Luigi Nicholas Mangione, the “strong person of interest” arrested in connection with the shooting of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, is a former high school valedictorian and Ivy League graduate, according to social media accounts and Court documents show.

The 26-year-old was last known to live in Honolulu, has no history of arrests and grew up in a wealthy and influential family in Maryland.

After a days-long search across state lines for Mr. Thompson’s suspected shooter, Mr. Mangione was arrested while eating at a McDonald’s restaurant in Altoona, Pennsylvania.

Police arrested Mr Mangione after a McDonald’s employee recognized him from CCTV images released to the media.

Former classmates and friends have expressed surprise at the news of Mr. Mangione’s arrest as more details about him emerged.

This is what we know about Luigi Mangione.

Who is Luigi Mangione?

Mr. Mangione was born and raised in Maryland, has ties to San Francisco and a last known address in Honolulu, Hawaii, police said.

According to his LinkedIn account, his last known job was at a California company called TrueCar, a new and used car purchasing website, where he worked as a data engineer.

According to the school’s website, Mr. Mangione attended an elite prep school in Baltimore and graduated at the top of his class in 2016.

In his final speech he spoke of the “incredible courage of his classmates to explore the unknown and try out new things”.

Freddie Leatherbury, a former classmate, told AP he was a “bright, athletic and friendly student who came from a wealthy family.”

“Honestly, he had everything going for him,” he said.

Mr Leatherbury said he was stunned when a friend shared the news of his former classmate’s arrest.

He then earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees in computer science from the University of Pennsylvania in 2020, a school spokesman said.

During his studies, he worked as a teaching assistant and founded a video game development club.

According to a 1995 Baltimore Sun profile, Mr. Mangione’s grandfather, Nick Mangione Sr., was a millionaire real estate developer and philanthropist.

AP reported that one of his cousins ​​was a Maryland state legislator and his family bought a country club north of Baltimore in the 1980s.

On Monday, police sealed off the entrance to the property that public records show is associated with the suspect’s parents.

A swarm of reporters and photographers gathered outside.

What did the police find on him?

According to police, Mr. Magione was found with a 3D-printed gun and silencer, a large sum of cash, a mask and documents linking him to the shooting.

The gun is believed to be the one used in the shooting last week.

Mr. Mangione wore clothing and a mask similar to those worn by the shooter and a fake New Jersey ID that matched the one the suspect used to check into a New York hostel before the shooting, NYPD detectives said Jessica Table.

Police found a three-page document containing writings that suggested Mangione harbored “ill will toward corporate America,” said New York Police Chief Detective Joseph Kenny.

The handwritten document “shows both his motivation and his attitude,” NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch said.

Blair County District Attorney Peter Weeks said in court that Mr. Mangione was carrying a passport and $10,000 in cash – $2,000 of which was in foreign currency.

Mr Mangione disputed the amount.

He was also found with a box of masks, the prosecutor said.

Court records show he was taken into custody on charges of forgery and false identification to law enforcement.

What is a ghost gun?

Mr. Mangione had a ghost gun, a type of weapon that can be assembled at home from parts without a serial number, making it difficult to track down, investigators said.

“Currently, we have received information from Altoona that the weapon appears to be a ghost gun, possibly made on a 3D printer and capable of firing a 9mm cartridge,” said Chief Kenny.

What happens now?

According to the AP, Mr. Mangione was charged in Pennsylvania and held without bail in a Pennsylvania court.

When asked if he needed a public defender, he asked if he could “answer that at a later date.”

On Tuesday morning, AP reported that a on the social platform

“At some point, working with the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office, we will be able to secure an extradition to bring him back to New York to face charges here,” Chief Kenny said.

Police are also investigating the route the suspect allegedly took from Manhattan to Pennsylvania.

“This just happened this morning. We will work on this and retrace his steps from New York to Altoona, Pennsylvania,” said Chief Kenny.

How did the investigation go?

In the days following the shooting, police turned to the public for help by releasing a collection of nine photos and videos – including footage of the attack as well as images of the suspect at a Starbucks earlier.

Photos taken in the lobby of a hostel on Manhattan’s Upper West Side showed the suspect grinning after removing his mask, police said.

On Monday, police praised news outlets for circulating the images and the tipster for identifying the suspect and calling authorities.

The gunman hid his identity with a mask during the shooting, but left behind a trail of evidence, including a backpack he left in Central Park, a phone found in a pedestrian mall, and a water bottle and protein bar wrapper that he had stolen According to police, he had purchased at Starbucks before the attack.

On Friday, police said the killer left town shortly after the shooting.

Investigators used surveillance video to trace the shooter’s steps and said the shooter rode his bicycle into Central Park and came out of the park without a backpack.

He then walked a few blocks and got into a taxi before arriving at the George Washington Bridge bus station, which is near the northern tip of Manhattan and provides commuter service to New Jersey and bus routes to Philadelphia, Boston and Washington, Chief Kenny said.

The FBI announced late Friday that it was offering a $50,000 reward, in addition to the NYPD’s offered reward of up to $10,000.

Court documents show Mr. Mangione was sitting at a table in the back of the McDonald’s wearing a blue medical mask, looking at a silver laptop and having a backpack on the floor.

When he pulled down his mask, Altoona police officers “immediately recognized him as the suspect” in the killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, the documents said.

When asked for identification, Mr. Mangione provided officers with a fake ID – a New Jersey driver’s license with a different name and the wrong date of birth.

When an officer asked if he had been in New York recently, he “went quiet and started shaking,” according to a criminal complaint, based on police reports of the arrest.

UnitedHealth Group comments on the arrest

In a statement released after the arrest, a spokesman for UnitedHealth Group, where Brian Thompson was CEO of the insurance division, said: “We hope today’s concern brings relief to Brian’s family, friends, colleagues and the many others affected by this unspeakable tragedy.”

“We thank law enforcement and will continue to cooperate with them in this investigation. We ask everyone to respect the family’s privacy as they grieve.”

Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro told the AP that the person who tipped off police about Mr. Mangione was a “hero.”

“A Pennsylvania resident saw something this morning and said something to our local police,” Mr. Shapiro said.

“In some dark corners this murderer is celebrated as a hero. Listen to me, he’s not a hero,” the Democrat continued.

“The real hero in this story is the person who called 911 at McDonald’s this morning.”