The suspected killer of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson was captured by a rookie cop who had only been on the job for six months.
Officer Tyler Frye was one of the officers who helped take 26-year-old Luigi Mangione into custody in Altoona, Pennsylvania, on Monday.
Frye was joined by state Gov. Josh Shapiro and other law enforcement officials Monday at a news conference to announce Mangione’s arrest.
He revealed that he had only been with the Altoona Police Department for about six months before making the arrest.
Frye and another officer were the first to respond to the McDonald’s where a customer and an employee discovered the suspect on Monday.
The officer said he “immediately recognized him” after Mangione took off the blue medical mask he was wearing.
‘We just didn’t think twice. We knew that was our guy. “I can’t say I expected it by any means,” Frye explained.
But it feels good to get a guy like that off the street. “Especially starting my career this way, it feels great.”
Rookie Officer Tyler Frye was one of the officers who helped take 26-year-old Luigi Mangione into custody in Altoona, Pennsylvania, on Monday.
Frye and another officer were the first to respond to the McDonald’s location where Mangione, seen here in his booking photo, was seen Monday by a customer and an employee.
The rookie added of Mangione’s arrest: ‘He was very cooperative with us. It didn’t really give us too many problems. Once we discovered his identity, we went from there.
New York City Mayor Eric Adams later shared a video on his social media accounts showing him on a call with Frye.
In it, the young cop can be heard telling Adams, “I guess we’ve got your guy.” It was great to do, I’m more than happy to do it.
‘I can’t say I expected him to wake up this morning, but it was a great experience for me. I’m more than happy to get someone like that off the street.
Adams said: ‘We, as New Yorkers, appreciate it. And you just did a great job. Alert surveillance.
‘You took a dangerous person off the street and we thank you very much. I just wanted to call you and thank you.’
Mangione, an Ivy League graduate from a prominent Maryland real estate family, is currently behind bars in Pennsylvania.
He was initially charged with possession of a firearm without a license, forgery and providing false identification to police.
By Monday night, Manhattan prosecutors had added a murder charge according to court records. He is scheduled to be extradited to New York for his crimes.
Frye said he “recognized him immediately” after Mangione removed the blue medical mask he was wearing.
New York Mayor Eric Adams later shared a video on his social media account while speaking with Frye.
His arrest followed a multi-day search for the suspect in Thompson’s murder, who was shot to death outside the Hilton Hotel on Wednesday morning.
Investigators scoured New York City in the days after his murder and found the words “delay,” “deny” and “depose” written on bullet casings at the scene.
New York Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch said that when police detained Mangione, he was carrying a gun like the one used to kill Thompson.
He was also said to be in possession of a fake ID that the alleged shooter had used to check into a New York shelter, along with a passport and several fake IDs.
Authorities also confirmed that he had a handwritten manifesto criticizing UnitedHealthcare.
In the 262-word document, Mangione said that as UnitedHealthcare’s market capitalization has grown, the life expectancy of Americans has not.
The document condemned companies that “continue to abuse our country for immense profits because the American public has allowed them to get away with it.”
Mangione’s arrest followed a multi-day search for the suspect in the murder of Brian Thompson, who was shot to death outside the Hilton Hotel on Wednesday morning.
He reportedly wrote that he acted alone and was self-financing.
“To save you a long investigation, I clearly state that I was not working with anyone,” Mangione said.
‘These parasites deserved it. “I apologize for any conflict and trauma, but it had to be done.”
Mangione comes from a wealthy family, and his grandfather was a self-made billionaire who owned a luxury resort, nursing homes, and a radio station.
He attended the $40,000-a-year Gilman High School in Baltimore, graduating valedictorian in 2016.
A clip shared online after Mangione’s arrest shows him speaking confidently and eloquently on stage, and a former classmate describes him as exceptionally intelligent.
His family sent their condolences to Brian Thompson’s family and asked for privacy.