Brian Thompson shooting suspect Luigi Mangione 'had plot to bomb Manhattan'

Notes found with Luigi Mangione when he was arrested in relation to the shooting of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson reportedly reveal how he had a plan to bomb Manhattan

The man accused of shooting dead UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson also considered a bomb plot, a police source has claimed.

Luigi Mangione, 26, was arrested on Monday in Pennsylvania following a five-day manhunt. Police found him with a "ghost gun" similar to the one seen in CCTV footage of the killing, as well as a fake ID and a manifesto. Speaking to CNN, a police source said there was also a notebook containing a to-do list of tasks relating to the shooting.

Some of the notes justified the plans, the source said. Mangione reportedly wrote a passage about terrorist Ted Kaczynski, better known as the Unabomber, who killed three and injured 23 others with mail bombs before being captured in 1996.

He also discussed a plan to take Thompson out using a bomb as he walked through Manhattan, the source said, but concluded that his bomb plot "could kill innocents". He supposedly mused about whether shooting or bombing would be better "to kill the CEO at his own bean counting conference".

Mangione's notes detailed grievances against corporate greed and the healthcare industry. He also addressed investigators directly in one passage, noting: "To save you a lengthy investigation, I state plainly that I wasn’t working with anyone [...] These parasites had it coming. I do apologize for any strife and trauma, but it had to be done."

Mangione, an Ivy League graduate from Maryland, was detained at a McDonald's in Pennsylvania following a tip off. Photos showed him munching on a hash brown minutes before police swooped in. He faces a slew of charges in both Pennsylvania and New York in relation to the shooting, including second-degree murder charges.

Mangione's attorney Thomas Dickey told CNN he has not seen any evidence to suggest New York officials "have the right guy". Dickey said his client will plead not guilty to the charges in Pennsylvania relating to the fake ID and the gun, and he expects him to plead not guilty to the murder charge in New York.

"We've pled not guilty, at least to the charges in Pennsylvania. Like I said I'm not aware of any actual charges in New York," Dickey said. He added: "I'm telling you as his lawyer, he didn't have any representation until I got involved this afternoon. And I'm telling you he's pleading not guilty."

Dickey also expressed his belief that Mangione should have been granted bail at the hearing, questioning if the second-degree murder charge in New York might be eligible for bail under Pennsylvania law. "To simply say no bail, with all due respect to the judge, I believe bail should have been set," Dickey stated, reports the Mirror US.

He suggested that the judge could have set a high bail amount but insisted that his client was entitled to it. As investigators from New York and Pennsylvania work to establish a timeline of Mangione's whereabouts from the shooting to his arrest, Dickey refrained from disclosing who hired him, clarifying he isn't a public defender.