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Erin Burnett Outfront
Official Briefing After Arrest Of CEO Killing Suspect; Police: Suspect Wrote In Manifesto "These Parasites Had It Coming"; Assad Flees To Russia, Video Shows Lavish Life He Left Behind. Aired 7-8p ET
Aired December 09, 2024 - 19:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He was transported to the Altoona police department. Once at the Altoona Police Department, that male was searched incident to arrest. It was discovered that he had a United States passport that identified him as, excuse me, Luigi Mangione.
From their continued search of his property, a firearm was located and a suppressor was also located. There are also other items of evidentiary value that were located that would assist in this investigation.
[19:00:02]
At this time, I'm going to turn it over to Governor Shapiro for some words.
GOV. JOSH SHAPIRO (D), PENNSYLVANIA: Thank you, Deputy Chief Swope.
And let me acknowledge and thank the law enforcement who I'm joined with today, beginning with Lieutenant Colonel Bivens of the Pennsylvania state police. I want to thank Senior Special Supervisory Agent Sabo from the FBI, and acknowledge NYPD Commissioner Daughtry and the women and men of the NYPD who joined us here today. District Attorney Weeks, who you will hear from shortly.
And I just concluded a briefing with Mayor Adams and Commissioner Tisch from New York.
I want to begin by thanking our fellow Pennsylvania resident who acted as a hero today Pennsylvania resident saw something early this morning at McDonald's and said something to our local soon, who acted swiftly. I want to say a special thanks to officer Tyler fry of the Altoona Police department. Officer Fry is about six months into his time serving his fellow people here in Pennsylvania, and he acted swiftly. He acted with smarts, and he acted with calm.
You know safety often turns on the strength of relationship between the community and law enforcement. We have that strong relationship here in Altoona, and it was proven here today. I want to ask all of our fellow Pennsylvanians to demonstrate the same type of thoughtfulness and courage and smarts as the individual at McDonald's did this morning and helped law enforcement here in Pennsylvania, as we continue with our investigation. You'll see photos of the suspect who is here and you should know that
this suspect traveled between Philadelphia and Pittsburgh making stops in between, obviously here in Altoona. I want to ask all of our fellow Pennsylvanians to help us with any tips that they might have by contacting us at 804 pa tips. Again that number is 800 for pa tips. The suspect was just arranged, arraigned here in the courthouse and presumably New York will file charges very, very soon. That process will continue to play out and justice will be delivered in this case.
This case is hinged on attention. In fact, the attention in this case and the killing of Brian Thompson was helpful, no doubt, in allowing us to capture this killer in alerting that individual at McDonald's this morning and then having that individual contact police. But some attention in this case, especially online, has been deeply disturbing as some have looked to celebrate instead of condemning this killer.
Brian Thompson was a father to two. He was a husband and he was a friend to many, and yes, he was the CEO of a health insurance company. In America, we do not kill people in cold blood to resolve policy differences or express a viewpoint. I understand people have real frustration with our health care system, and I have worked to address that throughout my career.
But I have no tolerance nor should anyone for one man using an illegal ghost gun to murder someone because he thinks his opinion matters most. In a civil society, we are all less safe when ideologues engage in vigilante justice. In some dark corners, this killer is being hailed as a hero.
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. The real heroes every day in our society are the women and men who put on uniforms like these and go out in our communities to keep us safe. This killer was not a hero. He should not be hailed.
[19:05:05]
Mr. Thompson, I understand was laid to rest earlier today in Minnesota in a private setting. As the conversation continues about this case, lets be mindful not to dehumanize him and make him just an avatar of a system that is disliked by many. He was a father. He was a husband, and he did not like this on a sidewalk in New York City.
I want to thank all law enforcement who was present here. Law enforcement works best when it works together. In this case, you have the New York police department working together with the Altoona Police Department working together with our Pennsylvania state police and our partners at the federal level as well. Everyone came together to solve this case and keep the public safe.
I again want to ask my fellow Pennsylvanians, if you have any information regarding this suspect or his travels throughout Pennsylvania, please share those tips with us immediately. And with that, I want to thank District Attorney Weeks for his important work today and invite him to the microphone to say a few words.
PETE WEEKS, DISTRICT ATTORNEY, BLAIR CO., PA: Thank you, Governor Shapiro.
Good evening everyone.
I would echo the governor's sentiments. Law enforcement does work at its best when they work together. I'd also like to thank District Attorney Seidel. He and his staff came down from the Manhattan district attorney's office today in record time to assist us at the Altoona Police Department and as the governor stated, the state police, the Altoona Police Department, the FBI, the New York City police department, Logan Township police department, the Blair County Sheriff's Department, and other agencies all worked together today to do what needed to be done to seek justice.
I would -- I often brag about how the community in Blair County isn't afraid to say something, to report a crime, to contact local law enforcement. And I've often touted how they've made their community, whether it be Altoona or somewhere else, a safer place to live. Today, I submit that a resident from Altoona and the Altoona police department helped make New York City a safer place to live and helped to kick start the process (AUDIO GAP).
So again I'd like to thank everybody. It's my honor to introduce deputy commissioner.
UNIDENTIFEID MALE: Thank you, Mr. D.A.
On behalf of the Mayor Eric Adams, Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch and once (AUDIO GAP)
The men and women behind me, the detectives, some of these detectives are standing behind me haven't been home since Tuesday when this incident happened. They've been working tirelessly around the clock. And when they got that phone call, immediately they jumped in their car, the police car and raced down here to go see if this was the individual that they were looking for.
That's dedication that's that their commitment to bringing this individual to justice standing behind me and on behalf of the mayor and the police commissioner, they send their thanks and appreciation to you as well. Thank you.
This is a message to the criminal element that think that they want to commit a crime in New York City and crossed state lines, county lines. The message is very clear, Police Commissioner Tisch, police department will find you and bring you to justice. Just look behind me. Thank you.
SHAPIRO: So I think with that, we have to take a few questions.
REPORTER: Question I guess maybe for the local reporters about the arrests specifically today.
(AUDIO GAP)
[19:10:29] UNIDENTIFIED MALE: --foremost, the officer quickly recognized the male as the suspect from the shooting and within several minutes, seconds of the first contact, he had asked, the suspect if he had been in New York City recently. And that really invoked a physical reaction from the suspect. He became visibly nervous, kind of shaking, at that question, and he didn't really answer it directly.
So that that statement alone really, really said a lot. And he the suspect didn't have to say a lot after that question to show that, you know, he was very nervous at that point.
REPORTER: Would that the officer that the governor mentioned, he was new on the job? He was involved in that?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, sir. Officer Frye is here to my left. I'm going to step this way a little bit. And then his partner, that he was with, Officer Joe Detweiler.
REPORTER: Officer, could you -- could you identify yourself when he described that whole interaction --
TYLER FRYE, ALTOONA POLICE OFFICER: Yeah, Patrolman Frye, T-Y-L-E-R, F-R-Y-E.
So whatever we got on scene there, we -- we were able to pretty much find where he was at in the -- in the restaurant.
And as soon as he pulled, he was wearing a blue medical mask. As soon as we pulled that down, we asked him to pull it down. We -- me and my partner, and I recognized him immediately just from what we saw in the media with photos, videos. We just didn't even think twice about it. We knew that was our guy.
But he was very -- he was very cooperative with us. Didn't really give us too many issues. Once we found out his identity, we took it from there.
REPORTER: How did you feel after six months on the job as a law enforcement officer to be part of it?
FRYE: I can't -- I can't say I was expecting it by any means, but it feels good to get a guy like that off the street, especially starting my career this way. It's -- it feels great.
(CROSSTALK)
REPORTER: -- statement since his arrest. Has he asked for a lawyer yet?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: To my knowledge, he hasn't made any statements.
REPORTER: How long is he staying in Altoona? And where was he sitting? And then was the gun on himself, or was it in, like, a car somewhere?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We are still investigating how long he's been in Altoona. There's still a lot of follow up to do in this case. Again, the men and women behind me are assisting with that. So we're still looking into it.
SHAPIRO: I'm going to ask, Lieutenant Colonel Bivens of the Pennsylvania state police to address the question.
LT. COL. GEORGE BIVENS, PENNSYLVANIA STATE POLICE: So there are a lot of things that need to be followed up yet in this investigation.
Certainly, there were a number of items that were found on his person in his backpack that have been inventoried, and we've begun to do an analysis of some of those. There were written documents. There are electronic devices that are in the process of being downloaded, search warrants are obtained. And so over the next hours and days, those efforts will continue and we're going to take a closer look at all of the information that we can glean from that regarding his activities up until and during the time of the homicide, his flight from New York.
And we know that he has been in Pennsylvania, excuse me, for several days. And so, part of that investigation will also focus on trying to retrace his steps. We've already identified businesses, for example, that he frequented in this area and activities that he engaged in that led us to more evidence. And so, all of that is becoming kind of a mountain of evidence that has to be analyzed and looked at.
I'm confident we'll have a much better idea of his activities over the past, you know, number of days in New York and in Pennsylvania.
Additionally, we're also trying to determine that we don't have another actor or an accomplice out there. And so, this information will be used to help us prove or disprove whether that exists and whether there were any other intended targets. So a lot of questions that are out there that are unanswered yet, but we have a lot of information that we can examine that hopefully will give us some of those -- those pieces of data that we need.
You asked or someone asked about the interview. He was initially cooperative. He is not now. And so, he has been arraigned and transported and will be securely housed pending the filing of additional charges in New York governor.
(CROSSTALK)
REPORTER: (INAUDIBLE).
[19:15:07]
What do you know about that?
SHAPIRO: We're not going to get into any more details at this time. We would like to hear from any Pennsylvanian or any Pittsburgher who had any sightings or any dealings with the individual. That's why I specifically asked for anyone with tips to share that with us.
REPORTER: Extradition to New York, how does that process work? I know that you have your case here, but what happens with the New York office and how long did it take?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: So that answer depends. A -- once the charging documents are filed in the state of New York, we will file a fugitive justice complaint against the defendant. He'll be brought before a common pleas judge, shortly thereafter, when the defendant will be presented with the option to waive his extradition or to contest his extradition. If he waves his extradition, we, of course, will make him available to the NYPD and the Manhattan district (AUDIO GAP) were able to arrange his transportation there. If he contests it, that process typically takes between 30 and 45 days to do the requisite paperwork, but we do that all the time in our office. And that's kind of a normal procedure.
(CROSSTALK)
REPORTER: -- the matter of the backpack itself right now, the backpack itself, you had the one that was in New York. Do we know if that's the same one that he had the time of the shooting there? Or is this backpack that he had here the one that he may have acquired and the findings inside the gun, the silencer and cash some foreign currency as well? Is that correct?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'll defer to someone else. I'm not going to speculate on any of the interpretation of the evidence. I'm going to rely on the officers doing the investigation to complete that and reach their conclusions.
REPORTER: (INAUDIBLE). Can we call him a suspect at this point? Obviously, he was arrested.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes. As we confirmed at his preliminary arraignment, um with the permission of District Attorney Seidel, we expect charges to be filed forthwith, and obviously that -- I'm not going to speculate on that timing, but tonight or tomorrow or sometime in the very near future for homicide.
REPORTER: Any insight into a motive? Just one quick. Sorry, sir. Can I just ask, in terms of the officers investigating this case, can you say any more about the suspected possible motive?
BIVENS: So at this point, were not going to comment on that I mentioned that there is a lot of information to go through. Certainly everything has been or will be shared with NYPD but there is other information that really doesn't even pertain to that investigation. Again, focuses more on his activities here in Pennsylvania and other travels.
So, all of that hopefully will shine more light on it. There is some information that gives us some insight into his thinking, but again, all part of the ongoing investigation and way too early to discuss that.
SHAPIRO: Commissioner?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: As far as far as the NYPD, we're not going to be commenting on the investigation steps here. But in the next couple of days, there will be a media availability at One Police Plaza, and Commissioner Tisch will update. Commissioner Tisch and the Chief of Detectives Joe Kenny will update the media at One Police Plaza.
But I will be happy to talk about that. The Commissioner Tisch, and the New York City mayor did FaceTime Officer Frye, and then thanked them for their service. So that was -- he got a pretty cool phone call from the mayor and our police commissioner.
REPORTER: We know how he got to Pennsylvania? Was it through aircraft, train bus? How did he arrive in Pennsylvania?
BIVENS: Again, we do have a good idea of that, but all part of the ongoing investigation.
REPORTER: Just to clarify, Governor, you had suggested I think I heard you, I want to make sure I heard it right that that he I guess he took a bus from the terminal to the George Washington Bridge to Philly and then from there he was around the state around to here, or go back to here? Can you be any more specific about where you how you think this worked?
BIVENS: Well, again ill jump in as its all part of the ongoing investigation. And so yes, we do have a good idea how he got from Philadelphia to Pittsburgh. But there are some gaps in time and so before we start laying out a timeline of his travel, we really need to work through all of that. And so, we know that at some point it is likely he was in a variety of locations across the state to include Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, and points in between.
REPORTER: And then Altoona, Philadelphia and Pittsburgh. And then he made his way back here.
BIVENS: Again, that will all be part of the -- logically he's caught here in Altoona. So logically, he was in those locations first. But again, the timeline of all of that will be part of the ongoing investigation.
(CROSSTALK)
REPORTER: -- the detection for several days. Obviously, he was caught at a McDonald's this morning. The guy's got to eat. For the past few days, he's been on the run for multiple days at this point. How did he manage to evade detection for so long?
BIVENS: So I think again, as part of the ongoing investigation, when we determine where he's been, where he stayed, those kinds of things, we may be able to answer some of those questions, but -- but right now, I will tell you that based on everything that we have seen, he was very careful with trying to stay low profile avoid cameras, not all that successfully in some cases, but that was certainly the effort he was making.
He took steps to try and you know avoid detection with some of the electronic devices and things as well so again.
So, again, all part of the investigation. But clearly, you know, somebody that was very security conscious and trying to avoid somebody identifying.
REPORTER: No criminal record and this was a name that was not previously known to law enforcement?
BIVENS: I am not aware of a criminal history on this individual.
REPORTER: Would you speak to those tech evasion devices? It was mentioned in the hearing and then the defendant said that those were waterproofing bags. Could you speak a little bit more to what was taken into evidence today?
BIVENS: No, not at this point. Again, I've spoken generally about what's there but, at this point, everything remains under investigation and we'll have much more information. And New York will certainly have information for you in the future.
REPORTER: How confident are you that the suspect? Is there still a search for any other suspects other than the accomplice or potential accomplice?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We are. We're still going to canvass. We're still going to -- we're still going to investigate.
Like I said before, we're going to provide an update in a couple of days by the police commissioner and the chief of detectives back at New York. I will say this, though, if anybody out there that has any information that they think that would help this case to please contact our tip line, which is one 1800-577-TIPS. And remember all calls are kept confidential.
REPORTER: Just to clarify, the customer spoke with the employee, the employee called 911?
BIVENS: That is my understanding. Yes, sir.
REPORTER: Was it a customer that recognized the suspect? First told an employee and the employee rang the police? Is that correct?
BIVENS: Yes. My -- my understanding -- I was just confirming. But my understanding is the employee became suspicious. Thought they recognized and wanted someone to check it out further.
REPORTER: Did someone refer to a customer?
BIVENS: Yes, that's what I'm saying. I'm sorry. Did I say the employee? The customer recognized -- notified an employee and wanted someone to check it out further.
REPORTER: Can you confirm which restaurant it was? Was it the one on Plank Road?
BIVENS: I'm not -- I'm not familiar with the address of that. It's a McDonald's. But is that it? Yes, they told me it is.
REPORTER: The suspect disputed the currency. Can you explain why there might be a discrepancy or how much he was found to have? BIVENS: Again, we're not going to talk about what was found in the in the bag. We have accurately cataloged everything that was in there. And that will be a matter for the future.
REPORTER: Eight weeks, could you repeat what you said in court about that money?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I certainly stand by all the comments I made at the preliminary arraignment, but I'm not going to comment any more on the evidence at this time. My comments at preliminary arraignment were in support of my argument for bail. Thank you.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We have time for 1 or 2 more questions.
REPORTER: Is he being held at a county or state facility?
SHAPIRO: He will likely be taken to a state correctional institution later this evening.
REPORTER: Did you say specifically for Pennsylvania law enforcement over the past few months, we've had an attempted assassination of former president, now president-elect now you've had this. What do you think about that --
SHAPIRO: Violence can never be used to address political differences or to address a substantive difference or to try and prove some ideological point. That is not what we do in a civilized society. That was true in Butler. It was true in New York City. And it's true anywhere.
That is not how you make progress in this country. The person, the suspect here who shot at that CEO and killed that CEO is a coward, not a hero.
And we need to make sure that in this country, we get back to having a civil discourse about our differences and that is an important lesson coming out of Pennsylvania. And it is one that I think the rest of the nation needs to hear as well.
On a law enforcement side, I will tell you that I am incredibly proud of the Pennsylvania state police and local police in Butler and here in Altoona who responded in a way that kept others safe and saved other lives. That was true at the fairgrounds in Butler and it was true here today in Altoona.
[19:25:06]
Had that local Pennsylvanian not spoken up, had that wonderful police officer who's been on this job for six months, not acted calmly and swiftly, God knows what could have happened. So I think the lessons coming out of Pennsylvania are that violence is not a way to answer questions and address problems, and that we have the gift of law enforcement here in this commonwealth who care deeply about the safety and well-being of our fellow Pennsylvanians and our fellow Americans and I commend them for that.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Thank you all.
(CROSSTALK)
ERIN BURNETT, CNN HOST: All right. Governor Josh Shapiro there in Pennsylvania, just wrapping up a press conference where you heard from officials from Pennsylvania state police, local police in Altoona, Pennsylvania, as well as the NYPD talking about the arrest of the suspected killer charged in Pennsylvania for having the gun, which they are reporting was a 3D printed gun that they found in the backpack, talking about the ammunition that they found that there was still ammunition, a full magazine of ammunition of nine millimeter ammo, saying that he was very cooperative. He immediately pulled his face mask down.
Very interesting though, as we get to Danny Freeman, who has been covering this all day on the scene from when that customer we just learned at McDonald's first called 911 that police, Danny, are saying they asked him. At first he was cooperative and then they asked the suspect. They said to Luigi Mangione, were you recently in New York? He didn't directly answer the question, but became very physically disturbed. They said physically nervous and started shaking.
And they said at that point that was all they needed to know. At this point, no statement yet from the suspect. So we are waiting, saying they do not yet have any more information on motive. Still looking on accomplices.
We've got new video obtained by NBC which shows the suspect arriving in court.
Danny, you actually saw him? You were there and saw him going in. You know what -- what was he like there? I mean, you can imagine, obviously the cameras and the lights and all of the press and everything there as you saw him, what was his demeanor like and where? What is the very latest that, you know here coming out of this important press conference?
DANNY FREEMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Sure thing, Erin.
Well, I'll say just about an hour ago, I was there inside that courthouse, watching as Luigi Mangione walked right past myself and a number of other reporters. He was wearing a blue shirt, blue jeans. He was, of course, handcuffed, and he looked, even in this court appearance visibly distressed. But he kept his brow furrowed through the duration of this arraignment hearing.
And I should say what was interesting, though, Erin, as you said, we haven't heard a statement from the suspect. He did actually speak inside of that courtroom to the judge and to all the folks who were in there. But it was on very selective issues and I'll just kind of go through what we heard.
The judge asked Luigi Mangione a number of questions first, about his identity. So Mr. Mangione confirmed that that is his real name. He initially said that his residence was in Maryland, but then the judge actually pressed him on that. And then he said, actually, I have lived at various addresses before then ultimately giving an address in Honolulu, Hawaii.
Then he also said that he has worked for three years as a data engineer up until about a year ago, and he also told the judge that he has no drug or mental health problems, that the court needs to know about.
But, Erin, one of the most interesting parts of that particular hearing was actually his statements after the conversation about bail. The prosecutors basically stepped up there and made the case. Why they believe that this man should be held without bail. They mentioned that he is awaiting potentially an arrest warrant coming from New York City as one of the major reasons.
But they also said that prosecutors noted that they found him with $8,000 in U.S. cash, $2,000 in foreign currency, his passport, and also a faraday bag, which is basically a bag designed to stop transmission of cell service or other sort of things, like that.
At the end of his speech, the prosecutors speech, Luigi Mangione said, I actually want to address two of the things that you said. He said I don't know where that money came from. I'm not sure if it was planted. And then he also said that that bag was waterproof.
And the term that the prosecutors used when discussing the faraday bag, the ghost guns, the 3D printed silencer was the prosecutors used a phrase saying this is criminal sophistication. Luigi Mangione said, I don't know about any of this criminal sophistication when addressing that, but it's just interesting, Erin, that of all of the things that were mentioned in that court appearance, the two that he noted or took issue with was the currency, and then that bag -- Erin.
BURNETT: Very. I mean, quite fascinating, especially insofar as we know that the backpack found in Central Park had monopoly money in it.
[19:30:04]
All right. Danny, thank you very much.
And, Danny, as we said, just an hour ago, was there as Luigi Mangione walked by for his arraignment in Pennsylvania.
All right. Everyone is here with me, here to talk about Danny's reporting and what he saw, as well as what we just heard from NYPD, Pennsylvania state law enforcement, governor of Pennsylvania.
So, John, what stands out to you from all of these details? Obviously, they're being -- he did have a manifesto on him, but they're being quiet on motive, quiet on how he got to Altoona, quiet on how long he was there although it was days, but there is a lot of information in here. What stands out to you?
JOHN MILLER, CNN CHIEF LAW ENFORCEMENT AND INTELLIGENCE ANALYST: Well, so many things. But you know so, so much of what we just discussed. So let's talk about the things we didn't touch on which is, you know, George Bivens, the lieutenant colonel of the state police, who we know well on this show because he's involved in all the major incidents there talks about he traveled around the state for several days, presumably since his escape from New York city after the shooting last Wednesday and has been traveling between Philadelphia and Pittsburgh and places in between, which is not a short distance.
So we have to ask ourselves a couple of things is he beginning to effectuate a second stage of his plan, where he's going to go on the run? Is he -- is he planning to figure out how can I now get involved in international travel with this foreign currency? And his passport, or as an individual who's carrying a manifesto that says you know, in the plural that these parasites, you know, must be killed and things like that --
BURNETT: These parasites must be killed, parasites plural.
MILLER: You know, he is armed with a weapon and ammunition and cash. So was he going to do another job, hit another person, perhaps another executive from the health care field or another field in his kind of anti-capitalist, anti-profiteer genre, and they dodged a bullet by finding him because of this publicity and that alert employee and customers.
BURNETT: Perhaps quite literally so. Kirk, when we hear that right, 3D printed gun, ammunition, loaded Glock magazine as well as six nine millimeter full jacketed rounds found.
When you think about the ammunition that he used prior, when you hear what John is saying and what we see in this -- does it seem to you that perhaps he was preparing for another one?
KIRK BURKHALTER, FORMER NYPD DETECTIVE: I think so, I think John hit the nail on the head here in particular hearing about the cash. That's a fairly large amount of cash if somebody can survive on for some time and the faraday bag. So it seems that he was not prepared to return to a particular location, but to move around.
When I first heard about the weapon, I thought perhaps he retained the gun in order to elude capture, and perhaps battle it out with the police.
BURNETT: Right, the police arrest him, he has it to shoot back.
BURKHALTER: Yes, but clearly, he wasn't prepared to do so. When these police officers approached him because he knew who they were, he could see them coming. And also, he didn't have the gun on his person. So I do -- it does sound like he was preparing to take some form of possibly future action.
BURNETT: Mary Ellen, let me ask you, from what you are hearing now, what they found and they talk about how he responded when that police officer, six months on the job, walked into that McDonald's early this morning and apprehended him, he pulled down his mask. He cooperated. Then he gets visibly nervous when asked if he was in New York.
What stands out to you?
MARY ELLEN O'TOOLE, FORMER SENIOR FBI PROFILER & FBI SPECIAL AGENT: Well, the one thing that I keep thinking about, as I as I listen to John and I -- and I agree with John about perhaps he was not finished.
This is a very smart young man. He has two degrees, valedictorian of his high school class. I believe he knew he could never really return home. This was it for him.
You can't return home and just assume a normal lifestyle after what he did in New York. So I do think that there were likely there was more on his agenda that he wasn't done. It could have also included suicide at the end, but they caught him in midstream. And I think in I feel like that's really part of what he intended to do, was to continue on with the shootings.
And I think that's -- you know, part of that mentality, part of that injustice collecting when he uses terms like parasites, he wasn't just referring to the one person. And he spent a year, at least a year in planning and thinking about this.
BURNETT: All right. All of you stay with me. We, of course, just everyone know our coverage will continue through the evening. Laura Coates has a special report as well tonight at 11:00.
You heard just a moment ago, though, they mentioned that he had been in Honolulu, that that was an address, Honolulu, where he had been living. Well, we have been able to track down the person with whom he was living in Honolulu, a friend of Luigi Mangione lived with him had is going to talk about what they talked about, how they spent their time.
[19:35:03]
And also, about how he complained about chronic back pain. So that interview is after this.
And then let me just show you this here. We'll have more on it. The gun found on the suspect during his arrest, an untraceable ghost gun put together with 3D printed parts. So, was this the same gun used in the CEO assassination?
And tonight, the Middle East in complete disarray. Syria now in the hands of rebels. Bashar al-Assad and his family, though, tonight are in Moscow as guess what they found? He left behind Ferraris, Bentleys, Rolls Royces, Lamborghinis, plural, plural and plural. Tonight, we're in Damascus and Moscow.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BURNETT: And the breaking news, the suspect in the CEO killing now being held without bail in Pennsylvania, where he was captured at a McDonald's earlier today. This is new video. You can see him here.
Our reporters saw him. This video captured by NBC showing the suspect arriving at the courthouse where he was arraigned.
I want to go to Brynn Gingras now. And in a moment, we're going to be joined by a close friend of Luigi Mangione's.
And, Brynn, you have been diving into the suspects background. What have you learned about him?
[19:40:01]
BRYNN GINGRAS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yeah, Erin, this was no career criminal. As we've been learning from law enforcement, there were no prior arrests of him. They really weren't. He wasn't really on their radar.
And what we've learned is that Mangione really went to some of the best schools in this country, comes from a prominent family in Maryland. As far as those schools we know, he graduated in 2016 from Gilman High School, which is an all boys school. He was valedictorian of his class, where he gave his speech at his graduation.
Then he went on to University of Pennsylvania, where he also graduated with a bachelors and masters degree, computer science, as well as mathematics. Extremely smart, told his newspaper there that he wanted to learn how to code because he wanted to make his own video games, extremely smart individual.
As far as the family is concerned, we know that his grandfather was a real estate mogul in that area in Maryland, and that his family owns a bunch of nursing homes. They also own a bunch of other country clubs. So all -- really interesting pieces making up the framework of who Luigi Mangione is.
We also have found a good reads account where he talks about the Unabomber, Ted Kaczynski, and essentially says that he's a political revolutionary. And this is all being scrubbed right now as we speak. His social media accounts. Again, investigators are still trying to figure out a motive in this case, Erin.
BURNETT: All right. Erin, thank you very much.
And OUTFRONT now, RJ Martin, the owner of Surfbreak HNL Honolulu, a co-working and living space in Hawaii, where Luigi Mangione lived around 2022.
So, R.J., I mean, you and I are speaking here in a conversation that hours ago, you never in your life would have thought you would be having. Were you shocked when you learned that your friend was the suspected killer?
R.J. MARTIN, LIVED WITH LUIGI MANGIONE, SUSPECT IN CEO KILLING: I'm beyond shocked. It's unimaginable. You know, I was roommates with him. Friends, hiked, went to yoga. He was, you know, did his best to be athletic and unfathomable. Knowing the kind, you know, person that I saw and knew.
BURNETT: So when did you meet him?
MARTIN: Well, actually, we have an interview process, because when you throw a bunch of people living together, you need to hopefully make sure they work well. And I interviewed him before he moved in.
He works in tech. He has a remote position. He was looking forward to living in Hawaii and being healthy. He was excited about getting new people, experiencing new culture.
BURNETT: And did he? All right. So I know this was back in 2000 -- around 2022. So, you're coming out of COVID.
I'm curious, R.J., did you know where he was working remotely or why he had suddenly decided to decamp to Honolulu? Was there sort of any break in his life or anything that you ever became aware of?
MARTIN: No, no, no, it's very natural. Our members all have remote jobs, and Hawaii is one of those places that many people would love to live. So we provide kind of an all inclusive living experience. So it makes it easy for them to move to the islands.
BURNETT: Okay. So I know you considered him from your interactions with him. The time you spent together as someone who would be a lifelong friend. What -- what was he like when you knew him? And I know you shared some pictures with us as well. I mean, in terms of how social he was and the sort of interactions that he would have had with the other people in your co-living community.
MARTIN: Yeah, he was -- he was a very thoughtful person, communicated really well, was friendly, had good relationships with everyone.
He was even in some ways a bit of a leader. He helped spearhead a book club that we started just so we could. You know, keep those intellectual pursuits alive from back when we were in school.
BURNETT: So you mentioned that he was into health. How did that manifest himself? And you mentioned you went hiking together things like that. Can you tell us more about that? Why he cared about health and I understand also that at one point you did become aware of some issues with his back?
MARTIN: Yeah. So when I first interviewed him before he moved in, I remember he said he had a back issue and he was hoping to get stronger in Hawaii. So he's always focused on trying.
When he first came, he went on a surf lesson with other members and unfortunately, just a basic surf lesson. He was in bed for about a week. We had to get a different bed for him that was more firm, and I know it was really traumatic and difficult. You know, when you're in your early 20s and you cant, you know, do some basic things, it can be really, really difficult.
BURNETT: Did he have any conversations with you then or even afterwards about that issue? And I mean his back, how he heard it. I mean, obviously anything to do with the insurance process of it?
MARTIN: You know I don't -- the only thing he ever mentioned, you know, he mentioned, oh, I need to go back to see my doctor, and then I'm going to have to have surgery. I encouraged him and brought him to yoga classes. He would do calisthenics on his own.
[19:45:02]
I know he was really focused on being strong and healthy but it also weighed on him that he knew that there was an impending surgery.
BURNETT: So did you in the context of all the books that you were reading and the book club that he was leading, did you have conversations about any of the issues that we now even see in -- in the writings that he had on him when he was arrested? I mean, did he talk about -- I mean, not even as maybe as specific as health insurance, but capitalism? Anything of that nature?
MARTIN: You know, I apologize. I haven't read any of the media that's happened. I heard about it when a reporter called me. So I'm not familiar with what his writings were.
But I know we talked about social issues, and we talked about how to improve the world. And we talked about, you know, issues that are, you know say, with capitalism or with the health care system or with housing or the food systems.
It wasn't, you know, anything specific. It wasn't like he had an ax to grind or he was even upset or angry about a particular issue. They were just natural intellectual conversations that you have when you're inquisitive.
BURNETT: So you stayed in touch with him. I know you spoke to him earlier this year, although I understand that you tried to reach out to him multiple times even since then, but that he had not responded in those cases.
Can you tell me about your last conversation with him?
MARTIN: Mostly just text messages. So I knew he was going to have a surgery. So earlier this year I checked in with him. He confirmed that he had had surgery and he sent me the x-rays. It looked heinous with just giant screws going into his spine.
After that, he called me once. I didn't pick up. We kind of texted a little bit, but we, you know last I, unfortunately, I feel terrible now. I wish, you know, I would have made more of an effort to communicate with him.
BURNETT: Did you ever have any conversation with him where he brought up anything like guns or anything in that area?
MARTIN: Never once talked about guns, never once talked about violence. He was absolutely a not violent person, as far as I could tell. Yeah.
BURNETT: So, so, R.J., in all of this -- yeah. Sorry. As you're just struggling to get your head around what happened here with someone you know, that you had considered would be a lifelong friend. And I know you've only had a few hours to even try to comprehend it, but just in these initial hours, do you have any idea why or how someone that you knew in the way you knew him could have done this?
MARTIN: Personally, I can make zero sense of it. You know, there's never a justification for violence. We live in a democratic system with processes and procedures to address you know, our issues and I can make no sense of it.
BURNETT: Well, R.J., I appreciate your taking the time to share all this with us. I know you're in shock about what happened, so thank you for taking the time and trying to help everyone understand a little bit more here about this, what happened. Thanks.
MARTIN: Absolutely. Thank you very much.
BURNETT: Well, now you listen to R.J. talking about the person that he had considered a very close friend, Luigi Mangione. I want to show you the gun that Mangione had on him when he was arrested today.
Okay. So this is -- this is what was found in his backpack. So let's just hold it up here. Well tell you what you know about it. We know that police say that that gun was made on a 3D printer that it also had a suppressor with it in the backpack with a type of silencer. He did. In addition have a loaded Glock magazine, six nine millimeter full metal jacket rounds.
OUTFRONT now, our security correspondent Josh Campbell, former FBI.
And, Josh, the suspect today was arrested with this made on a 3D printer. We do know that he had an undergraduate degree as well as a masters degree in engineering, AI technology. That's his background.
What more can you tell us about the gun?
JOSH CAMPBELL, CNN SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Well, this very gun, Erin, has law enforcement concerned across the country, the rise in so- called ghost guns. These are often untraceable, essentially self- assembled guns in this case, as you mentioned, it appears that he might have printed this himself on a 3D printer. A lot of these gun parts you can buy online and essentially assemble them yourself.
And, of course, the big concern they don't come with serial numbers. That makes it difficult for law enforcement to trace, and they don't require background checks.
Now, the Biden administration has recently tried to increase penalties and stop the distribution of some of these types of guns. Of course, someone intent on causing a homicide is probably not going to be worried about serial number violations.
But the key question now is tying that gun to that crime scene. And here's how it's done.
I went inside an ATF laboratory, which showed how this forensic testing is done. Essentially they take the firearm. They will fire that weapon, collect the bullet and collect the shell casing. That is ejected out of the firearm. Much like a fingerprint that impression left on the bullet and the shell casing leaves a unique signature.
[19:50:07]
With these, analysts will essentially look put under a microscope in order to try to determine is this the weapon similar characteristic to the shell casings found at the crime scene.
BURNETT: All right, Josh, thank you very much.
I want to bring in firearms expert Steve Wolf.
So, Steve, we've got a picture of the ghost gun found in the shooting. It was found on the suspect. I'm sorry. So this is what he had. And I just want to note here, you've got the -- you've got a gun and you have a silencer they say on a 3D printed machine. But I just want to emphasize one other thing that I had said. I said that there was a loaded Glock magazine with six nine millimeter full metal jacketed rounds.
Now, John Miller was just discussing that. He thought that that could mean and very much would leave open the possibility that Luigi Mangione was intending to continue and perhaps assassinate somebody else.
What stands out to you about all of this?
STEVE WOLF, FIREARMS EXPERT: Well, I think if he used the ammo that he needed in New York and he had extra, that doesn't necessarily indicate he was going to do anything additional with it.
I'm also not sure that the gun that was found on him was the same gun. You know, we saw the gun. This is very similar to the B&T. And you see this is round over here. And this slide pulls back. If you take a close look at the slide on that you'll see it looks nothing like the slide on the 3D printed gun which has got a square slide extends back and holds itself open. So there's really no comparison in my mind that the B&T station six that was claimed to be the gun used is the same gun that was in his backpack.
BURNETT: So you think its possible that it had been described as sort of a veterinary gun that that may indeed be the gun still that he used in the shooting in Midtown Manhattan, maybe he disposed of it. I know they've been dredging waters in Central Park, but that that this would be separate, that the gun that was today was a different gun.
WOLF: That's my belief based on what I've seen of the guns. Yes, the gun that was recovered on him today doesn't look anything like a B&T Station Six, which is the gun that they said was used in the murder.
BURNETT: I'm curious because people have been talking about his background, his, you know technology engineering degrees. Would that make it easier as you see it for someone who -- at this point, we don't know whether he had shooting range experience or anything like that, although we've heard nothing about that to this point.
Would it be easier for someone with that kind of just general background to be able to print a gun like this and actually use it successfully to, to kill somebody?
WOLF: Well, the B&T wasn't printed. The gun, that was that he was found with today is the one that had a printed frame most of those parts, though, are not printed. They're metal. So were just talking about the plastic frame, which, you know not a huge consequence as a function of the gun in total.
BURNETT: All right. Well, Steve, I appreciate your time and thank you very much for explaining some of this. Thank you.
WOLF: Absolutely, Erin. Thank you.
BURNETT: All right. I'm glad to talk to you. And next, the crisis going on in Syria and the Middle East as Bashar al-Assad flees to Putin's Russia. And tonight, a special report from where he is in Moscow.
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[19:56:46]
BURNETT: And the other major breaking news that we are following tonight, anti-government rebels toppling Syrian President Bashar al- Assad's brutal rule and the statues around the country. The Putin- backed dictator's regime vanishing in just 11 days after 60 years of the Assad family plunging the country, the Middle East further into turmoil and Russia to.
Assad's presidential residence is plundered after he fled the country as the rebels seized the capital and his palace. Giant crowds now flooding the country's notorious prisons after rebels freed people held there. Russia tonight is silent on Assad's exact whereabouts after granting the deposed dictator and his family asylum, the Syrian embassy there raising the rebel flag following the fall of Damascus and the Assad regime.
It's an incredible story in Moscow. And Fred Pleitgen is OUTFRONT there with more.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice- over): As Syrians celebrate the end of the Assad regime, ransacking the former leader's luxurious palaces, but Russian leader Vladimir Putin was handing out medals to Russian soldiers, marking heroes of the fatherland day in Moscow.
The Kremlin confirming Putin personally granted Bashar al-Assad asylum here.
Naturally such decisions cannot be made without the head of state, the Kremlin spokesman said. It is his decision. The Russians refusing to comment on Bashar al-Assad's exact whereabouts or whether his wife, Asma al-Assad, once described as a rose in the desert in a controversial article in "Vogue Magazine", is with him.
Moscow says Assad was granted asylum on, quote, humanitarian grounds, even as Syrians storming his palace in Damascus discover the lavish life the former dictator was leading, finding a huge collection of luxury cars, including Ferraris and a Lamborghini.
The full brutality of the regime also coming to light as people stormed the notorious Saydnaya prison, infamous for torture and killings, desperately trying to free those incarcerated here.
Syria's transition also on display in the Russian capital.
As of this morning, the flag of the Syrian opposition flies above the embassy here in Moscow. The Russians, formerly the biggest backers of Bashar al-Assad, say they understand there is now a new reality in Syria.
Russia's air force played a major role in helping Bashar al-Assad turn the tide at the height of Syria's civil war and push rebel forces out of much of the country, also making Vladimir Putin one of the most influential players in the Middle East.
And Moscow maintains not just a major air base in Syria but also its only port in the Mediterranean Sea where Putin's navy conducted large scale exercises just last week.
But the Russians acknowledge the future of their military presence in Syria is now uncertain, and their capacity to influence Syria's future appears limited. Putin's foreign spy chief, seemingly acknowledging.
The situation, is obviously complicated, he says. The thing is Syria is a country composed of many diverse parts, and whether various factions represented in the opposition are able to reach an accord will in many ways define the fate of the Syrian people and Syria as a state.
The Russians say they are in touch with the armed groups now controlling Syria and while Moscow says it currently does not see the security of its bases here threatened, its forces have been placed on alert.
Fred Pleitgen, CNN, Moscow.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BURNETT: Thanks to Fred.
And thanks to all of you.
"AC360" begins now.
