Luigi Mangione is accused of murdering a healthcare CEO

Luigi Mangione has been charged with first-degree murder in the killing of health care CEO Brian Thompson, the New York District Attorney said Tuesday.

Mr. Mangione faces various charges, including first-degree murder and two counts of second-degree murder, one of which describes the killing as an act of “terrorism,” Bragg said.

“The intent was to sow terror,” New York District Attorney Alvin Bragg said, describing the shooting as a “frightening, well-planned and targeted murder.”

Mr. Mangione is scheduled to appear in court on December 19 for a hearing on whether to extradite him to New York on those charges, although Mr. Bragg indicated that the suspect may not oppose extradition.

“We have indications that the defendant may waive the hearing,” Bragg said.

The extradition proceedings are scheduled to take place on the same day as Mr. Mangione's preliminary hearing on the weapons charges in Pennsylvania.

At a press conference on Tuesday afternoon, both Mr. Bragg and New York Police Department Commissioner Jessica Tisch criticized the public For his praise of Mr. Mangione in the wake of the December 4 shooting.

“In the nearly two weeks since Mr. Thompson was murdered, we have witnessed a shocking and horrific celebration of cold-blooded murder,” Tish said. “We don't celebrate murders and we don't celebrate killing anyone.”

In addition to murder, the suspect also faces weapons and forgery charges. If convicted of the most serious charges against him — first-degree murder and second-degree murder as an act of terrorism — Mr. Mangione could face life in prison without the possibility of parole.

When asked about the specific terrorism charges, Mr Bragg responded: “In its most basic terms, this was a killing intended to cause terror.”

Five days after Thompson, the CEO of UnitedHealthcare, was shot to death, Mangione was arrested at a McDonald's restaurant in Altoona, Pennsylvania, with a fake ID and a so-called “ghost gun,” police said.

His lawyer, Thomas Dickey, said he had seen no evidence linking Mr. Mangione's weapon to the crime.

New York prosecutors began sharing evidence in their case against Mangione with a grand jury last week.

If extradited, the 26-year-old would likely be held on Riker's Island or another prison in New York.

The evidence against Mr. Mangione includes: Positive match Commissioner Tisch said his fingerprints are with those discovered at the crime scene.

According to District Attorney Bragg, the suspect arrived in New York City on November 24 and stayed at a motel in Manhattan using a fake ID before carrying out the attack against Mr. Thompson 10 days later.

Police said that in addition to the ghost gun — a handgun assembled from untraceable parts — a fake ID, a passport and a handwritten document indicating “motive and mentality” were also found on Mr. Mangione when he was arrested.

During Tuesday's press conference to announce the New York charges, NYPD Chief of Detectives Joseph Kenney also described the interaction with the suspect's mother, who in November filed a missing person's report for her son in San Francisco.

After the manhunt for the shooting suspect began, the report was reported to the authorities, who contacted Mr. Mangione's mother. According to Mr. Kenny, his mother said she did not identify her son as the suspect, but said “it might be something she could see him doing.”

Mr. Mangione was formally charged in Pennsylvania with forgery, carrying firearms without a license, tampering with records or identification cards, possession of tools of crime and providing false identification to police.

While Mr. Mangione awaits his fate in the New York court system, he remains under maximum security at the Huntingdon State Correctional Institution in Huntingdon County, Pennsylvania.

Bail has been refused.