Luigi Mangione, 26, the man accused of killing UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson on a midtown Manhattan sidewalk, appears to have used several sophisticated techniques to thwart detection. It is said that measures have been taken. Thompson was killed in a heavily guarded urban setting, with her assailant wearing a mask and hood and using a pistol equipped with a silencer to muffle gunfire. When Mangione was arrested a few days later at a McDonald’s in Altoona, Pennsylvania, officers said he showed false identification. And in his backpack was a so-called ghost gun, a functional handgun made from 3D printed parts.
Investigators also said Mangione had a handwritten note in his possession explaining his motive. In the document, Mangione described his plan as “fairly trivial” and requiring “rudimentary social engineering,” “basic CAD” (computer-aided design) and “a great deal of patience.” said. CAD can be used to 3D print parts for guns, and it can also help create a huge number of other objects. New York City Police Chief Jessica Tisch told reporters Wednesday that the gun Mangione was carrying matched three shell casings recovered from the crime scene. Officials have not said publicly whether they believe Mangione manufactured the gun.
The suspect is facing forgery and weapons charges in Pennsylvania, but has been denied bail, and is charged with second-degree murder in New York. The latter wants him extradited, and he challenges this. said Thomas Dickey, an Altoona-based attorney who represents Mangione. good morning america “I’m not aware of any evidence linking the gun found on his body to the crime. These are the things we’re going to look at.” (Dickie did not immediately reply) this week. scientific americanasked for comment. )
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No matter how elaborate Mr. Mangione’s attempts to avoid the allegations may have seemed, they ultimately failed if investigators were correct. Here, investigators outline the techniques Mangione allegedly used and how he overcame them.
escape under surveillance
Amnesty International estimates that New York City is densely populated with cameras, with more than 25,500 public and private cameras monitoring intersections. Mangione is said to have been recorded in multiple locations. The hostel where he was staying, the coffee shop, the sidewalk where he was killed, riding an electric bike while fleeing the scene, and inside a taxi.
Despite all these images, some of which revealed much of his face, it is unlikely that the algorithm would have immediately identified Mangione from the camera footage. Anil Jain, a facial recognition expert at Michigan State University, said the Jason Bourne-esque Hollywood depiction of real-time surveillance and tracking based on biometrics is a “skewed view of what’s actually possible. ”. Because Mangione has no criminal history, it is unlikely that the images would be included in the forensic databases to which they will be compared. Social media companies are working with law enforcement to help track people by matching surveillance images with photos posted on their platforms, but legally securing these permissions takes time. added Jain.
Coupled with a widely publicized low-resolution image of the suspect’s face and a $50,000 reward offered by the FBI, it was “an old-fashioned phone tip” that appeared to solve the case, Jain said. He was referring to McDonald’s employees. He alerted authorities about Mangione in Altoona. “We cannot abandon human intelligence.”
It remains unclear whether Mr. Mangione followed through on the plan after he left New York City. “Just being on the run is pretty much a dead end,” says journalist Evan Ratliff. He attempted to disappear for a month in 2009 as an experiment, with a $5,000 “prize” awarded to the first person to discover it. wired. “If you’re just moving from place to place without any idea of where you’re going to end up, they’re going to get you eventually.”
Before he fled, Ratliff said a private investigator told him he needed to be perfect to be a successful fugitive. “There are an infinite number of mistakes you can make,” he says. Twenty-five days later, Ratliff, who has celiac disease, was tracked down to a restaurant in New Orleans selling gluten-free pizza. (Ratliff says he’s interested in the tension between dedicated searchers and people who don’t want to be found. I don’t agree with that,” he added, referring to the killing.
What is a ghost gun?
This may be the highest-profile murder in the United States ever involving an unserialized ghost gun. However, such weapons are by no means rare. In 2021, U.S. law enforcement agencies reported 20,000 ghost guns to the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF). This is a 10x increase since 2016.
Ghost firearms are made of metal and plastic parts and can be machined or printed at home using legally available equipment. According to a Pennsylvania criminal complaint, the weapon Mangione had was a 3D gun with a plastic handle, metal slide and threaded barrel, loaded with 9mm bullets in a Glock magazine. It is described as a printed black pistol. The complaint states Mangione was also carrying a 3D-printed silencer.
“Ghost guns don’t have serial numbers and often don’t have other identifying marks, especially if they’re truly homemade,” said Galen Wintemute, an emergency department physician who directs the Violence Prevention Research Program at the University of California, Davis. ” he says. “They have no history and are untraceable. That’s where the name comes from.”
Wintemute said it’s unusual for a gun like this to be 3D printed from scratch. More commonly, pistols like Glocks come from kits that “provide a nearly complete frame” and “instructions on how to complete the finishing work and remaining parts to produce a functioning firearm.” Can be assembled. The gun may take a few minutes to complete.
Mangione has a master’s degree in computer science from the University of Pennsylvania, but building a ghost gun doesn’t require advanced technology. “That’s the concern,” Wintemute said. The instructions are available to anyone with an Internet connection.
In 2022, the Biden administration cracked down on ghost guns. ATF clarified that the kits count as firearms for regulatory purposes, so the agency required manufacturers to serialize ghost gun kits. The rule then hit a legal deadlock and was struck down by the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals in November 2023. The Supreme Court has now decided, given the justices’ reactions to October’s oral arguments.
Cash, Faraday bag, fake ID
Mangione is said to have used a false ID while in New York City from late November to early December. Additionally, investigators say the suspect had thousands of dollars in cash when he was arrested, likely because cash transactions are harder to trace than electronic payment methods. He may also have had a bag with Faraday cage properties. A Faraday cage is a term that refers to an enclosure (or small room) that uses a mesh of conductive material to protect an enclosed object, such as a smartphone, from transmitting and receiving electromagnetic signals. . It is unclear whether this was intended to be a cover-up. Mangione told the judge the bag was simply waterproof.
After a police officer approached Mangione at the fast-food restaurant, his New Jersey driver’s license (which bore the false name “Mark Rosario”) was quickly determined to be fake, according to court documents. When an Altoona police officer asked Mangione why he lied about his name, Mangione replied, “Obviously I shouldn’t have lied,” according to the criminal complaint.
Additional reporting by Lee Billings