Pennsylvania law enforcement have disclosed that the suspect in UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson’s murder, Luigi Mangione, traveled between Philadelphia and Pittsburgh after fleeing from New York last week—and even made several “stops in between.”
Speaking at a news conference Monday, Lt. Col. George Bivens of the Pennsylvania State Police described Mangione’s movements as “security conscious” and said that he seemed to be “avoiding detection.”
“We do have a good idea of how he got from Philadelphia to Pittsburgh but there are some gaps in time,” Bivens shared while reiterating that the investigation is still ongoing and more on Mangione’s route should be released soon. “Before we start laying out a timeline of his travel we need to work through all of that. We know at some point it was likely he was at a variety of locations throughout the state to include Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, and points in between.”
When asked how the suspect has been able to avoid detection for so long, Bivens replied: “Based on everything that we have seen, he was very careful with trying to stay low profile.
“That was certainly the effort he was making,” the lieutenant added before describing Mangione as actively avoiding cameras and detection from electronic devices.
Last week, the NYPD’s investigation placed Mangione at a bus stop in Manhattan’s Upper West Side, where he was assumed to have escaped from New York. How he traveled from midtown Manhattan, where he shot Thompson outside the Hilton Hotel, to a McDonald’s in Altoona, Pennsylvania where he was arrested, seems to be a route law enforcement is still working to trace.
Altoona Deputy Chief Derek Swope also described the moment of Mangione’s arrest saying that cops at the scene “immediately” recognized him, and that he was taken into custody after they determined that a New Jersey ID he had on him was fake.
Swope also noted that when asked if he had been in New York recently, Mangione “became visibly nervous, kind of shaking at that question. And he didn’t really answer it directly.”
As part of the ongoing investigation, Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro urged residents to call police with any tips.
“I want to ask all of our fellow Pennsylvanians to demonstrate the same type of thoughtfulness and courage and smarts as the individual at McDonald’s did this morning and help law enforcement here in Pennsylvania as we continue with our investigation,” Shapiro said.
