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The 911 call that led to the arrest of Luigi Mangione, the suspect accused in the fatal shooting of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, was played for the first time during a multi-day hearing that began in a New York City court on Monday (December 1), ABC News reports.
Mangione, 27, was arrested at a McDonald's in Altoona, Pennsylvania, five days after Thompson was fatally shot in Manhattan last December. An unnamed manager told a Blair County emergency dispatcher that several people spotted an individual matching the suspect's description, with the 911 call being played during the testimony of 911 coordinator Emily States.
"I have a customer here that some other customers were suspicious of, that he looks like the CEO shooter from New York," the female manager said during the 911 call via ABC News.
States authenticated the video prior to prosecutors playing it in the courtroom. The manager said an older female customer was "really upset" and "frantic" after spotting Mangione eating breakfast at the McDonald's, noting that the customer was attempting to be "non-discreet" as she observed the suspect.
"I can't approach him," the manager said of Mangione, who was wearing a black jacket, surgical mask and beanie matching surveillance photos shared by authorities prior to his arrest.
"He shot the CEO. I got you," the dispatcher responded at one point during the 911 call.
"The only thing you can see are his eyebrows," the manager said. "I don't know what to do here, guys."
Mangione had previously pleaded not guilty to nine state charges, as well as four federal accounts, which include the possibility of the death penalty. Marc Agnifilo, one of the attorneys representing Mangione, said he expects prosecutors to call up to 28 possible witnesses, which includes individuals from Altoona, Pennsylvania, during the hearing, which could last at least one week.
The proceedings are reported to be divided into two sections, both of which will focus on whether evidence or statements were obtained illegally and, therefore, excluded from trial. Judge Gregory Carro had previously thrown out charges of murder in the first degree as an act of terrorism and murder in the second degree, but kept the second-degree murder charge in September.
Mangione, who is an Ivy League graduate from a prominent Maryland real estate family, was found carrying a ghost gun, masks and a manifesto linked to the incident at the time of his arrest, authorities confirmed.