A handwritten manifesto that railed against healthcare companies was found in the possession of a man who was detained by police on Monday in connection to the assassination of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson.
That bombshell revelation came five days after the 50-year-old Thompson was gunned down on a busy Manhattan street as he walked to a meeting.
The person of interest, identified by reports as 26-year-old Luigi Mangione, was taken to a police station for questioning in the area of Altoona, Pennsylvania—about 280 miles away from New York City. He has not been formally charged.
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“The handwritten manifesto found on the person of the man detained in Altoona criticized health care companies for putting profits above care,” reported The New York Times, citing a law enforcement source.
Officers were first called by a McDonald’s employee who noted he looked like the man seen in wanted photos released by New York Police Department, sources told CNN.
The man was later detained by police because he was found with a handgun and silencer similar to what was used in Thompson’s cold-blooded slaying, sources told NBC. CNN reported that the person of interest had been traveling by bus.
NBC’s sources added that the detained man had the name “Marc Rosario” on his fake New Jersey ID, which was the same name that was used to check into a New York hostel that has been central to police’s probe. It was at that hostel where the suspect was infamously captured smiling in security footage with his mask down.
Mangione was carrying documents related to the shooting and had a “number of false IDs,” sources told CNN. The Times reported that he carried his real ID in addition to the false ones.
NYPD detectives are headed to the area to question Mangione, but sources said it’s “too soon to determine if his case is connected to the death” of Thompson, NBC News said. However, the fake IDs and silencer are both key things investigators have been looking for in a potential suspect, who they believe had been getting around by bus.
It’s perhaps the largest development to date in the probe, which has grabbed headline after headline across the country.
Previously, the NYPD conceded the killer had likely fled New York by bus and left behind only inscribed bullet casings—which read “deny,” defend,” and “depose”—and a backpack that was stuffed with monopoly cash. Experts told the Daily Beast this weekend those items were likely left behind intentionally.
Police have released photos of the suspect that were captured by security cameras, but he was masked in most of them. On one of the few images where the suspect had his mask pulled down—reportedly to flirt with a hostel worker—he was seen flashing a smile.
The NYPD believe the killer spent 10 days in the city, including Thanksgiving, before he ambushed Thompson outside the Midtown Hilton with witnesses in plain view. He arrived via bus, authorities said, having left from Atlanta.
Authorities say the alleged killer spent some of his time before the killing by hiding out in a hostel, where he allegedly checked in using a fake New Jersey ID and paid for his stay in cash.
