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Manhattan grand jury indicts alleged Midtown shooter on terrorism charge in CEO killing
By
Samantha Max
Published Dec 17, 2024
Modified Dec 17, 2024
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By
Samantha Max
Published Dec 17, 2024
Modified Dec 17, 2024
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A Manhattan grand jury has indicted the 26-year-old accused of shooting and killing United Healthcare CEO Brian Thompson outside a Midtown hotel earlier this month on terrorism charges, Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg said on Tuesday.
Luigi Mangione faces charges of first-degree murder, second-degree murder, criminal possession of a weapon and criminal possession of a forged instrument. Some of the murder charges accuse Mangione of killing Thompson in furtherance of an act of terrorism, according to the indictment.
Bragg called Thompson’s killing “brazen, targeted and premeditated.”
“This was a frightening, well-planned, targeted murder that was intended to cause shock and attention and intimidation,” he said at a press conference on Tuesday.
Bragg said Mangione arrived by bus in New York City in late November and used a fake ID with the name Mark Rosario to check into a hostel on the Upper West Side. Around 5:30 a.m. on Dec. 4, the DA said, Mangione left the hostel and stood outside a Hilton hotel in Midtown for about an hour, waiting for Thompson to emerge.
Bragg said Mangione then approached Thompson from behind and shot him once in the back and once in the leg, killing him.
Mangione was arrested in Altoona, Pennsylvania after someone at a McDonald’s recognized him from surveillance footage circulated by law enforcement. He’s also facing charges there, but Bragg and Gov. Kathy Hochul are seeking to extradite him to New York.
Bragg said his office is working with Pennsylvania officials to get Mangione to Manhattan.
He said Mangione is expected in court in Pennsylvania on Thursday, and it will become clearer after that court appearance how soon he could be transported to New York City to face the new charges.
Mangione’s attorney declined to comment.
According to prosecutors, Mangione used a 3-D-printed 9 mm gun, also known as a ghost gun. Bragg said the firearm was also equipped with a 3-D-printed silencer.
So-called ghost guns can be assembled at home and typically lack serial numbers, which can help law enforcement trace firearms used in crimes. While ghost guns account for a small percentage of firearms seized by police in New York City, the annual number has grown in recent years.
Bragg said law enforcement recovered more than 80 ghost guns and ghost gun parts in Manhattan last year.
“ As this case tragically makes clear, they are just as deadly as traditional firearms,” he said. “This will remain a priority for us here in Manhattan.”
Thompson’s killing captured public attention as police spent days searching for the shooter and more evidence came to light. The day after the shooting, police confirmed that they’d recovered shell casings with the words “deny,” “defend” and “depose” written on them. The words resemble the title of a 2010 book by Jay M. Feinman, “Delay, Deny, Defend: Why Insurance Companies Don’t Pay Claims and What You Can Do About It.”
The killing has also stoked a nationwide debate about the U.S. health care industry. Some have even praised the shooter’s actions and decried UnitedHealthcare for denying insurance claims.
But at Tuesday’s press conference, both Bragg and NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch condemned any celebration of Thompson’s killing.
“Let me say this plainly. There is no heroism in what Mangione did,” Tisch said. “This was a senseless act of violence. It was a cold and calculated crime that stole a life and put New Yorkers at risk. We don't celebrate murders, and we don't lionize the killing of anyone.”
Bragg said Thompson’s family members deserve respect as they grieve.
The high-profile indictment had once again thrust the Manhattan DA into the spotlight, just as his office was coming off a nearly two-monthlong trial against Daniel Penny, the former Marine accused of choking Jordan Neely to death on an uptown F train in May 2023. That case also fueled intense public debates, including about when it’s appropriate for civilians to take matters into their own hands, with potentially deadly outcomes.
A Manhattan jury deadlocked on a manslaughter charge and acquitted Penny of criminally negligent homicide after days of deliberation this month.
This story has been updated with new information.
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public safety
Samantha Max
Samantha reports on whether New Yorkers feel safe and whether the institutions that are supposed to protect them are working. Before coming to WNYC/Gothamist, she spent three years covering the criminal justice system in Tennessee for Nashville Public Radio. Her reporting on Nashville's police department received multiple awards, including the Daniel Schorr Journalism Prize. Samantha was also part of the inaugural class of Report for America, a service journalism program that sends up-and-coming reporters to local newsrooms across the country. She is a Northwestern University grad, a Baltimore native and fluent in Spanish. Got a tip? Email [email protected] or Signal: samanthamaxwnyc.93.
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