Things to know about UnitedHealthcare CEO hiring

The case has captured the American imagination, at least for the time being online arguments about whether Mangione is a hero, a killer, or both.

What is the latest?

The gun found on Mangione when he was arrested in Pennsylvania matched shell casings found at the scene of the Midtown Manhattan shooting, New York Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch said Wednesday, adding that his fingerprints also matched prints on a water bottle and a protein bar wrapper found near the crime scene . Police have said they believed the gunman bought them at a nearby coffee shop while he awaited his target.

The slaying of UnitedHealthcare’s chief executive was likely carried out with a ghost gun, a nearly untraceable weapon that can be turned into a home, police said Monday. But what is a ghost gun? AP explains.

Writings found in Mangione’s possession suggested a hatred of corporate greed, authorities have said. Among the items investigators have recovered was a spiral notebook along with a three-page handwritten letter found when he was arrested, a law enforcement official said Wednesday. The official was not authorized to disclose information about the investigation and spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity.

Police have not disclosed what was in the notebook, but Mangione said in his letter that it would contain clues about the attack, according to the official.

What evidence has been collected?

In addition to the letter, arresting officers also found Mangione carrying a ghost gun, which is a type of firearm that can be assembled at home and is difficult to trace. NYPD Detective Chief Joseph Kenny said Monday.

Officers also found a silencer, or silencer, “consistent with the weapon used in the murder,” New York Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch said. He had clothing and a mask similar to those worn by the shooter and a fraudulent New Jersey ID that matched one the suspect used to check into a New York City hostel before the shooting, the commissioner said.

Kenny told CBS New York on Tuesday that no fingerprints were found on the bullets that killed Thompson, but one fingerprint on a cell phone was found. He said the evidence was being processed.

Kenny also suggested that the subject may have been related to an accident that sent Mangione to the emergency room on July 4, 2023.

What do we know about Mangione?

Mangione, coming from a prominent Maryland family, was valedictorian of his elite Baltimore prep school and held degrees from one of the nation’s top private universities. He earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees in computer science in 2020 from the University of Pennsylvania.

From January to June 2022, Mangione lived at Surfbreak, a “co-living” space on the edge of touristy Waikiki in Honolulu. Josiah Ryan, a spokesman for owner and founder RJ Martin, said Martin had learned Mangione had severe back pain from childhood that interfered with many aspects of his life.

A law enforcement bulletin obtained by the AP earlier this week said Mangione was likely motivated by his anger at what he called “parasitic” health insurance companies and a disdain for corporate greed. He wrote that the United States has the most expensive health care system in the world and that corporate profits continue to rise while “our life expectancy” does not, according to the bulletin, which law enforcement officials said was based on a review of Mangione’s handwritten notes and postings on social media.

Investigators are also looking at Mangione’s Facebook page, where he posted X-rays of several screws inserted into his spine, as well as writings in which he discussed the difficulty of sustaining this injury.

In his first public words since his arrest, Mangione shouted an “insult to the intelligence of the American people” as he was escorted into the courthouse on Tuesday.

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Associated Press reporters Michael R. Sisak, Jamie Stengle and Lea Skene contributed to this report.