Why did It Take so Long to Snare Suspect Luigi Mangione? Radar Retraces Shooter's Hour-By-Hour Steps Before He Was Nabbed at McDonalds
Suspect Luigi Mangione evaded police for five days before he was tracked down at a McDonald's in Altoona, Pennsylvania.
Luigi Mangione was taken into custody on Monday.
Dec. 10 2024, Published 3:00 p.m. ET
UnitedHealthcare CEO shooting suspect Luigi Mangione spent five days "waiting to be caught" by police.
RadarOnline.com can reveal how the suspect managed to evade authorities and travel several states away as we retrace his steps from the Manhattan crime scene to an unsuspecting McDonald's where he was finally nabbed by law enforcement.
Mangione has been charged with murdering CEO Brian Thompson outside of a NYC hotel the morning of Wednesday, December 4.
Mangione is a 26-year-old University of Pennsylvania graduate accused of fatally shooting CEO Brian Thompson.
The 26-year-old Ivy league grad was believed to have used a fake New Jersey ID to check into an Upper West Side hostel days before the attack.
He was then accused of waiting for Thompson outside of a Hilton Hotel before opening fire on the CEO around 6:45 AM. Shell casings wit the words "delay, deny, depose" were found at the crime scene.
While the attack took place near one of NYC's most populated areas during Christmastime – Rockefeller Center – police failed to locate him.
CCTV footage captured Mangione fleeing the scene on an e-bike to Central Park before cameras caught him taking a taxi to a bus station. Footage showed him entering the bus station but not leaving.
Thompson was gunned down outside a Hilton hotel on Wednesday, December 4.
Law enforcement launched an exhaustive search of the area – including drones, K9-units and sending a dive team to search a Central Park lake in hopes of locating the murder weapon – but came up short.
Three days into their search, police later discovered a discarded backpack believed to be owned by the suspect but its contents offered little clues. The backpack merely contained Monopoly board game money and a Tommy Hilfiger jacket.
A partial fingerprint and DNA taken from a water bottle he purchased at Starbucks before allegedly shooting the CEO were tested but failed to yield results in a law enforcement database.
Mangione was seen on CCTV footage fleeing the scene on an e-bike into Central Park.
As police continued to canvas the city and release photos of the suspect taken from survelliance footage, Mangione allegedly made his way across state lines.
He was believed to make several stops in Pennsylvania, including Philadelphia and Pittsburgh, before he arrived at a McDonald's in Altoona on Monday, December 9.
There, he was recognized by a patron from NYPD suspect photos who then alerted an employee to call 911.
Rookie cop Tyler Frye responded to the call. Upon arriving at the restaurant, Mangione was said to be seated inside wearing a surgical mask.
Mangione was believed to have taken a bus from NYC to Pennsylvania.
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Mangione had a bag of suspected evidence with him at the restaurant, including several fake IDs, a similar "ghost gun" and suppressor consistent with the weapon used in the fatal shooting, as well as a handwritten "manifesto" detailing his grievances against health care insurance companies.
The manifesto reportedly stated: "It had to be done. These parasites had it coming. I don't want to cause any trauma, but it had to be done."
He was also said to have a bus ticket from NYC in his pocket.
When asked if he had recently been to NYC, the officer recalled Mangione having a physical reaction and began to act nervous. He was then taken into custody for questioning before he was arrested and charged with murder.
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