Luigi Mangione is accused of killing the 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 purpose was to spread terror,” New York District Attorney Alvin Bragg said, calling the shooting a “terrifying, carefully planned and targeted murder.”

Mr. Mangione is expected to appear in court on December 19 on whether he will be extradited to New York on the charges, although Bragg suggested the suspect may not fight extradition .

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

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

Appearing at a press conference on Tuesday afternoon, both Bragg and New York Police Department Commissioner Jessica Tisch criticized the public for praising Mr. Mangione after the December 4 shooting.

“In the nearly two weeks since Mr. Thompson was murdered, we have witnessed a shocking and horrifying celebration of cold-blooded murder,” Tisch said. “We do not celebrate murders and we do not glorify the killing of anyone.”

In addition to murder, the suspect also faces weapons charges and forgery. If convicted of the most serious charges – first-degree murder and second-degree murder for terrorist acts – Mr. Mangione could face life in prison without the possibility of parole.

When asked about the specific terrorism charge, Bragg responded that “in the most basic terms, this was a killing intended to incite terrorism”.

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

His lawyer, Thomas Dickey, said he had not seen any evidence that Mr. Mangione’s gun was connected to the crime.

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

If extradited, the 26-year-old man will likely be detained at Riker’s Island or another prison in New York.

The evidence against Mr. Mangione includes a positive match about his fingerprints with those discovered at the crime scene, Commissioner Tisch said.

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

Police said that in addition to the ghost gun – a gun assembled from untraceable parts – and fake identification documents, a passport and a handwritten document showed “motives and thoughts” also was found on Mr. Mangione when he was arrested.

He was formally charged in Pennsylvania with forgery, carrying a firearm without a license, falsifying records or identification, possession of criminal tools and providing false identification to police.

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

He was refused bail.

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