Assassin, "Ghost Gun", Silencer and Arrest in Altoona

On December 4th, 2024, at 6:45 ET, an assassin killed United Healthcare executive Brian Thompson in New York City, in front of the Hilton Hotel. Video of the assassination shows the assassin with what appears to be a pistol with a suppressor attached. The assassin fires at least two shots, possibly three, while manually working the action at least twice. This would leave two shell cases and a potentially loaded round or three shell cases at the scene of the crime.

On December 9th, 2024, a suspect was identified in a McDonald’s at about 0914 a.m. in Altoona, PA. Altoona police officers approached the suspect, with was wearing a mask and a beanie type cap. The suspect, later identified as Luigi Magione, was seated at a table and had a silver computer and a backpack. Officers asked Magione to pull down his medical mask. The recognized the suspect as matching images of the assassin in New York.

The officers asked if the suspect had been in New York City recently. The suspect became visibly nervous. The officers then asked for identification. The suspect offered a New Jersey Driver’s license bearing the name of Mark Rosario. When the officers attempted to validate the license, they could not do so. The suspect was told he was under investigation. If he lied to officers, he would be arrested. The suspect then identified himself as Luigi Mangione. Magione was placed under arrest for forgery and false identification to law enforcement.

Mangione’s backpack was searched as part of an inventory search when he was arrested. The search uncovered the “Ghost gun” and a silencer. Both of the items were described as 3D printed.

From the Altoona Pennsylvania police report:

During a search of the Defendant’s backpack, Officers located a black 3D-printed pistol and a black silencer. The pistol had 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 silencer was also 3D printed.

Luigi Magione was charged with five counts under Pennsylvania law, in this order:

• Forgery PA 18 4101 A3
• Firearms not to be carried without a license PA 18 6106 A1
• Tampering with records or identification PA 18 4104 A
• Possessing an instrument of crime  PA 18 907 A
• False identification to law enforcement authorities  PA 18 4914 A

Magione was not charged with possession of an unregistered silencer/suppressor, because Pennsylvania does not prohibit the possession of silencers/suppressors.

There is a statute, 18 908 (C) which includes in the definition of prohibited offensive weapons: “firearms specially made or adapted for concealment or silent discharge”.  A typical silencer does not meet this definition, because it is not a firearm under Pennsylvania state law, and it does not produce a silent discharge.

As reported on Reuters.com, Witness Christian Diaz heard shots from just outside  the University Club. The assassination was in front of the New York Hilton Midtown. Using Google maps, the University Club is a bit over 300 yards from the front of the New York Hilton Midtown. Police were at the scene in seconds. The weapon used in the assassination was far from silent.

The fact the “Ghost gun” had no serial number played no part in the investigation and arrest. The firearm was not found until the suspect was under arrest. If the firearm had been marked with a serial number, it would have made no difference in this case.

Before 1:59 p.m., December 11, 2024, AP reported the firearm found in Magione’s backpack matched shell casings found at the scene of the crime in NYC.  This is incredibly fast forensics work, worth of a television series. The suspect was arrested after 6:45 a.m. on December 9. The firearm was discovered a little later, say 6:59. In less than 55 hours, the suspect firearm was test fired with similar ammunition, and the cases compared to determine extractor, ejector, and firing pin marks, between different jurisdictions. This is unusually fast cooperation! No serial number was needed for this investigation.

This correspondent wonders if the Altoona Police Department might have an agreement with U.S. Immigrations, Customs and Enforcement. ICE has a sophisticated ballistics laboratory in Altoona, PA.

Opinion: Some have claimed the CEO of UnitedHealthcare is “greedy”. Brian Thompson’s salary was one million dollars a year. With stock options, which are not guaranteed, the total compensation has been estimated at 10 million dollars a year. The number of people covered by UnitedHealthcare is 49 million. The compensation of Brian Thompson amounts to between 2 cents and 20 cents per year per person covered by UnitedHelathcare.

The total income of the portfolio of UnitedHealthcare managed by Thompson was 74 billion in the last quarter, or about 296 billion annually. Thompson’s share was about 1/3 of 1/100 of 1 percent of the income he managed (.0000338).

©2024 by Dean Weingarten: Permission to share is granted when this notice and link are included.

Gun Watch

Source: http://gunwatch.blogspot.com/2024/12/assassin-ghost-gun-silencer-and-arrest.html