A 26-year-old man was arrested Monday and charged with the murder of a health insurer executive who was killed on the streets in New York. He also faces other charges.

According to court documents viewed by AFP, Luigi Mangione has been charged with murder in New York, as well as two counts of criminal possession of a firearm of the second degree, one count for possession of a forged certificate of identification, and one count for possession of a third-degree weapon.

Investigators continue to question Mangione about the brutal murder that took place last week, which sparked a manhunt across the country and made headlines around the world.

Broadcasters showed that he arrived in a Pennsylvania court Monday wearing a dark sweatshirt and was led into the building by Altoona Police flanked with NYPD detectives, where he appeared before a judge.

Mangione will next appear in court on 23 December.

Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro told a press briefing that New York State would soon follow suit with murder charges. He said, “We do not kill people cold-blooded to resolve policy disagreements or express a point of view.”

The police have not confirmed that the words “delay”, and “deny”, which are used by insurance companies to reject claims, were found on the casings at the scene. This could indicate a political motive.

According to the New York Times, citing Mangione’s friends, the suspect suffered from severe back pain. He underwent surgery last year for this condition.

An X-ray was included in a photo of what appeared to be his social media account.

Documents charging Mangione show that officers apprehended him after receiving a tip-off from employees at a McDonald’s in Altoona. He was wearing a beanie and a mask while using a computer and had given officers a false ID.

The police searched him and discovered a 9mm gun that was capable of firing rounds. It also had a suppressor which could have been manufactured on a 3-D printer.

According to the criminal complaint, when officers asked Mangione if he’d been to New York in recent times, he “became quieter and began to shake.”

New York Police said that one of the fake identifications was used to check into a Manhattan hostel before the attack. It was found in a document that described Mangione’s “motivation” and “mindset”.

Mangione, who was raised in Maryland and studied at the Ivy League University of Pennsylvania before the murder, had lived in Hawaii.

Mangione’s LinkedIn profile revealed that he was a data scientist at TrueCar, an online auto marketplace based in California. He left the company’s employment by 2023.

Luigi’s family issued a statement on Monday night saying that they were “shocked” and “devastated” by his arrest.

Fled by bike

The gunman shot dead Brian Thompson in the face of onlookers during the shooting last Wednesday. Thompson was a senior executive with UnitedHealthcare, one of the largest medical insurance companies in the United States.

Millions of people around the globe watched the video as the interest in the manhunt grew and mystery surrounded the motives of the killer.

Thompson, 50, attended an investor conference at the Midtown district.

Detectives say the suspect fled on foot from the crime scene before riding a bicycle to Central Park. He then boarded a bus at a terminal north of New York connecting New York with surrounding states.

Thompson is shown on video footage standing outside the New York Hilton Midtown. A man wearing a hooded shirt with his lower face hidden approaches him from behind and fires multiple shots. The father of two falls to the ground.

The media released an image of the suspect, which was taken from the youth hostel in which the gunman stayed before the attack. They reported that he had removed his mask and flirted with the receptionist.

Many Americans are angry and frustrated by the highly profitable US health insurance system, which is a result of its high costs and limited coverage. Thompson’s death, for example, was not met with sympathy.

UnitedHealth Group shared a Facebook post about his loss. Within two days, the counter had accumulated more than 71,000 laugh emojis.

Police said that Mangione, who was arrested in Pennsylvania on murder charges, must be extradited to New York.