Luigi Mangione, the suspect in the UnitedHealthcare CEO murder, began shaking when cops approached him at a McDonald’s restaurant in Altoona, Pa., Monday morning and asked him if he had been to New York City recently, according to the newly released criminal complaint.
Another customer recognized Mangione — who was wearing a face mask and a beanie — from surveillance footage released by the media of Brian Thompson’s suspected assassin and alerted a McDonald’s employee, who called police just before 9:15 a.m., according to the complaint and police officials.
Luigi Mangione, the suspect in the UnitedHealthcare CEO murder, began shaking when cops approached him. Altoona PD
Luigi Mangione, 26, was reported by a customer at the McDonald’s. DCPILocal Altoona cops arrived at the fast food chain to find the 26-year-old Ivy League grad sitting at a table and looking at a laptop with a backpack on the floor near him.
They asked him to pull down his medical mask to see his face and “immediately recognized him as the suspect,” the complaint states.
One of the officers then asked Mangione if he had been to New York recently and the alleged killer “became quiet and started to shake,” according to the document.
“[The question] invoked a physical reaction from the suspect,” Altoona Deputy Chief of Police Derek Swope said during a press conference Monday evening.
“He became visibly nervous — kind of shaking at that question — and he didn’t really answer it directly, so that state of alarm really said a lot.”
Brian Thompson’s suspected assassin was spotted wearing the face mask and beanie from the security footage. Linkedin / Brian ThompsonThe officers also asked for Mangione’s ID and he handed them a fake New Jersey ID believed to be the same one he used to check into a Manhattan hostel before targeting Thompson.
The officers ran the ID and found no one by the name provided and asked Mangione why he lied about his name.
“I clearly shouldn’t have,” Mangione replied and provided his real name, according to the complaint
Mangione’s fake New Jersey ID
He was then handcuffed and placed in custody.
Investigators searched his backpack and discovered a black 3D-printed pistol and a black 3D-printed silencer inside. The pistol had one loaded Glock magazine with six 9mm full-metal-jacket rounds, according to the document.
Mangione has been charged with forgery, carrying firearms without a license, tampering with records or identification, possessing an instrument of crime and providing false identification to law enforcement, the complaint states.
He was ordered held without bail following his arraignment in a Pennsylvania court Monday night.
