thompson was shot, said police considered those images key to cracking the case.

“Police circulated these photos of the suspect so he could be tracked down and taken into custody in Pennsylvania,” he said.

‘Deny’, ‘Defend’ and ‘Delete’

The shootings and subsequent raids have caused an uproar in the United States, where critics have long railed against the high costs of health care and the outsized influence of insurance companies. Special attention has been paid to the high salaries of the leaders of those companies.

Although police cautioned that they had not determined a motive for the murder, bullets at the scene were marked with the words “deny”, “defend” and “defend”.

This appears to reference a phrase used by critics to describe how health insurers avoid claim payments.

Several doctors and US residents have condemned the killing on social media in recent days as well as recounted incidents in which they felt insurers had unfairly rejected claims for the treatment.

In a country with the world’s most expensive healthcare system, such denials leave patients with no option but to pay out of pocket.