Suspected UnitedHealthcare CEO killer Luigi Mangione was charged with murder as an act of terrorism in New York.
The Manhattan District Attorney’s Office announced Tuesday that a New York grand jury indicted Mangione on charges related to Brian Thompson.
Mangione, 26, is charged with one count of first-degree murder in furtherance of terrorism and two counts of second-degree murder, one of which is considered an act of terrorism, according to District Attorney Alvin Bragg.
He is also charged with two counts of Criminal Possession of a Weapon in the Second Degree, four counts of Criminal Possession of a Weapon in the Third Degree, one count of Criminal Possession of a Weapon in the Fourth Degree, and one count of Criminal Possession of a Forged Instrument in the Second Degree.
Bragg said during a press conference held Tuesday afternoon that the “premeditated” murder of Thompson was “frightening, well-planned and targeted.”
“We allege that Luigi Mangione carried out the brazen, targeted and fatal shooting of United Healthcare CEO Brian Thompson,” Bragg said in a statement.
“This type of premeditated, targeted gun violence cannot and will not be tolerated, and my office has been working day in and day out to bring the defendant to justice.”
Mangione was arrested last week after being spotted by a customer at a McDonald’s in Altoona, Pennsylvania.
He remained jailed without bail at State Correction Institution Huntingdon in Pennsylvania while awaiting an extradition hearing. He was initially charged with gun and forgery offences.
The suspected killer was found with a gun, mask and writings, potentially tying him to the crime, police said.
Thompson, 50, was gunned down by a masked killer on December 4 while attending an annual investor conference at a Hilton hotel in midtown Manhattan.
A manhunt carried on for nearly a week before a suspected killer was found and arrested.
Thompson leaves behind his wife and two children.
