The shooting of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson in December 2024, where a 3D-printed gun was used, highlights the escalating threat of these untraceable “ghost guns.”

These firearms, made partially or entirely with commercially available 3D printers, are increasingly appearing in criminal activity, posing significant challenges for law enforcement and policymakers worldwide. The U.S. Supreme Court is currently reviewing the legality of federal restrictions on these weapons.

The first documented criminal case involving a 3D-printed gun occurred in the UK in 2013. Since then, their prevalence has grown rapidly. Between 2017 and 2021, U.S. law enforcement seized nearly 38,000 suspected ghost guns, according to a 2024 US Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives report.

In 2021 alone, over 19,000 were traced, a sharp rise from just over 8,500 in 2020. New York state saw a dramatic increase from 100 seizures in 2019 to 637 in 2022. Arrests are also on the rise, with 108 globally in the first half of 2023, compared to 66 in all of 2022.

North America leads in 3D-printed gun-related arrests (166 from 2013 to June 2023), followed by Europe (48) and Oceania (24). The U.S. accounts for 36% of global arrests in 2023, closely followed by Canada (34%). The UK and Australia represent 10% and 8% respectively.

According to a report in The Conversation, these weapons have been linked to a wide range of groups, including far-right extremists, ethno-separatists, jihadists, left-wing anarchists, organised crime, and pro-democracy rebels. From 2019 to mid-2022, at least nine cases in Europe and Australia involved extremists, terrorists, or paramilitary groups attempting or succeeding in producing 3D-printed firearms. Analysis of 165 cases from 2013 to mid-2024 shows that 15% were terrorism-related, with far-right groups being the most frequent users.

The lack of serial numbers on these homemade weapons makes them difficult to trace, a key attraction for criminals. Global regulatory approaches vary significantly.

Japan strictly prohibits unauthorised firearm production, including 3D-printed guns, with severe penalties. Canada effectively banned ghost guns in 2023, requiring licenses for possession or manufacture. Australia criminalises both making and, in some states, possessing blueprints for 3D-printed firearms, with potential prison sentences of up to 21 years. The EU broadly prohibits making or owning homemade firearms, with varying laws and penalties, including criminalising possession of digital files. The UK recently updated its laws to specifically ban possessing, buying, or producing parts for 3D-printed guns, and is considering banning blueprint possession.

In the U.S., the Second Amendment and First Amendment pose unique regulatory challenges. While selling 3D-printed firearms requires a federal license, producing or owning them for personal use is permitted, including 3D-printing the lower receiver. Current federal law, under Supreme Court review, requires 3D-printed gun kits to meet specific guidelines, including licensing, background checks, and serial numbers. Converting semi-automatic firearms into automatic weapons using 3D-printed “Glock switches” is illegal and carries significant penalties.

State-level regulations are also emerging. By November 2024, 15 U.S. states had implemented regulations on ghost guns, typically requiring serial numbers, background checks, and reporting of 3D-printed firearm production. For example, New Jersey mandates serial numbers and registration, while New York is considering making 3D-printed firearm manufacturing a felony.

As 3D printing technology advances, the challenge of regulating these weapons and mitigating the threat they pose to public safety will likely intensify.
 

“Hell on Earth” is how Brooklyn’s Metropolitan Detention Center (MDC) is described. And who else could one expect to share it other than Sean “Diddy” Combs, Sam Bankman-Fried and the newly infamous – Luigi Mangione.

It is also the only operating federal detention center in New York.

Apart from sharing the same prison, Combs and Mangione coincidentally share the same lawyer. Marc Agnifilo, who represents Combs, will also defend Mangione in his upcoming trial. On Sunday, Agnifilo and his wife, Karen Friedman Agnifilo announced their involvement in Mangione’s case and in a press statement, Karen Agnifilo said, “Mangione appreciates everyone’s support.”

Mangione is an accused in the murder of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson who was arrested in Penssylvania after a five-day search and brought to New York and Combs has been held amid a flurry of sexual assault lawsuits.

Metropolitan Detention Center is fabled for its difficult conditions and is notorious even among wardens. It is depicted as one of the most “troubled” facilities in the Bureau of Prisons, with issues ranging from overcrowding, violence, rodent infestations, and deteriorating infrastructure.

Apart from these high-profile cases, Mexican cartel figure Ismael “El Mayo” Zambada will also be housed at Metropolitan Detention Center.

Mangione faces federal charges of murder by firearm and death penalty could be on the table although New York abolished capital punishment in 2004. However, Mangione could become the first person in decades to face execution if the state decides to move forward with it. His next court appearance is scheduled for January 18, 2025.

Executives believe Mangione murdered Brian Thompson of UnitedHealthcare because of pent-up frustrations with the company. When he was arrested, officials found a manifesto that praised filmmaker Michael Moore’s critique of the healthcare system among other things such as fake ids, a U.S. passport and other writings about the healthcare system.

As of now, Mangione faces both state and federal murder charges. The state charges are delineated as murder and act of terrorism. Additionally he faces weapons and forgery charges in Pennsylvania where he pleads not guilty.

It is interesting to note that the words “deny,” “depose” and “defend” were written on bullet shell casings found at the murder scene. It is a reference to the three D’s of the insurance world – Delay, Deny, Defend, the way in which insurance companies move to reject requests for medical coverage deemed necessary by doctors.
 

New York, United States:

US authorities on Tuesday charged the man suspected of gunning down a health insurance CEO in New York earlier this month with murder, including a charge of second-degree murder “as an act of terrorism.”

Mangione, 26, is accused of shooting UnitedHealthcare chief executive Brian Thompson on a Manhattan street on December 4, triggering a nationwide manhunt that ended last week when he was spotted at a Pennsylvania McDonald’s.

The former data engineer remains jailed in that state as he fights efforts to extradite him to New York to face charges there over the killing, which brought into focus widespread public anger against the US health care system.

Mangione “is charged with one count of murder in the first degree and two counts of murder in the second degree, including one count of murder in the second degree as an act of terrorism,” said Manhattan district attorney Alvin Bragg.

Bragg said the terrorism charge was included because the shooting met the prerequisites for such a determination under New York law.

“In its most basic terms, this was a killing that was intended to evoke terror and we’ve seen that reaction,” he said. “This was not an ordinary killing.”

The maximum penalty for the murder charges Mangione faces is life in prison without parole, Bragg said.

The suspect was also charged with several crimes related to his possession of a weapon, which authorities said was a 3D-printed “ghost gun.”

“We allege he… took out a nine-millimeter 3D-printed ghost gun equipped with a 3D-printed suppressor and shot (Thompson) once in the back and once in the leg,” said Bragg.

“These weapons are increasingly proliferating throughout New York City and the entire country. Evolving technology will only make this problem worse,” he said.

“Last year, over 80 ghost guns and ghost gun parts were recovered in Manhattan alone.”

‘Shocking and appalling’

In the wake of Thompson’s killing, many social media users have lionized Mangione, with some even calling for further killings of other CEOs.

Jessica Tisch, the New York City police commissioner, criticized members of the public who had praised the murder.

“In the nearly two weeks since Mr Thompson’s killing, we have seen a shocking and appalling celebration of cold-blooded murder,” said Tisch.

Mangione is due in Pennsylvania court on Thursday for a hearing on his extradition to New York.

Police say a “life-changing, life-altering” back injury may have motivated Mangione, although they added that there was “no indication” that he was ever a client of UnitedHealthcare.

When he was arrested, Mangione had a three-page handwritten text criticizing the US health care system.

Police have said that Mangione’s fingerprints matched those found near the crime scene, and that shell casings match the gun found on him when he was arrested.

Bragg said that the suspect traveled to New York on November 24 with the intention of murdering Thompson.

On December 4, he is alleged to have waited “for nearly an hour” outside the hotel where Thompson was shot early that morning.

“This was a frightening, well planned, targeted murder that was intended to cause shock and attention and intimidation,” said district attorney Bragg.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

Karen Friedman-Agnifilo graduated from the University of California.

Not long after an election that polarised the nation and threw up Donald Trump as the winner, civil society in the U.S. stands divided yet again over a man: 26-year-old Luigi Mangione, who allegedly shot UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson outside a hotel in Manhattan on December 4.

Mangione was picked up from a McDonald’s outlet in Altoona, Pennsylvania, on December 9 when a member of the restaurant staff spotted and identified him.

Also read: Back trouble and brain fog bothered suspect in UnitedHealthcare CEO killing, his posts show

From ridiculing the employee and McDonalds to lionising Mangione as an “anti-capitalist” hero and describing his act as “vigilante justice”, social media was awash with reactions that has largely glorified the killing of the 50-year-old and father of two.

So much so that Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro felt compelled to spell out the morality involved in the situation: “Hear me on this: He is no hero. The real hero in this story is the person who called 911 at McDonald’s this morning.” “We do not kill people in cold blood to resolve policy differences or express a viewpoint,” Mr. Shapiro said.

That it took a Governor’s statement for people to see through a crime that happened in broad daylight is a telling sign. Regardless, observers and columnists attribute the sympathy pouring in for Mangione to the hatred reserved by the public for insurance companies.

Among other evidence recovered from the crime scene were bullet casings that had the words ‘Deny’, ‘Defend’ and ‘Depose’ written on them — a play on the phrase ‘Delay, Deny, Defend’, apparent tactics used by insurance firms to refuse claims. Also found in Mangione’s possession was a hand-written manifesto that criticised American companies’ corporate greed. “Frankly these parasites simply had it coming,” the note stated. UnitedHealthcare, however, has said Mangione was not its customer.

As police try and figure out if Mangione, who had a back problem and did correction procedure, acted out of self-interest or handed out “vigilante justice”, public support has swelled. His X account grew by more than 4,00,000 followers since the shooting, close to $31,000 was raised on GiveSendGo and “#FreeLuigi“ and “hot assassin” tags spread on social media — with engagement levels crossing what was witnessed during Donald Trump’s assassination attempt.

In Mangione, people found a “folk hero” who stood up for them against an industry that has long become a target of public ire. With an estimated market valuation of $560 billion, UnitedHealth, the parent company of UnitedHealthcare, ranks 19th on Forbes’ list of the world’s biggest companies. However, look past the insurance firm to see that the individuals involved are mired in a strange paradox.

According to a Reuters report, Thompson had a modest working-class upbringing in rural Iowa. He graduated with a Bachelor’s degree in business administration from the University of Iowa in 1997. He is a certified public accountant and worked for six years at the accounting firm PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) before joining the United Group in 2004 as Director of Corporate Development, according to Forbes.

This is in stark contrast to the privileged upbringing of Mangione, someone believed to have carried out an “anti-capitalist” attack. Born into a prominent real-estate family in Baltimore, Mangione received Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees from the Ivy League University of Pennsylvania with an interest in computer science. He also served as head counsellor at a pre-college programme at Standford. The tuition fee at the high school he attended stands at $37,690 this year. He worked as a software engineer at TrueCar, an online marketplace based in California. For a brief while, he stayed at a co-living space in Honolulu, Hawaii, for $2,000 per month.

Six months ago, he fell off the public radar with his mother filing a missing complaint in November.

Investigators are scouring his social media accounts for further clues and a concrete motive. Save for a goodreads account where he posted a review commending the “prescient” nature of Unabomber Ted Kaczynski’s Industrial Society and its future, Mangione’s political standing can only be described as heterodox at best.

The fact that Mangione’s motive and ideology have not been deciphered so far is worrisome for it then leaves only one plausible explanation. Much like the 2021 Capitol attack, it shows the public’s eroding trust in institutions. A fallout of that is the common man disregarding civic sense and becoming emboldened to take the law into his own hands. Mangione, who spoke about a “symbolic takedown” in his manifesto, then becomes a hero for those disenchanted with the system.

Luigi Mangione, 26, a suspect in the New York City killing of UnitedHealth executive Brian Thompson, poses for a booking photograph at State Correctional Institution (SCI) Huntingdon in Huntingdon, Pennsylvania, U.S. December 9, 2024. File
| Photo Credit: PA Department of Corrections

After Luigi Mangione made the difficult decision to undergo spinal surgery last year for chronic back pain, he became a proponent of the procedure that changed his life for the better.

He repeatedly posted on Reddit about his recovery and offered words of encouragement for people with similar conditions, telling them to push back against doctors who suggested they had to live with pain.

But notably absent from the posts are explicit concerns about corporate greed in the health insurance industry. Those appear to have surfaced only later: in a handwritten note found after Mr. Mangione was detained as a suspect in the killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson.

That short document references “parasites” in the health care system and laments the power and profits of health insurers, according to law enforcement officials. During his first public words since his arrest in Pennsylvania, Mr. Mangione emerged from a patrol car shouting about an “insult to the intelligence of the American people” while sheriff’s deputies pushed him into a courthouse.

There’s no indication Mr. Mangione was ever insured by UnitedHealthcare, a senior New York City police official said in an interview Thursday (December 12, 2024) with NBC New York.

The killing has nonetheless prompted widespread speculation about whether he had a bad personal experience with the health care system. But after his 2023 surgery, Mr. Mangione’s Reddit posts suggest he was overwhelmingly pleased with the outcome and finally relieved of chronic pain. He encouraged others not to be frightened by horror stories of surgeries gone bad. He also referenced a backpacking trip to Asia earlier this year.

The 26-year-old Ivy League graduate appears to have stopped posting on social media roughly six months ago, around the time he lost touch with loved ones.

Family and friends expressed shock at news of Mr. Mangione’s arrest, but little information has emerged about his recent mental and physical health.

Mr. Mangione’s Reddit posts reference a spinal condition called spondylolisthesis, which occurs when a fracture causes a vertebra to slip out of alignment. It can result in severe pain if the bone puts pressure on spinal nerves.

The condition, which can originate in childhood or from an injury, started negatively impacting Mr. Mangione’s life in recent years, according to his social media posts.

After earning his bachelor’s and master’s degrees from the University of Pennsylvania, he worked at the Santa Monica-based car-buying website TrueCar until 2023 and lived in Hawaii for some time starting in January 2022. During a six-month stay at Surfbreak, a “co-living” space in Honolulu, Mr. Mangione’s back pain worsened in part because of a surfing incident.

Josiah Ryan, a spokesperson for the owner and founder of Surfbreak, R.J. Martin, said Mr. Mangione had expressed growing concerns about the pain. In addition to missing out on recreational activities and exercise, he was worried about how it could affect romantic relationships.

“That was definitely a theme in his time there,” Mr. Ryan said. “He wasn’t a big complainer. So, it wasn’t like he was bringing it up constantly. But the people who knew him knew this was a significant part of his life.”

In July 2023, Mr. Mangione wrote in a Reddit post that he had decided to get surgery.

“I got caught in this loop for a year, all the while putting my life on hold in my 20’s and damaging my nerves while I waffled on the decision. I have surgery scheduled in two weeks and I keep wondering why I was so afraid of it,” he wrote. According to his posts, the operation was a success.

An image posted to an X account linked to Mr. Mangione showed what appeared to be an X-ray of a metal rod and multiple screws inserted into his lower spine.

“Surgery was painful for the first couple days, but I was shocked that by day 7 I was on literally zero pain meds,” Mr. Mangione posted on Reddit in August 2023. “Obviously will be awhile until I get into rigorous activity, but it was way less of a big deal than I had anticipated.”

Medical experts say treating back pain is almost always a challenge. “In the gross majority of treatments, surgery is when everything else has failed to provide relief,” said Dr. Jason Pittman, co-director of the Spine Center at Boston’s Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center. He said doctors generally try conservative treatments like physical therapy, injections or medications before surgery.

Even people with health insurance can face thousands of dollars in bills from a surgery depending on their deductible and other factors, though it’s unclear whether Mr. Mangione experienced any of those issues.

Experiencing chronic back pain can also significantly impact mental health, said Dr. Padma Gulur, a pain specialist with Duke Health. “If you have underlying mental health issues – anxiety, depression – your pain can be worse because you have way more suffering,” Ms. Gulur said. “But the second aspect is pain can push you into anxiety and depression.”

Little is known about Mr. Mangione’s mental state in recent months, but it appears he was withdrawing from close relationships. Since-deleted posts on X show a friend repeatedly reaching out and getting no response. His family reported him missing to San Francisco authorities in November, police said.

Earlier, while in college, Mr. Mangione posted on Reddit about experiencing severe brain fog and restless sleep. In a July 2018 post, he said his grades were suffering and he had considered dropping out of school. But ultimately, “staying in college has at least let me maintain some semblance of normality,” he wrote.

His last Reddit post is dated May 17, but other statements around that time suggest he wasn’t experiencing unexpected complications or renewed back pain. He appears to be advocating for the type of surgery he received months earlier.

He posted in early April about the gear he brought on a two-month backpacking trip through Asia that included some cross-country motorcycling, saying he had found “the perfect balance between minimalism and practicality.” In late April, he advised another Reddit user with a back problem to “keep trying different surgeons” and, if necessary, convey an inability to keep working.

“We live in a capitalist society,” he wrote. “I’ve found that the medical industry responds to these key words far more urgently than you describing unbearable pain and how it’s impacting your quality of life.”

Luigi Mangione, who was arrested for allegedly killing UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, was never a client of the medical insurance company, a New York Police Department (NYPD) official said. According to the police, the 26-year-old Ivy League graduate may have killed the CEO due to the “size and influence” of the company, reported NBC.

Chief of Detectives Joseph Kenny said that Mangione was aware of the company holding its annual investor conference at a Manhattan hotel on December 4 – the day of the crime.

“We have no indication that he was ever a client of United Healthcare, but he does mention that it is the fifth largest corporation in the US, which would make it the largest healthcare organisation in the country. So that’s possibly why he targeted the company…He had prior knowledge that the conference was taking place on that date, at that location,” Kenny told NBC.

Mangione shot the UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson on December 4 and was since then on the run. The University of Pennsylvania grad led the police on a five-day manhunt, following which he was arrested from a McDonalds in Pennsylvania. He is currently in custody and is facing multiple charges, including murder. Mangione was denied bail at an extradition hearing at the Blair County Courthouse in Pennsylvania on Wednesday.

The suspect was reportedly arrested with a manifesto where he accused health insurance companies of putting corporate greed over the well-being of people – which led to theories that he may have killed the CEO over disappointment with the insurance provider. The police also reportedly found some of Mangione’s writings about wanting to use a gun to target a CEO of a big corporation.

The NYPD found a 3D-printed gun from Mangione – which matched three shell casings found at the crime scene. The 9mm shell casings reportedly had the words “delay”, “deny” and “depose” written across them on each bullet – which were the title of a book criticising the insurance industry.

The Mangione family, long seen as “beloved” royalty in Baltimore, is reeling from the recent arrest of Luigi Mangione, accused of killing UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson. Known for their immense wealth, philanthropy, and a long history in the healthcare sector, the Mangione family’s legacy now stands in contrast to the shocking crime allegedly committed by Luigi, a 26-year-old University of Pennsylvania graduate.

Luigi’s family history is one of immigrant success. His late grandfather, Nick Mangione Sr, often shared his rags-to-riches story, proudly recounting his rise from humble beginnings. “I didn’t have two nickels to rub together when my father died when I was 11, yet I still became a millionaire,” Nick had said to The Baltimore Sun, recalling his father’s struggles as an Italian immigrant and his own determination. “What other country can you do that in? None that I can think of.”

Nick Mangione’s empire spanned a range of industries, from owning local resorts and country clubs to operating nursing homes and even a radio station. He and his wife, Mary, were also philanthropists, donating millions, including over $1 million to the Greater Baltimore Medical Centre, where all of their 37 grandchildren were born. In honour of their contributions, the hospital even named its obstetrics unit after the Mangione family.

The Mangione Family Foundation has also made significant donations to institutions like St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital and St. Joseph Medical Centre at the University of Maryland. Loyola University’s pools are named after them, and several family members, including six of Nick and Mary’s children, attended the local college.

The family’s influence also extends into the political sphere, with Nick’s grandson, Nino Mangione, serving in Maryland’s House of Delegates.

Despite their sterling reputation, the Mangiones were blindsided by the arrest of Luigi. The motive allegedly comes from Luigi’s anger toward the US healthcare system – a sector his family has greatly supported.

According to reports, Luigi Mangione is accused of fatally shooting Brian Thompson in a Midtown sidewalk attack, allegedly fuelled by his disdain for what he viewed as a “mafioso” of greedy healthcare companies. His uncle, Jerry O’Keefe, told the NY Post, “It’s a shock for all of us. I can’t say anymore. The statement summed it up for all of us. We don’t know anything more than what’s been reported in the media.”

A McDonald’s staff is credited with the breakthrough in the manhunt that followed the murder of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson. A witness at the Pennsylvania outlet, who saw the cops swoop away 26-year-old Luigi Mangione, said the customers were struck by the resemblance of the suspect with that of circulated images.

The New York Police Department had released photos of the suspect two days ago – after the killing sparked a nationwide manhunt and made global headlines.

The witness, identified by only his first name Larry, told BBC he had gone to the McDonald’s in Altoona town for coffee with about five of his friends. At the outlet, one of his friends talked about the suspect’s resemblance – that he was wearing similar clothes in the images circulated by the cops, but Larry felt that he was joking.

Read: Flirting With Receptionist Proves Costly For US Executive’s Alleged Killer

Larry said when he asked that friend about it the next morning- after the suspect was arrested – he said, “Yes, I was serious.”

Another restaurant employee, whom Larry spoke to, said he found a similarity with his “eyes and eyebrow” while noting down his order. He was working on a laptop, wearing a mask and a beanie, that time.

A staff at the fast-food restaurant tipped the cops after another customer recognized the suspect. Mangione, who was an Ivy League student, was soon arrested from the outlet and was charged with the UnitedHealthcare CEO’s murder last night.

Read: Inscribed Bullet Shells, Photos Of UnitedHealthcare CEO’s Killer Emerge

The cops found a gun in his possession, fake IDs, and documents that suggested he had “ill will towards corporate America”. “These parasites had it coming,” said a two-page note found with him.

When they asked the suspect if he had been to New York recently, he became quiet and “started to shake”.

Thompson was attending an investors’ conference in New York last week when Mangione came from behind and fired multiple rounds in full public view. As Thompson collapsed to the ground, he fled on foot. Later, he took a bike to Central Park and boarded a bus.

Luigi Mangione, 26, a suspect in the New York City killing of UnitedHealth executive Brian Thompson, arrives for an extradition hearing at Blair County Court House in Hollidaysburg, Pennsylvania, U.S. December 10, 2024.
| Photo Credit: Reuters

The man charged with brazenly gunning down a top health insurance CEO in New York carried a handwritten manifesto of grievances against the industry, police said on Tuesday (December 10, 2024), giving a possible motive for the first time.

Luigi Mangione, 26, yelled and struggled with officers as he was led into court in Pennsylvania wearing an orange jumpsuit, for a hearing on extraditing him back to New York.

He is accused of murdering UnitedHealthcare chief executive Brian Thompson on a Manhattan street last week, triggering a nationwide manhunt that ended Monday when he was recognized at a McDonald’s restaurant in Altoona, Pennsylvania.

Mangione fought his extradition to New York, a complaint which Blair County prosecutor Peter Weeks described as creating “more hoops… to jump through”, and a judge denied him bail as the process continues.

The defense lawyers now have 14 days to submit motions against moving Mangione to New York, Weeks said.

The suspect, who attended the elite University of Pennsylvania and reportedly comes from a wealthy family, could be heard shouting “unjust” and “an insult to the intelligence of the American people” as officers bundled him out of a car and into court.

The revelation of a manifesto carried by Mangione appears to back up the theory that he was angered by the complex and at times dysfunctional US health care system.

“I had an opportunity to read the manifesto,” the New York Police Department’s Chief of Detectives Joseph Kenny said on the Good Morning America TV show.

“It’s handwritten. He does make some indication that he’s frustrated with the health care system in the United States.”

Kenny said Mangione decried how the US health care system is among the most expensive in the world and yet the country has a lower life expectancy than other developed nations.

“He was writing a lot about his disdain for corporate American and in particular the health care industry,” said Kenny.

The New York criminal complaint alleges Mangione was found with “written admissions about the crime” but contains no further detail.

Police have not confirmed reports the words “delay” and “deny” — language used by insurers to reject claims — were written on bullet casings found at the scene.

Suspect was ‘shaking’

Investigators interrogated Mangione over last week’s murder which triggered global headlines and sent shockwaves through the American business sector.

He appeared at a Pennsylvania court wearing a dark sweatshirt late Monday and was led inside by Altoona police, flanked by New York detectives.

Mangione was later charged in New York on suspicion of one count of murder, two counts of second-degree criminal possession of a weapon and other offenses.

He is next due to appear in court on December 23, and has yet to enter a plea.

The White House condemned the shooting

“Obviously, this is horrific. Violence to combat any sort of corporate greed is unacceptable,” Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told a briefing when asked about the grievances aired by Mangione.

The suspect was apprehended by officers following a tip from staff at the McDonald’s, where he was found wearing a mask and a beanie while using a laptop, and gave officers a fake ID, charging documents show.

They then searched him and found what police called a “ghost gun” capable of firing 9mm rounds and equipped with a suppressor that could have been made on a 3D printer.

When officers asked if he had been to New York recently, Mangione “became quiet and started to shake,” according to the criminal complaint.

One of the fake IDs found was one used to check in to a Manhattan hostel ahead of the attack, police said.

Mangione appeared to have health issues, living with serious back pain and undergoing surgery for the condition last year, according to a New York Times report quoting friends.

A photo on what appeared to be one of his social media accounts featured an X-ray of a spine with a medical implant.