NYC NOW - Evening Roundup: Who is Luigi Mangione, New Yorkers React to Penny Verdict, Polls Shows NY Voters Stance on Deportation Plan, and the Met is Getting a Makeover

Episode Date: December 10, 2024

WNYC’s Janae Pierre and Brittany Kriegstein discuss the latest developments in the fatal shooting of United Healthcare CEO Brian Thompson. Plus, New Yorkers are expressing strong reactions after Daniel Penny was found not guilty Monday in the chokehold death of Jordan Neely. Plus, a Siena College Poll shows how New York State voters feel about president-elect Trump's plan to deport migrants. And finally, the Metropolitan Museum of Art is getting a makeover.

Welcome to NYC Now, your source for local news in and around New York City from WNYC. I'm Jenae P.O. Luigi Mangione is now in police custody in connection with the fatal shooting of United Healthcare CEO Brian Thompson in Manhattan last week. The 26-year-old man from Maryland is facing charges of second-degree murder, gun possession, and possession of a forged instrument in New York City. He was arrested Monday in Pennsylvania on separate charges after managing to elude law enforcement. for days. WMYC's Brittany Craigstein is here to talk through the latest developments in the story. First off, what do we know about Luigi Mangione? So, Janay, it looks like Luigi graduated in 2020 from the University of Pennsylvania with a bachelor's and master's degree in

engineering, according to a university spokesperson. He also reportedly attended the Gilman School, which is an all-boys private school in Baltimore, Maryland. He graduated as valedictorian there in 2016 and spoke to his class at the end of the year. He grew up in Maryland, but we know he also has ties to San Francisco. His last known address was in Honolulu, Hawaii, where he seemed to have surfed for a while. He also comes from a prominent Maryland family. Among other things, they own Laurian Health Systems, which is a nursing home chain in Maryland, and his cousin is a state delegate in the Maryland state legislature. So we know that he has strong ties to Maryland, and also comes from a pretty well-established family and has several advanced degrees.

Have law enforcement officials said anything about a possible motive in this shooting? So officials have yet to precisely connect Mangione to Brian Thompson, but officials say he was found with a manifesto that expressed, quote, ill will towards corporate America. And there's tons of speculation online about photos he posted of a back x-ray. reports are circulating that a recent back surgery may have caused him to have some sort of mental breakdown with some friends saying that they'd lost touch with him in the last few months after whatever happened there. Authorities have not yet released the full manifesto and they haven't, like I said, made the precise connection to Brian Thompson. So the speculation is just really all that's out there at the moment. And we know that Mangione was found at a McDonald's in Altoona, Pennsylvania.

Monday. What has happened since then? So in barely a day, a lot has happened. He was brought in for questioning and arrested for gun possession and forgery, which was relating to the fake IDs. He was there being held in Altoona, Pennsylvania, and local authorities questioned him further. He was fingerprinted, photographed. He was arraigned in Pennsylvania last night, and the judge ordered him held without bail. Not long after that, Manhattan prosecutors charged him with murder in the second degree, which basically means murder with intent. That's not a murder of, say, a police officer or any kind of other official, a child, for example. And then they also charge him with gun possession and possession of a forged instrument, which could relate to the fake IDs he allegedly had.

And an extradition proceeding is happening in the Pennsylvania court today to figure out when and how he will be sent back to New York. Brittany, you've been following this story since the very beginning. sure you've seen the various reactions to the shooting and to this police investigations. Tell me, what are you hearing from people? Well, this case has captivated people online since the very first second when it was discovered who the victim was here. People are still very supportive of Mangione online even after he was apprehended. There's really a lot of vitriol towards health insurance companies. And a lot of folks out there are still hailing Mangione as some kind of hero. For example, they've been giving the McDonald's where he was found bad reviews.

Other people are looking at his family background and status, seeing how well connected he was, how he came from a family of real means, and saying, this just doesn't add up. Why would such a smart kid who comes from significant wealth be driven to do something like this? Yeah. It's really anybody's guess at this point. So what's next? So the next thing would be to have Mangione extradited here to New York City. where his crime against Brian Thompson took place allegedly, and those charges are separate from the charges he's facing in Pennsylvania.

So the agencies and police departments, law enforcement officials, will often work together to facilitate that transfer, and then he'll face a judge here in a Manhattan courtroom. That's WMYC's Brittany Crickstein. Stick around. There's much more happening in New York City. More news headlines after the break. NYC. New Yorkers are expressing strong reactions after Daniel Penny was found not guilty Monday in the chokehold death of Jordan Neely.

Subway writer Shantel Martin lives in East New York. I've been around mentally ill people. I know how to remove myself from the situation. For you to feel like you can be somewhat of a vigilante and feel like you were just, that's what hurts. The case has divided New Yorkers with some applauding Monday's outcome, but others expressing, deep concerns. Neely, who was homeless and struggled with mental health issues, had been shouting on the train. There are people in the city who need care, who need housing, who are not getting care, who are not getting housing. That's David Giffin, executive director of the coalition for the

homeless. And if the answer to this is that it's open season on anybody who is in crisis, then our city has sunk to a level of inhumanity that I find appalling. A manslaughter charge against penny was dismissed after the jury deadlocked. A majority of New York state voters say the state should support President-elect Donald Trump's plan to deport migrants living here illegally. That's according to a New Sienna College poll. The support comes from 54% of voters in New York City, the suburbs, and upstate. According to the poll, nearly nine and ten Republicans backed deportation plans. But a small majority of Democrats, 51 percent, opposed such efforts. A majority of the white and black voters

who were polled also backed deportation along with the plurality of Latino voters. The Met is getting a makeover. The Metropolitan Museum of Art says it's redesigning its contemporary and modern art wing. The project will add 70,000 square feet of space to display modern art and include accessibility upgrades.

It won't, however, expand the Mets footprint any further into Central Park. The architect for the new design is Frida Escobedo. In the past, she and her team have worked on art spaces and residential buildings. Escobedo is the first woman to design a wing at the Met. Thanks for listening to NYC now from WMYC. Catch us every weekday, three times a day.

I'm Jene Pierre. We'll be back tomorrow.