A 26-year-old man has been charged with murder in the fatal shooting of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson in New York City last week.

Luigi Mangione was arrested Monday at a McDonald’s in the city of Altoona, Pennsylvania, after a customer at the fast food restaurant recognized him.

According to police, he, an Ivy League graduate from a prominent Maryland family, was found in possession of a gun and a handwritten document that expressed his “malice” toward corporate America.

People who knew him told US media that he was suffering from a painful back injury and that he had become socially withdrawn in recent months.

Mr. Thompson, 50, was fatally shot in the back last Wednesday morning outside the Hilton hotel in midtown Manhattan, where UnitedHealthcare, the health insurance giant he leads, was holding an investor meeting.

According to police, he was the victim of a pre-planned murder.

Mr. Mangione initially appeared in a Pennsylvania court on Monday and was charged with possession of an unlicensed firearm and other charges.

He was shackled at the wrists and ankles and appeared calm during the hearing, occasionally looking around at those in attendance, including members of the media.

Just hours later, New York investigators charged him with murder and four other charges, including firearms charges.

The shooting last week sparked a huge manhunt, with New York investigators using one of the world’s largest digital surveillance systems as well as police dogs, drones and divers in a Central Park lake to search for the attacker.

Investigators said it was a complete surprise to find Mr. Mangione, as his name only appeared on a list of suspects on Monday.

Ultimately, it was a McDonald’s customer in Altoona who recognized the suspect from media coverage and alerted an employee, who then informed police.

When police arrived, Mr. Mangione showed them a fake New Jersey driver’s license with the name Mark Rosario, court documents say.

A search of his backpack uncovered what police called a “ghost gun” and a loaded magazine with six rounds of 9mm ammunition.

Prosecutors said he was also carrying a US passport and $10,000 (£7,840) in cash, including $2,000 in foreign currency, although Mr Mangione disputed the amount in court.

The three-page document found in his possession read: “These parasites had it coming” and “I apologize for the argument and the trauma, but it had to be done,” a senior police official told the New York Times.

Investigators say the words “deny,” “defend” and “depose” were written on bullet casings found at the scene of Mr. Thompson’s killing.

Officials believe this could be a reference to what critics call the “three Ds of insurance” – a tactic that insurance companies use to deny payment claims from patients in America’s complicated health care system.

Earlier in the day, New York Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch said the gun and silencer that investigators seized from the suspect were “both consistent with the weapon used in the killing” of Mr. Thompson.

Mr. Mangione is now expected to be offered the opportunity to waive or challenge his extradition to New York State.

Different US states have different laws and judicial systems, so transferring refugees involves a process that can take days or weeks.

Mr Mangione’s family said they were “shocked and devastated” by his arrest and directed their prayers to Mr Thompson’s family.

His paternal grandparents, Nicholas and Mary Mangione, were real estate developers who purchased Turf Valley Country Club in 1978 and Hayfields Country Club in Hunt Valley in 1986.

One of his cousins ​​is a Republican Maryland state representative.

As a teenager, Mr. Mangione attended a private all-boys school in Maryland, where he was valedictorian, a title usually given to students with the highest grades.

He graduated from the University of Pennsylvania, an Ivy League college.

According to his LinkedIn account, he worked as a data engineer in California. TrueCar, a car buying website, confirmed that he was employed there but left the company in 2023.

Mr. Mangione spent time in a surfing community called Surfbreak in Hawaii.

Sarah Nehemiah, who knew him at the time, told CBS News that he left because of his back injury, which aggravated while surfing.

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