Less than a week after UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson was shot in a fatal sidewalk shooting in midtown Manhattan, police nearly 300 miles away in Altoona, Pennsylvania, arrested a “strong person of interest” in connection with the shooting .

At a news conference in New York, police identified that person as 26-year-old Luigi Mangione, who was spotted at a McDonald’s in Altoona on Monday morning and taken into custody by local police on weapons charges. Mangione was found in possession of a so-called ghost gun and a silencer that matched the weapon seen in video footage of the crime, as well as a fake New Jersey ID that matched the one the suspect is believed to have had at a hostel in Manhattan, as well as clothing, including a mask, consistent with that of the suspect. Police also said Mangione was in possession of a handwritten document that shed light on his possible motivation and mindset.

Mangione was charged Monday night with five crimes in Pennsylvania, including forgery, carrying a weapon without a license, providing false identification to law enforcement, tampering with records or identification and possessing “instruments of crime.” He will likely soon be charged in connection with Thompson’s murder in New York, where local officials are trying to extradite him.

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Over the weekend, the NYPD again searched a lake in Central Park for evidence related to the shooting. Police also released two new images of the suspect. One image appears to show the unidentified male suspect in the back seat of a taxi, wearing a blue surgical mask and a dark hooded jacket. The other image appears to show the same man on the street in front of the taxi.

Police said Friday that the suspect took a taxi on Manhattan’s Upper West Side around 7 a.m. Wednesday and drove the taxi downtown to a bus station near the George Washington Bridge, where they suspect he may have been had taken a bus out of state.

“These buses are intercity buses,” NYPD Chief Detective Joseph Kenny told reporters Friday. “That’s why we believe he may have left New York City.”

On Friday evening, police said they found the suspect’s distinctive backpack in Central Park. According to The New York Times, the backpack was sent to a forensic lab for testing. Police also found other items in the park, including clothing.

Kenny also told reporters that investigators are looking into whether the shooter may have used a veterinary gun used to silently euthanize animals.

Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch told CNN that the NYPD released new surveillance photos on Thursday of a “person wanted for questioning” without a face mask because they wanted the photos to be shown to a “broader audience” outside of New York City.

The NYPD did not confirm to Yahoo News that the person pictured in the photos released Thursday was the suspected shooter, nor did they confirm where or when the photos were taken.

But a possible flirtation could provide an important clue that helps identify the suspect. The hooded man in the photo is seen smiling, face mask pushed around his neck, in a flirtatious moment with a female employee at a hostel on Manhattan’s Upper West Side, police sources told multiple news outlets. When she checked him in, she supposedly wanted to see his smile.

Investigators believe the suspect may have dropped a water bottle at the scene. On Friday, DNA samples from the bottle were turned over to the New York City Office of the Chief Medical Examiner for testing, CNN reported. A fingerprint was found on the bottle, but it was blurred and therefore cannot be identified. Investigators also sent DNA samples taken from a cell phone left at the crime scene for testing. It is not clear whether the phone belonged to the shooter. The police have not yet been able to gain access to the device.

The FBI is offering a $50,000 reward

Meanwhile, the FBI said the suspect has been placed on its most wanted list and that it is offering a reward of up to $50,000 for information leading to the arrest and conviction of Thompson’s killer.

The NYPD had already offered $10,000 for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the suspected shooter.

The FBI said it was assisting the NYPD with its investigation.

Tracking the suspect’s movements

The suspect appears to have arrived in Manhattan on a Greyhound bus from Atlanta on November 24, 10 days before the shooting. However, it is unclear whether he boarded the bus in Atlanta, law enforcement officials told news media. The Atlanta Police Department confirmed in a statement Friday that it is assisting the NYPD with its investigation “and will now provide assistance as needed.”

According to authorities, the suspect checked out of the hostel on Nov. 29 and checked back in the next day using a fake New Jersey ID.

Security camera footage obtained by Yahoo News appears to show a person matching the description of the suspected shooter walking west on 55th Street — a block from the Hilton hotel where the attack occurred — around 6:20 a.m . The person in the video appears to pause and lean over a pile of trash bags on the sidewalk for a few seconds before continuing.

Thompson, 50, was shot just before 7 a.m. Wednesday in New York City.

The suspect was described by police as a light-skinned man wearing a black face mask, black and white sneakers and “carrying a very distinctive gray backpack.”

Possible traces on cartridge cases

Investigators combed through surveillance footage and examined evidence, including bullet casings that had the words on them, according to the Associated Press delay, deny And put down written on it. Police are currently investigating whether the words could provide a clue to the suspect’s motive, which remains unclear.

The NYPD told Yahoo News it could not confirm that there were messages on the bullet casings.

Surveillance footage obtained by The Washington Post shows the suspect exiting the 57th Street F subway station in Midtown Manhattan at 6:15 a.m. ET. The suspect’s clothing matches images released by the NYPD on Wednesday.

After leaving the station, the suspect is seen at a Starbucks cafe on Sixth Avenue at 6:17 a.m.

Police said the gunman arrived at the scene on foot just minutes before Thompson showed up outside the Hilton hotel. Thompson visited New York City from Minnesota for an investor conference.

The suspect then approached Thompson from behind and shot him in the back and leg, police said. The gun appeared to be fitted with a silencer and appeared to jam, a police official told CNN, but the suspect was able to fix it and continued firing.

The shooter walked north, then got on a bicycle and rode toward Central Park, where he was last seen.

During an NYPD press conference on Wednesday, police initially reported the suspect was riding on an electric Citi bike, but the company, which is owned by Lyft, later said the suspect was not using one of those bikes.

Sources told ABC News that the shooter was also caught on a surveillance camera outside a public housing project on the Upper West Side at 5 a.m. Wednesday morning. The NYPD has now reportedly applied for a search warrant for the location.

Who was Brian Thompson?

A private funeral for Thompson will be held on Monday, according to NBC News.

A former private security manager for Thompson said he was surprised that the CEO did not have private details with him at the time of the shooting. “What stands out to me most is the inability to provide him with security in New York City while he will be giving a speech to many of the health care company’s crazy shareholders and potentially crazy customers,” Klein Investigations CEO Philip Klein said Friday. Fox & Friends First.”

Thompson was named CEO of UnitedHealthcare in April 2021 after previously serving as CEO of UnitedHealthcare’s government programs, which include Medicare & Retirement and Community & State, according to his company profile. He joined the company in 2004.

In a statement, UnitedHealth Group said: “We are deeply saddened and shocked by the passing of our dear friend and colleague Brian Thompson. … We are working closely with the NYPD and ask for your patience and understanding during this difficult time.” Our thoughts are with Brian’s family and everyone who was close to him.

Thompson’s wife, Paulette Thompson, told NBC News that he had received “some threats” but did not know the details.

“All I know is that he said there were some people who threatened him,” she told the news outlet. “I can’t really give a thoughtful answer at the moment. I just found out and I’m trying to comfort my kids.”

Senator Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota said in a post on X: “This is a terrible and shocking act of violence. My thoughts are with Brian Thompson’s family and loved ones, as well as everyone who works at United Healthcare of Minnesota.”

Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz called the news of Thompson’s shooting “terrible.”

“A terrible loss for the economy and health care in Minnesota,” he wrote on X. “Minnesota sends our prayers to Brian’s family and the UnitedHealthcare team.”