Kelvin Roberts is wanted for murder and robbery in connection with a home invasion in Lower Merion Township, PA, on Dec. 8, the Montgomery County District Attorney’s Office said; Montgomery County District Attorney’s Office
(LOWER MERION TOWNSHIP, Pa.) — Police in Pennsylvania are searching for the gunman wanted for killing a young man and critically wounding his mother during a home invasion in an upscale Philadelphia suburb, officials said.
Bernadette Gaudio, 61, and her son, Andrew Gaudio, 25, were both shot multiple times at their home in Lower Merion Township around 2:20 a.m. Sunday, the Montgomery County District Attorney’s Office said.
Bernadette Gaudio managed to call 911 after she was shot, DA Kevin Steele said at a news conference.
It appears Andrew Gaudio “fought back and tried to help his mom,” Steele said.
He died from his wounds and Bernadette Gaudio was hospitalized in critical condition, officials said.
Police are searching for Kelvin Roberts, 42, of Philadelphia, who is wanted on charges including second-degree murder, robbery and burglary, the DA’s office said.
Police are also looking for a second unidentified person who was involved in the home invasion, Steele said.
“We’re dealing with dangerous people,” Steele said.
It’s not clear if the crime was targeted or random, Steele said, adding that the break-in appeared to be through the basement.
Police zeroed in on Roberts from dash-cam footage from a Lower Merion police car that showed “a white Hyundai Azera, driven by Roberts, leaving the scene of the homicide,” the DA’s office said.
Police matched the Hyundai Azera to an address on Sansom Street in Philadelphia, officials said. At that address, police showed a photo from the dash-cam footage to someone who identified the driver as Kelvin Roberts, the DA’s office said.
Bernadette Gaudio’s stolen jewelry box was found at the Sansom Street residence, Steele said.
As for Bernadette Gaudio’s condition, Steele said she “seems to be moving in the right direction, so we’re hopeful that she will survive.”
Bernadette Gaudio’s 2004 Green Jeep Cherokee, which was stolen during the home invasion, was recovered on Sunday in West Philadelphia, the district attorney’s office said.
A $5,000 reward is available for information leading to Roberts’ arrest, authorities said.
Tourism Emissions Project Team, University of Queensland
(NEW YORK) — The carbon footprint from the travel industry is growing at rates never seen before, according to new research.
An increasing demand for international travel over the past decade has led to higher rates of carbon dioxide emissions every year, according to a paper published in Nature Communications on Tuesday.
Greenhouse gas emissions from international tourism are growing at a rate of 3.5% every year — about twice as fast as the overall economy, Ya-Yen Sun, an associate professor at The University of Queensland in Australia and an author of the study, told ABC News.
In the top 20 countries associated with the highest tourism emissions, tourism may be growing “too fast” — up to 5% every year — which is causing those regions to expend more energy to provide services to more visitors, Sun said.
There are also disparities in per-capita tourism emissions, with the 20 highest-emitting countries — including the United States, China and India — contributing three-quarters of the total carbon footprint, the paper found.
Modes of transportation, including air and ground travel, are particular contributors to emissions given their carbon-intensive nature, according to the paper. Slow gains in the efficiency of technology have also contributed to the rise in emission rates from global tourism, the researchers said.
While travel halted in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, tourism came roaring back with a vengeance once the global health threat subsided, which has flooded the travel sector with even more rapid growth, Sun said.
Travel dropped by 60% during the pandemic, but tourism is expected to have fully recovered by the end of 2024, she added.
“We found this is something [that really needs] a lot of attention, because people just enjoy travel,” Sun said.
Carbon dioxide emissions from private planes have increased significantly in recent years, a separate paper published last month in the journal Communications Earth & Environment found.
Annual CO2 emissions from private aviation increased by 46% between 2019 and 2023, according to an analysis of flight tracker data from 18,655,789 private flights flown by 25,993 registered business jet-type private aircraft. Some individuals who regularly use private aviation may produce almost 500 times more CO2 in a year than the average individual, the paper found.
There were significant emissions peaks around certain international events, the study found. COP28 — the 2023 United Nations Climate Change Conference held in Dubai — was associated with 644 private flights, which produced 4,800 metric tons of carbon dioxide, and the 2022 FIFA World Cup, also hosted in the United Arab Emirates, was associated with 1,846 private flights, producing an estimated 14,700 metric tons of CO2, the study found.
However, private aviation only accounts for about 7.9% of total aviation emissions, the paper found.
A previous study that Sun conducted in 2018 found that tourism contributes to about 8% of global greenhouse gas emissions. That number is likely much higher today, Sun said.
“The sector has not made much progress in terms of decarbonizing itself,” she said.
Sun described the findings of the new paper out Tuesday as “quite problematic” because it showcases that emissions from tourism are growing every year,
The paper highlighted the urgent need for effective policy measures to align the tourism sector with global climate goals, the researchers said.
In order to do this, countries will need to begin to monitor tourism emissions at the national level, something that only New Zealand and Denmark are currently doing, Sun said.
It is especially important considering tourism is one of the biggest economic sectors in the world, as people require transportation, food, accommodation and shopping when they travel, Sun said. The global tourism industry was worth an estimated $10 trillion in 2023, according to the World Travel & Tourism Council.
“We found this is something really in need of a lot of attention, because people just enjoy travel,” Sun said.
(NEW YORK) — Following the killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson and praise for the attack on social media, law enforcement is on high alert as calls for threats against health care executives and their families become “widespread,” according to a Colorado law enforcement bulletin obtained by ABC News.
The bulletin warned that Thompson’s killing may be used as “messaging and propaganda” to share the techniques and tactics for targeting other health care companies.
“Over the last two years, online activity has indicated a growing negative sentiment around conglomerates, the wealthy, and executive staff at private and public organizations,” the bulletin said. “Calls for targeting the executive team, their families, homes, and places of work using a variety of online and offline means to harass, disrupt, and harm the individuals and the organizations have become widespread.”
The brazen killing of Thompson in New York last week was met with both grief and morbid praise on social media, with some voicing support for the suspected shooter as justified and venting about the healthcare insurance industry.
The bulletin noted the “general social media conversations” that followed Thompson’s killing highlighted the “growing negative sentiment around conglomerates, the wealthy, and executive staff at private and public organizations.”
While law enforcement does not believe Thompson’s killing is part of a trend targeting health executives, the attack underscores the vulnerability of these high-profile executives.
The bulletin called for companies to review their security measures and “to safeguard executives against potential threats stemming from organizational decisions, public grievances, or personal visibility.”
“This attack and the general social media conversations highlight the current threat landscape that individuals with deeply held personal grievances can and do conduct violence to satiate their grievance(s),” the bulletin said.
Luigi Mangione, 26, is facing a second-degree murder charge in New York City in connection with the fatal shooting of Thompson in Midtown Manhattan last week.
Luigi Mangione is seen inside the police station in Altoona, Pennsylvania, Dec. 9, 2024/Obtained by ABC News
(NEW YORK) — Luigi Mangione is facing a second-degree murder charge in New York City in connection with the brazen shooting of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson in Midtown Manhattan as new details emerge about the suspect and a potential motive, according to police.
“We do have a lot of evidence in this case,” NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch told ABC News’ “Good Morning America” on Tuesday.
“When he was found he was in possession of the same New Jersey fake identification that was used at the hostel” on New York’s Upper West Side before Thompson was gunned down on Dec. 4, she said.
The gun 26-year-old Mangione was allegedly found with on Monday “looks very similar” to the gun used in the murder, “with a similar suppressor,” Tisch said. “So there’s a lot of reasons that we feel very strongly that he is the person of interest.”
Officers allegedly found a black 3D printed pistol and a black silencer, which was also 3D printed, according to the criminal complaint filed in Blair County, Pennsylvania.
“The pistol had one loaded Glock magazine with six nine-millimeter full metal jack rounds. There was also one loose nine-millimeter hollow point round,” according to the complaint.
NYPD Chief of Detective Joe Kenny described the weapon as a “ghost gun,” meaning it had no serial number and was untraceable.
Mangione, who was arrested in Altoona, Pennsylvania, on Monday, remains in the custody of the Pennsylvania Department of Corrections pending his extradition to New York.
The NYPD was “thrilled” to get the call from Altoona police that they had a person of interest in custody, Tisch told “GMA.”
Kenny said “the key to this case” was releasing the photo of the suspect’s face to the media and the public.
“That picture reached Pennsylvania,” where he was recognized at a McDonald’s on Monday morning, he said.
“We are grateful as a city to that person,” Tisch said.
“We had collected early in the investigation some forensic evidence, some DNA evidence, some fingerprints, so we were very confident that we were ultimately going to get to the right person,” Tisch added.
When Mangione was arrested he had several handwritten pages on him that appeared to express a “disdain for corporate America” and indicated “he’s frustrated with the health care system in the United States,” Kenny said.
“Specifically, he states how we are the No. 1 most expensive health care system in the world, yet the life expectancy of an American is ranked 42 in the world,” Kenny said.
Whether Mangione has a personal connection to UnitedHealthcare is unknown, Tisch said, but the writings mention UnitedHealthcare by name, law enforcement sources told ABC News.
The sources described the handwriting as sloppy and included these quotes: “These parasites had it coming” and “I do apologize for any strife and trauma, but it had to be done.”
Police are now looking at Mangione’s travel at various points across the United States and out of the county within the past year, the sources said.
Mangione, a Maryland native and Ivy League graduate, was also charged in New York with possession of a loaded firearm, possession of a forged instrument and criminal possession of a weapon.
He was charged with five crimes in Pennsylvania, including carrying a gun without a license, forgery, falsely identifying himself to authorities and possessing “instruments of crime,” according to the criminal complaint.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
Booking photo of Luigi Mangione after he was arrested by police in Altoona, Pennsylvania, Dec. 9, 2024. (PA Dept. of Corrections)
(NEW YORK) — As Luigi Mangione was handcuffed and placed under arrest in Pennsylvania on Monday, police searched the backpack he’d been carrying and found what they described as a loaded 3D-printed firearm, a suppressor and a single loose bullet.
“Officers located a black 3D-printed pistol and a black silencer,” wrote Tyler Frye and Joseph Detwiler, members of the Altoona Police Department, in a criminal complaint. They described the weapon as having “a metal slide and a plastic handle with a metal threaded barrel.”
“The pistol had one loaded Glock magazine with six nine-millimeter full metal jacket rounds. There was also one loose nine-millimeter hollow point round,” the officers wrote. “The silencer was also 3D printed.”
Mangione, whom New York officials charged with second-degree murder in connection with last week’s “brazen” killing of a CEO in Manhattan, was first arrested in Altoona on Monday on charges that included a felony related to the gun, according to the criminal complaint.
Mangione faces a third-degree felony charge for allegedly carrying a concealed firearm without a license, according to the complaint. He also faces a misdemeanor charge for allegedly “possessing instruments of crime,” along with three additional Pennsylvania charges related to allegedly lying to police about his identity.
The weapon will now undergo ballistic testing, New York Police Department Chief Joseph Kenny said on Monday. He said information about the weapon had begun coming in from Altoona police and that it appeared to be a “ghost gun,” meaning it had no serial number and was untraceable.
“May have been made on a 3D printer, with the capability of firing a 9 mm round,” Kenny said. “Obviously that will come out during our ballistics testing.”
Kenny said it was too early in the investigation to detail whether the gun could have been made by the suspect or purchased. But the gun and 3D-printed suppressor were “consistent with the weapon used in the murder,” NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch said following Mangione’s arrest on Monday.
Law enforcement had looked closely last week at what weapon may have been used in the killing, officials said, as the gun’s operation appeared to be somewhat unique in its operation.
Detectives had studied a surveillance video that showed the fatal shooting, saying it appeared to show “that the gun malfunctions, as he clears the jam and begins to fire again,” Kenny had said last week.
Police sources told ABC News on Thursday that those apparent malfunctions may point to the weapons being a B&T Station Six, a type of pistol with an integrated silencer that’s known in Great Britain as a Welrod pistol.
Such firearms have long barrels that enables them to fire 9 mm bullets with a nearly silent shot, officials said. They also require manually cycling ammunition from the magazine.
But New York Mayor Eric Adams said untraceable weapons were “extremely dangerous,” adding that there needed to be a federal “clamp down on the availability of ghost guns.”
ABC New’s Aaron Katersky, Peter Charalambous, Mark Crudele and Josh Margolin contributed to this report.
A brush fire that broke out on Monday evening in Malibu Canyon has led to authorities issuing mandatory evacuation orders in parts of southern California as the fire rapidly spread, authorities said. (KABC)
(LOS ANGELES) — A brush fire that broke out on Monday evening in Malibu Canyon has led to authorities issuing mandatory evacuation orders in parts of southern California as the fire rapidly spread, authorities said.
The fire began approximately 3 miles north of the Pacific Coastal Highway in Malibu, according to an emergency alert issued by the city of Malibu late Monday.
City officials said the Los Angeles County Fire Department is on scene and trying to control the “rapid rate of spread.”
The fire was reported just before 11 p.m. and was initially estimated at just about 10 acres but, In just about one hour, officials estimated it to have grown to at least 100 acres, according to ABC News’ Los Angeles station KABC, and a high volume of dry brush in the area and strong Santa Ana winds means that there is potential for the blaze to continue to spread rapidly.
Evacuations were ordered in the area east of Malibu Canyon Road and south of Piuma Road as well as the Serra Retreat, KABC said.
The fire is currently burning on the hillsides just a few miles away from Pepperdine University but was not immediately encroaching the institution and appeared to be heading south toward Santa Monica, KABC said.
The wildfire was not immediately encroaching on Pepperdine but the university was reporting power outages on campus. It appeared the flames were heading south in the direction of Santa Monica but Pepperdine suspended normal operations on campus on Tuesday.
“Normal operations on the Malibu Campus are suspended for Tuesday,” the university said in a statement on social media. “This includes canceling classes and finals for the day. Critical support personnel should connect with their supervisors about whether they are needed to physically report to the Malibu campus for their regular work shift. All other staff should connect with their supervisors and work remotely if possible. The Pepperdine community continues to shelter in place in Payson Library and the Tyler Campus Center. The Franklin fire has grown to 814 acres and flames are visible from the Malibu campus. There are numerous LA County Fire Department engines on campus and their helicopters are using the lakes in Alumni Park to pick up water to drop on the fire from above.”
“The University understands the worst of the fire has pushed past Pepperdine,” they continued. “However, there are smaller spot fires on campus that are not threatening life or structures, and fire resources remain on campus to address these spot fires as they occur. Additionally, power remains out for much of Malibu and therefore, to ensure the safety of our community, we will maintain the shelter-in-place protocol until at least daylight. The EOC will continue to update the community.”
There are no immediate reports of injuries or structure damage and the cause of the fire remains under investigation.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
(HOUSTON) — A military veteran died after allegedly being physically attacked during an argument over a parking space outside of a Houston, Texas grocery store, according to a statement from the Harris County Sheriff’s Office.
Earl Hollins, 80, was allegedly assaulted by Anthony Ray Boyce, 57, on Friday during the disagreement in a Food Town parking lot, the HCSO said. Boyce allegedly drove away in Hollins’ car after the attack, according to the HCSO.
Hollins suffered severe head trauma, fell into a coma and was not expected to recover, his family told ABC affiliate KTRK in Houston. He was pronounced dead on Dec. 7 at a local hospital, the HCSO confirmed to ABC News.
“What he [did], it wasn’t right,” Hollins’ niece, Elma Hollins-Washington, told KTRK. “It wasn’t human.”
The HCSO said it’s investigating the altercation between Hollins and Boyce, including how the two men may have been acquainted before the incident.
“Someone was saying that he knew the guy because they always used to be around Food Town,” Hollins-Washington said, adding that the family is still in disbelief over what happened.
“I said, ‘My god, over a parking spot. You’re going to injure my uncle, and now, finally, he’s dead, and it was over a parking spot,'” Hollins-Washington said. “You took something great from us, something that we will never get over.”
According to HCSO records, Boyce is being held in the Harris County Jail on $100,000 bond, charged with aggravated assault with serious bodily injury.
Detectives will meet with the Harris County District Attorney’s Office to determine if that charge will be upgraded following Hollins’ death, the HCSO told ABC News.
(TERRELL, Tex.) — A police officer was fatally shot Sunday night while conducting a traffic stop in Terrell, Texas, police said.
The officer, 28-year-old Jacob Candanoza, called for a cover unit upon initiating the traffic stop around 11 p.m., the Terrell Police Department said. But before backup could arrive, police said they received two 911 calls about an officer being shot.
Responding officers found Candanoza at the scene with gunshot wounds, according to police.
He was transported to the hospital, where he died, police said.
The suspected shooter was arrested early Monday, police said, but did not immediately disclose his name. Candanoza was able to provide a license plate to dispatchers that aided in the suspect’s capture, Lt. Mary Hauger, spokesperson for the Terrell Police Department said.
Candanoza had joined the Terrell Police Department in July. He served in the Marines from 2014 to 2019 and previously worked for the Dallas County Sheriff’s Office, according to Dallas ABC affiliate WFAA.
“Our deepest condolences go out to his family as they navigate this tragic time,” the Terrell Police Department said in a statement.
Terrell is located about 30 miles east of Dallas.
“Please join Cecilia & me in praying for the family & friends of Officer Jacob Candanoza, who lost his life last night in the line of duty,” Texas Gov. Gregg Abbott wrote on X. “Our hearts go out to his loved ones & to the Terrell Police Department.”
(NEW YORK) — Luigi Mangione, a person of interest in the murder of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, was taken into custody on Monday in Pennsylvania, nearly one week after the “brazen, targeted” shooting outside a Midtown Manhattan hotel on Wednesday, police said.
Here is a timeline of the suspect’s whereabouts before, during and after the shooting:
Nov. 24
The killer entered New York City by bus on Nov. 24, when a surveillance camera at Port Authority Bus Terminal caught his arrival at 9 p.m., law enforcement sources told ABC News.
The inbound bus originated in Atlanta but it was not immediately clear where the suspect boarded.
He likely checked into a hostel on New York City’s Upper West Side that day and later checked out, sources said.
Nov. 30
The suspect likely checked back into the HI New York City Hostel on the Upper West Side on Nov. 30, sources said.
Dec. 4 at 5 a.m.
At 5 a.m., nearly two hours before the shooting, the suspect was seen in surveillance footage outside the hostel on the Upper West Side, holding what appears to be an e-bike battery.
6:15 a.m.
At 6:15 a.m., surveillance footage reviewed by police shows someone who appears to be the suspect leaving a 57th Street subway station near the crime scene, police sources told ABC News.
6:19 a.m.
New cleared CCTV video shows a man who appears to be the suspect walking west on 55th Street at 6:19 a.m. The video shows him stoop down as he appears to momentarily drop an object on the garbage before continuing to walk.
Before the shooting
Sometime before the shooting, the suspect is spotted at a Starbucks. The exact time is not clear.
6:29 a.m.
The suspect appeared to walk past a parking lot on West 54th Street at 6:29 a.m. — across the street some 50 meters from the site of the shooting.
6:44 a.m.
At 6:44 a.m., the masked gunman fatally shot Brian Thompson in front of the north entrance to the New York Hilton Midtown.
“The shooter then walks toward the victim and continues to shoot,” NYPD Chief of Detectives Joseph Kenny said. “It appears that the gun malfunctions, as he clears the jam and begins to fire again.”
The shooter fled on foot into an alley, where a phone believed to be linked to the suspect was later recovered, police sources said.
Time unknown
The suspect then fled north on a bike and rode into Central Park, police said.
Time unknown
After making his getaway on a bike, the suspect exited Central Park at 77th Street and Central Park West.
At 86th Street and Columbus Avenue, the suspect ditched the bike and took a taxi to the Port Authority bus facility at 178th Street.
Police believe he boarded a bus there and left New York City.
Dec. 9
On Dec. 9, the person of interest in the shooting — 26-year-old Luigi Mangione — was identified and taken into custody in Altoona, Pennsylvania, on unrelated gun charges, authorities said.
The man was on a Greyhound bus traveling through Altoona, sources said, when he got off and walked into a McDonald’s where a witness recognized him from the images of the suspect circulated by police.
Mangione, from Maryland, was in possession of a handwritten document “that speaks to his motivation and mindset,” NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch said.
“It does seem that he had some ill will toward corporate America,” police said.
Mangione had a ghost gun capable of firing a 9 mm round and a suppressor, police said.
He was also in possession of a fake New Jersey driver’s license similar to the one the suspect used to check into a hostel in New York City before the shooting, she said.
Tisch praised the “good old fashioned detective work” of the NYPD and the “power of the public” that led to the arrest.
Police said they’re working to trace his movements from New York City to Pennsylvania.
(NEW YORK) — A University of Pennsylvania graduate has been charged with murder in the targeted attack of Brian Thompson, the CEO of major insurance group UnitedHealthcare who was fatally shot outside a Midtown Manhattan hotel ahead of an investor conference, according to the NYPD.
Luigi Mangione was charged in the fatal shooting after he was arrested Monday in Altoona, Pennsylvania, after an individual at a McDonald’s recognized him from the wildly circulated images of the suspect sought in the shooting.
Mangione faces charges in New York and Pennsylvania
Mangione faces second-degree murder, possession of a loaded firearm, possession of a forged instrument and criminal possession of a weapon charges in New York, according to according to an online court docket.
The Manhattan District Attorney’s office confirmed the charges.
The forged instrument is the fake NJ driver’s license he allegedly used to check into the hostel on the Upper West Side.
Mangione remains in the custody of the Pennsylvania Department of Corrections pending his extradition to New York.
Mangione, 26, was initially identified as a “strong” person of interest in the shooting death after he was apprehended at the McDonald’s in Pennsylvania, New York City Mayor Eric Adams said during a press briefing in New York on Monday.
Mangione was eating at the McDonald’s Monday morning when an individual thought he looked suspiciously like the shooting suspect and alerted an employee, who called police, authorities said.
He was carrying a firearm and suppressor “both consistent with the weapon used in the murder,” NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch said during the press briefing earlier Monday. The gun “may have been made on a 3D printer,” police said.
He also had “multiple fraudulent IDs,” including a fake New Jersey ID matching the ID the suspect used to check into his New York City hostel before the shooting incident, Tisch said. He was carrying a U.S. passport that identified him as Luigi Mangione, police said.
Police also recovered clothing, including a mask consistent with those worn by the wanted individual, as well as a three-page “handwritten document that speaks to both his motivation and mindset,” she said.
He was in possession of a ghost gun capable of firing a 9mm round and will face gun charges in Altoona, NYPD Chief of Detectives Joseph Kenny told reporters during the briefing earlier Monday.
He has been charged in Pennsylvania with five crimes, including carrying a gun without a license, forgery, falsely identifying himself to authorities and possessing “instruments of crime,” according to a criminal complaint.
The charging document alleges that Mangione lied about his identity to police and carried the ghost gun without a license.
When Altoona police asked him if he had ever been to New York City, Mangione started shaking, according to the charging document. He didn’t answer the question directly, police said.
Police said they are working to develop a full sense of his timeline in Pennsylvania and how long he has been in Altoona.
The NYPD sent detectives to Altoona to interview him and are going through the recovered writings and his social media, police said.
“It does seem that he had some ill will toward corporate America,” Kenny said.
A Goodreads account that appears to belong to Mangione left a four-star review on Ted Kaczynski’s “Industrial Society and Its Future” — more commonly known as the “Unabomber manifesto” — and described Kaczynski as “a violent individual — rightfully imprisoned — who maimed innocent people. While these actions tend to be characterized as those of a crazy Luddite, however, they are more accurately seen as those of an extreme political revolutionary.”
As investigators sift through Luigi Mangione’s online activity, they are examining multiple social media posts that suggest he may have suffered a major back injury including a photo of an x-ray of a spine posted on X and at least two books about back injuries on his Goodreads profile.
A source confirmed to ABC News that the Goodreads account is part of the law enforcement investigation.
Mangione has ties to San Francisco and his last known address was in Honolulu, Kenny said. In November 2023, Mangione was arrested in Honolulu for trespassing in a Hawaii State Park, court records show. He pleaded no contest and was ordered to pay a $100 fine.
He has no prior arrest history in New York, Kenny said.
Mangione was born and raised in Maryland, Kenny said.
Following his arrest on Monday, the Mangione family released a statement saying, “Our family is shocked and devastated by Luigi’s arrest.”
“We offer our prayers to the family of Brian Thompson and we ask people to pray for all involved,” Maryland Republican Delegate Nino Mangione, who represents parts of Baltimore County, wrote on X on behalf of the family.
Luigi is a 2016 graduate of the Gilman School, a private high school in Baltimore, where he was the valedictorian of his graduating class, according to the school’s website. The school said in a statement that Mangione’s “suspected involvement in this case is deeply distressing news on top of an already awful situation.”
“Our hearts go out to everyone affected. Here on campus, our focus will remain on caring for and educating our students,” the statement continued.
Mangione is a May 2020 graduate of the University of Pennsylvania, according to a school spokesperson. He studied computer science and earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees in engineering from the Ivy League institution.
Following his graduation, Mangione worked as a data engineer at online car marketplace TrueCar, Inc. beginning in November 2020, according to a LinkedIn account that appears to belong to Mangione.
A representative for TrueCar said that Mangione stopped working for TrueCar in 2023.
A classmate who graduated from Gilman with Mangione, told ABC News that “he is the last person I expected to be involved in something like this.”
“He was an incredibly intelligent, humble and kind person,” the classmate said. “He seemed like a very bright guy with a bright future.”
About six months ago, the classmate said he was notified by other classmates that Mangione’s family was “inquiring about his whereabouts.”
“I didn’t hear anything about him until today when all the news dropped,” they said. “It really sucks for his family, who must be going through it right now.”
The Mangione family released a statement saying, “unfortunately, we cannot comment on news reports regarding Luigi Mangione. We only know what we have read in the media. Our family is shocked and devastated by Luigi’s arrest. We offer our prayers to the family of Brian Thompson and we ask people to pray for all involved. We are devastated by this news.”
New photos of suspect released
Police have said the suspect appeared to be lying in wait outside the Hilton hotel on Wednesday in what they said was a “premeditated” attack. The shooter arrived at the scene about five minutes before Thompson before shooting the victim in the chest around 6:40 a.m., police said. The suspect is believed to have left New York City following the shooting, police said.
NYPD officials released new images this weekend of the suspect being sought in the shooting in the back of a taxi, where he could be seen peering through the open slider in the partition between the seats.
Another photo appeared to show the man walking by the window of a cab.
Backpack contained Monopoly money
Police found a backpack believed to belong to the suspected shooter in Central Park on Friday evening, police sources told ABC News. The backpack contained fake money from the game Monopoly and a Tommy Hilfiger jacket, sources said.
The backpack was found after NYPD deployed an army of officers and drones to conduct a grid search, police sources said earlier.
As of Saturday, three days after the shooting, sources close to the investigation told ABC News the New York Police Department is making progress toward identifying the gunman but, as of now, still has not done so.
On Friday, police said they believed the gunman left New York City following the shooting — ditching his bike on the Upper West Side and taking a taxi to a Port Authority bus facility at 178th Street. Police said they believe he boarded a bus there because they did not see him on video leaving the facility.
Suspect stayed at hostel
The NYPD released on Thursday new photos of the suspect, seen without a mask, while asking for the public’s help in identifying him. The images were taken from a surveillance camera at the HI New York City Hostel on Manhattan’s Upper West Side. Police had obtained a warrant to search after coming to believe the suspect stayed there, sources told ABC News.
Police were able to find an image of the suspect without his face mask because he was flirting with the woman who checked him into the hostel, police sources told ABC News.
As he stood at the check-in desk, the sources said the woman asked to see his smile. The suspected shooter obliged, pulling down his mask long enough for the surveillance camera to capture his face.
It appears the suspect shared a room with two other men, according to police sources.
The suspect likely checked into the hostel on Nov. 24, checked out and then checked back in again on Nov. 30, according to sources. It’s not clear when the surveillance image was captured.
The suspected shooter checked into the hostel using a New Jersey license that wasn’t his own, according to police sources. Detectives ran the name and found it did not resemble any known photos of the suspect or other evidence amassed so far, the sources said.
Suspect arrived in NYC 10 days before shooting: Sources
The suspect came to New York City on Nov. 24 on a Greyhound bus, when a surveillance camera at Port Authority Bus Terminal caught his arrival at 9 p.m., law enforcement sources told ABC News.
The inbound bus originated in Atlanta but it was not immediately clear where the suspect boarded. The sources said he was spotted on board in Washington, D.C., so he boarded there or somewhere between D.C. and Atlanta.
Both Greyhound and the parent company of the hostel, Hostelling International USA, said in a statement that they are “fully cooperating with the NYPD” but cannot comment further due to the active investigation.
The 10-day period has been the focus of investigative efforts. Police have collected a lot of video of the suspect all over the city — in the subway, in cabs, in a McDonald’s, according to sources. Each place he paid with cash and he made sure to keep his mask on, according to sources.
Whereabouts day of the shooting
Police have released photos of the suspect in a mask, captured at a Starbucks near the hotel before the shooting, according to New York ABC station WABC. He was described by police as wearing a light brown or cream-colored jacket, a black face mask, black and white sneakers and a “very distinctive” gray backpack.
Sources told ABC News the suspected shooter was also seen on video much earlier, at 5 a.m. the day of the shooting, near the hostel carrying what appears to be an e-bike battery.
New cleared CCTV video shows a man who appears to be the suspect walking west on 55th Street at 6:19 a.m. The video shows him stoop down as he appears to momentarily drop an object on the garbage before continuing to walk.
Writing discovered on shell casings
Detectives later discovered writing on the shell casings found at the scene where Thompson was gunned down, police sources told ABC News.
Detectives were working to determine whether the words were meant as a message from the shooter and a hint at his motive.
Written on the shell casings were the words “deny,” “defend” and “depose,” according to sources.
Other evidence: cellphone, water bottle, candy wrapper
After the shooting, the suspect fled on foot into an alley, where a phone was recovered, according to Kenny. He then fled on an e-bike and he was last seen riding into Central Park at 6:48 a.m., police said.
Police released photos of the suspect holding a firearm and on a bike.
Detectives have also retrieved a water bottle and candy wrapper from the area where he was apparently waiting, law enforcement sources said. After analysis, NYPD investigators believe the cellphone, candy wrapper and water bottle are linked to the shooter, police sources said.
Investigators believe they were able to score DNA samples from several pieces of the evidence, law enforcement sources told ABC News on Friday. The samples are currently at the NYC Office of the Chief Medical Examiner to be run through databases for a possible match, the sources said. That process could take a couple days.
At the same time, NYPD detectives are working with the U.S. Marshals Service to try and track down the shooter along with the FBI, which has the most sophisticated technology for retrieving usable data from cellphones, sources said.
Professional killer appears unlikely
The victim’s hotel room has already been accessed by investigators, whose top priority is determining Thompson’s most recent conversations and movements, sources said.
The working theory among detectives right now is that the shooting was carried out by someone who is not a professional killer because too many “mistakes” were made, sources said. Hitmen typically don’t carry cell phones to their hits and the shots were fired from a distance that would be considered “too far” away from the victim, the sources said.
At this point, detectives are trying to determine whether Thompson was targeted because of some type of personal conflict or as a result of his work as an insurance executive, sources said. The killer apparently had some knowledge of Thompson’s schedule on Wednesday and the fact that he would be arriving at the Hilton well before the company meeting was to begin, the sources said.
Police are interviewing Thompson’s colleagues and family about any potential specific threats, Kenny said.
What we know about the victim
Thompson, 50, was in New York City for the UnitedHealthcare investors conference, which was scheduled to start at 8 a.m. The conference was being held at the Hilton outside of which he was shot, but he was not staying there, police said.
UnitedHealthcare’s parent company, UnitedHealth Group, the largest health insurer in the world, said in a statement, “We are deeply saddened and shocked at the passing of our dear friend and colleague Brian Thompson.”
“Brian was a highly respected colleague and friend to all who worked with him,” the company said. “We are working closely with the New York Police Department and ask for your patience and understanding during this difficult time. Our hearts go out to Brian’s family and all who were close to him.”
This story has been updated.
ABC News’ Peter Charalambous, Madison Burinsky, Kate Holland, Chris Looft and Sabina Ghebremedhin contributed to this report.
