The suspect who was wanted in connection to the fatal New York City shooting of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson was arrested Monday in Pennsylvania.
One of the officers who helped apprehend 26-year-old Luigi Mangione in Altoona was a rookie with the department, Pennsylvania officials announced during a post-arraignment press conference on Monday.
Officer Tyler Frye, joined by Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro and other law enforcement officials, said he has only been with the Altoona Police Department for about six months prior to the arrest.
Frye and another officer were the first to respond to the McDonald’s location where Mangione was seen Monday morning by a customer and employee.
Frye said he “recognized him immediately” after asking Mangione to pull down his blue medical mask.
“We just didn’t even think twice about it. We knew that was our guy,” Frye said.
Mangione was initially arraigned Monday night in Pennsylvania on a weapons violation, forgery and providing false identification
Shortly after his Pennsylvania arraignment, prosecutors in New York charged Mangione with murder in connection to Thompson’s killing.
“I can’t say I was expecting it, by any means, but it feels good to get a guy like that off the street, especially starting my career this way,” Frye added. “It feels great.”
