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Assad's Fall In Syria Sparks Fears Of Power Vacuum, ISIS Resurgence; Soon, NYC Mayor Will Speak After Man Questioned In CEO's Killing, Placed Under Arrest On Gun Charges; Now, NYC Mayor Gives Update After Man Questioned In CEO's Killing, Arrested On Gun-Related Charges; Man Being Held In Pennsylvania Is Luigi Mangione. Aired 1:30- 2p ET

Aired December 09, 2024 - 13:30   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

[13:30:00]

HAGAR CHEMALI, FORMER DIRECTOR FOR SYRIA & LEBANON, WHITE HOUSE NATIONAL SECURITY COUNCIL: And those are the ones you're hoping to see be able to lead a stable transition to democracy. That was what we hoped back when I was in government.

And so perhaps HKS has been -- will be ultimately the vehicle to bring them in. But they have major ambitions. And -- and it's very aspirational. And I -- like I said, I hope it happens.

And I don't want to imply that I am not overjoyed to see Bashar Al- Assad go. This is a brutal dictator and war criminal and I'm more than happy to see him run for his life like a coward and sit in Moscow, where he can only vacation in North Korea. Good for him.

But -- but I am very concerned at -- at what's to come. But when it comes to the U.S. and it's national interests unfortunately, I think that the security interests in Syria have shifted. And now it will be focused more on making sure that the neighbors surrounding aren't -- aren't -- that there's no spillover there.

Certainly, to protect the Kurds, who are a major ally of ours in getting rid of ISIS and ensuring that ISIS doesn't reemerge. As you mentioned in your report, the U.S. is already -- is already targeting -- targeting ISIS strongholds.

But -- but also, and most importantly, what I really hope to see is -- is a focus on releasing American journalists Austin Tice. And -- and you already mentioned this one, and I certainly is that because they haven't. Neither did Trump, by the way.

So I don't -- I don't see a heavy hand for the U.S. in Syria in the future. But I do hope the U.S. plays a role in at least ensuring some kind of stability.

Because, otherwise, you really could see these various rebel groups, each of which have a different agenda. They are, by no means, united, which was one of the problems we faced in working with the opposition.

I hope that -- that we can try and do something to ensure that -- that there is stability and that we don't see civilians harmed.

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN HOST: Hagar, Josh, thank you so much to both of you. We'll continue the conversation here in the coming weeks and beyond.

We do continue to follow some breaking news. New York City Mayor Eric Adams will hold a press conference where he's expected to address the arrest of a man in connection with the fatal shooting of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson. We're going to bring you his remarks live. Stay with CNN.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[13:36:21]

KEILAR: We are continuing to follow breaking news. You're looking at a live shot here where we are waiting on New York City Mayor Eric Adams, who will be holding a press conference where he is expected to address the arrest of a man in connection with the fatal shooting of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson.

We're going to bring you those remarks as soon as they begin.

BORIS SANCHEZ, CNN HOST: CNN's John Miller has been tracking the story since it took place. He joins us now.

And I know, John, you've been on the phone with sources trying to get more information. What's the latest that you're hearing after this person was arrested at a McDonald's in Altoona, Pennsylvania, believed to potentially be connected to this case.

JOHN MILLER, CNN CHIEF LAW ENFORCEMENT & INTELLIGENCE ANALYST: Well, just, literally, a few minutes ago, Altoona police announced that they had taken an individual into custody because of a 911 call coming from a McDonald's from an employee.

She told police that there was an individual there who fit the description of the person who was pictured in those fliers from New York City as someone suspected in that murder.

Police responded. They engaged with the individual who was in McDonald's. Upon questioning him and going through his things.

They allegedly found a gun with a silencer, some documents that are being examined that relate to the health care industry, dissatisfaction about capitalism, profiteering, and references to violence.

And he is being held. NYPD detectives are in route if they are not there already. And we are waiting for the mayor, the police commissioner, the chief of detectives and others to give us a briefing on how all this came to pass and whether or not he will be charged in this New York case.

Which will be something that the district attorney of Manhattan will have to work through, based on the evidence that they get from the police in Pennsylvania and how that and evidence from this individual may match to the evidence recovered from this crime scene last Wednesday in this incredible, brazen murder of one of the nation's top executives.

KEILAR: And I do want to ask you, what are the details we know about how this transpired.

I do just want to note for our viewers, you are looking there at what will be shortly beginning a press conference by New York City Mayor Eric McAdams (sic).

John, I mean, do we know, was this an employee who was taking his order? Did he go and sit down after he ordered food? How did -- how did this kind of -- and then you may not know all the details because I know a lot of it you're just getting your arms around.

What did this play out like? Did police have time because he was sitting there?

MILLER: So the story and the details are coming together. And Brianna and Boris, you know, you all know this, because you do this for a living. The details that come rushing in often change and adjust.

But here's what we have now, which is that the call comes from the McDonald's employee, who says this person fits the description, and that's what gets police coming there.

There is some reporting that the McDonald's employee was approached by a customer who said that individual sitting there looks like the person in the picture. They compared notes and the call was made.

It's interesting. I mean, when we -- when we figure out exactly what the case is, it will be relevant because there's a $50,000 reward, which may go to the person who actually spotted them if -- if that's the employee or the customer.

(CROSSTALK)

KEILAR: John, so sorry to interrupt you.

(CROSSTALK)

KEILAR: These are obviously key details we're interested in.

Let's listen to the mayor.

[13:40:01]

MAYOR ERIC ADAMS (D-NY): Good afternoon. And I'm joined here today by our chief of detectives and the police commissioner and chief of department because we have a strong person of interest in the shooting that shook our city last week.

CEO Brian Thompson of UnitedHealthcare was the victim of a senseless act of violence. Our officers have been working around the clock, many of them did not

go home, to pursue this individual. It was crucial that we were able to remove him off the streets of America. And we were going to seek him out, no matter -- no matter where he was at the time.

And so this is a strong person of interest. The police commissioner and chief of detectives will go over where we are right now in the investigation.

He matches the description of the identification we've been looking for. He's also in possession of several items that we believe will connect him to this incident.

How did we do it? Good old-fashioned police work. The chief of detectives and the police commissioner made the decision to release as much of a photo that we -- that we had at the time.

We sent it across the country and someone, a McDonald's employee, did something we ask every American to do, if you see something, say something. But most importantly, do something. And they did.

And because of that, we believe we have a strong person of interest to deal with this case.

I want to now turn it over to the police commissioner of the city of New York, Commissioner Tisch

JESSICA TISCH, NYPD COMMISSIONER: Thank you, Mayor.

Good afternoon, everyone. Earlier this morning, in Altoona, Pennsylvania, members of the Altoona Police Department arrested Luigi Mangione, a 26-year-old male, on firearms charges.

At this time, he is believed to be our person of interest in the brazen, targeted murder of Brian Thompson, CEO of UnitedHealthcare, last Wednesday in midtown Manhattan.

The suspect was in a McDonald's and was recognized by an employee who then called local police. Responding officers questioned the suspect, who was acting suspiciously and was carrying multiple fraudulent I.D.s, as well as a U.S. passport.

Upon further investigation officers recovered a firearm on his person, as well as a suppressor, both consistent with the weapon used in the murder.

They also recovered clothing, including a mask consistent with those worn by our wanted individual.

Also recovered was a fraudulent New Jersey I.D. matching the I.D. our suspect used to check into his New York City hostel before the shooting incident.

Additionally, officers recovered a handwritten document that speaks to both his motivation and mindset.

NYPD detectives are en route to Pennsylvania as we speak to -- as we seek to interview the subject further.

This apprehension is thanks to the tireless work of the greatest detectives in the world and, of course, the strong relationships we have with our local law enforcement partners on every level, local, state and federal. We all serve the same public safety mission.

And this case, which captured the attention of an entire nation, is another example of how connected we are and how important it is to work together, share information, and pursue every lead.

For just over five days, our NYPD investigators combed through thousands of hours of video, followed up on hundreds of tips and processed every bit of forensic evidence, DNA, fingerprints, I.P. addresses, and so much more to tighten the net.

We deployed drones, K-9 units and scuba divers. We leveraged the domain awareness system, argus cameras, and conducted aviation canvases.

And our detectives also went door to door interviewing potential witnesses and doing the good old-fashioned police work that our investigators are famous for.

This combination of old-school detective work and new-age technology is what led to this result today.

[13:45:03]

And we must also acknowledge the instrumental role the media and the public played in this case. The images that we shared with the public were spread far and wide. And the tips we received led to the recovery of crucial evidence.

We should never underestimate the power of the public to be our eyes and our ears in these investigations.

This is the third time in three weeks that a member of the public has seen something and said something and done something that led to a high-profile arrest, the triple stabbing homicide in Manhattan, the gun-point robberies in queens during which an NYPD officer was shot and now this.

Now the case will continue through the criminal justice process. And while we are proud of today's accomplishment, we must, of course, remember that a family is in mourning. I want to again extend my sympathies to Brian's family, his coworkers, and all who knew him.

Finally, I want to thank the women and men of the NYPD, especially our Detective Bureau personnel, with a strong assist from -- from our intelligence analysts.

We also thank the SAC of the FBI's Criminal investigative Division, Leslie Rodriguez Backschies.

And I want to commend the staff of the Manhattan D.A.'s office, and especially D.A. Alvin Bragg. He has been working with us 24/7 on this case. And I am incredibly grateful for his partnership.

I'll now pass it along to our great chief of detectives, Joe Kenney, who will provide additional information.

Chief?

JOSEPH KENNEDY, NYPD CHIEF OF DETECTIVES: Thank you, Commissioner.

Good afternoon. As the commissioner stated earlier, a male was taken into custody today in Altoona, Pennsylvania, this morning. He has been identified as Luigi Nicholas Mangione. He is a male, 26 years old. He was born and raised in Maryland.

We know he has he has ties to San Francisco, California. And his last known address was Honolulu, Hawaii. He has no prior arrest history in New York.

Members of the NYPD Detective Bureau are currently traveling to Pennsylvania with members of the Manhattan district attorney's office to interview this subject.

This case was brought to a successful conclusion based on the coordinated effort between numerous NYPD units, including the Intelligence and Counterterrorism Bureau, our federal partners at the FBI, the Manhattan district attorney's office and, of course, members of the Altoona Police Department in Pennsylvania.

On Thursday, one day after this crime was committed, the NYPD released a photo of the shooter in this case. This picture was obtained by the NYPD during one of their extensive video canvasses.

We took that photograph and we asked for the public's help in identifying the subject and the public responded. Hundreds of tips began to pour into our hotline. Each tip was investigated thoroughly and we began to release additional photographs as they came into our possession.

The NYPD provided these photos to numerous media outlets. Local, national and international outlets released the photo via television, print, social media and online content.

Luckily, a citizen in Pennsylvania recognized our subject and called local law enforcement. Members of the Altoona Police Department responded to the call. And based on their investigation, they notified the NYPD.

This investigation is still active and ongoing.

Thank you very much.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We're going to take questions on the shooting first and then we'll (INAUDIBLE)

Mark?

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: I had a couple questions about the document that he was found in possession with. Can you go a little bit more in depth about those motivations that you mentioned?

Was that CEO specifically named in that document? Was there anything more about him wanting to go after others? And also, in that document, was there any indication that explains how the level of detail that he went into killing him, like, is there anything else?

KENNEDY: Like I said, that -- that document is currently in the possession of the Altoona Police Department as part of their investigation.

But just from briefly speaking with them, we don't think that there's any specific threats to other people mentioned in that document, but it does seem that he has some -- some ill will toward corporate America.

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Over here, sir.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And, Jay?

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Chief, was the suspect wearing a mask at the time he was spotted in the McDonald's? And also, criminal cases often have a linchpin. Can you point to a single linchpin that helped crack this case?

KENNEDY: There's numerous linchpins in this case in the fact that we've recovered an enormous amount of forensic evidence, an enormous amount of video. And once again, with your help and the public's help.

So I couldn't -- I really couldn't put it on one thing. But if I had to, it would be the release of that photograph from the media.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Dean?

[13:50:00]

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Are you -- you said you had a passport on him. Do you believe he was trying to flee the country? And also, are you still looking for any evidence in Central Park in regard to the bike?

KENNEDY: We had divers in the water yesterday. That came up negative results. The passport, we don't believe that he was planning on doing any traveling at this time. We don't think he -- at this point, in our investigation, we don't think he was trying to flee the country.

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: The person at the McDonald's, were they buying food? What were they doing at that exact moment?

KENNEDY: It was an employee at the McDonald's.

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: But what was the suspect doing?

KENNEDY: He was sitting there eating.

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Will the suspect be brought back to New York and charged here and what? KENNEDY: We're going to have to work that out with the Manhattan district attorney's office in Altoona, Pennsylvania. He's going to be facing gun charges there.

And at some point, we'll work out, through extradition, to bring him back to New York to face charges here, working with the Manhattan district attorney's office.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Aneeta?

ANEETA BHOLE, CITY HALL REPORTER, "THE NEW YORK POST": Hi. Aneeta, from "The New York Post."

I was just hoping to get more details on the capture itself. Did he put up a fight? Did he say anything to cops?

And we've also reported that he published online anti-health-care industry rantings. Can you share with us some of the services that he posted on?

KENNEDY: We're still working through his social media. We're going to do a complete scrub of that.

Preliminarily, like I said, he seems that he has some ill will toward corporate America, but that will all come out as part of our investigation.

We're not done here. We're still going to be putting this together. We're still going to be working very hard to bring this to a successful conclusion.

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: And then the capture itself, what -- did he put up a fight? Did he say anything to police?

KENNEDY: I don't have that information.

Jane Akre?

JANE AKRA, JOURNALIST: Oh, sorry.

Can you elaborate on how he got there? The path he took from port authority and on the George Washington Bridge to Altoona, P.A.?

KENNEDY: Same thing. That's -- this just happened this morning. We'll be working, backtracking his -- his steps from New York to Altoona, Pennsylvania.

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: I was going to ask if we knew anything, if he took a bus to Pennsylvania, Philadelphia first, and then somehow got to Altoona.

KENNEDY: We're still working on that. We're still working through that.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Brittany? UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Is there any indication that anybody else was helping him from the inside? You know, as far as tracking the CEOs movements?

KENNEDY: Once again, we're still working this investigation very hard. It's not at its conclusion yet. That could come out during our investigation. But as of right now, we have no indication that that took place.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (INAUDIBLE)

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Chief, did he have any weapons or anything like that with him when he was arrested?

KENNEDY: He was in possession of a ghost gun that had the capability of firing a .9-millimeter round and a suppressor.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Joe?

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Can you get into a little bit about the technical aspects of the investigation? I know you deployed an unprecedented amount of technology. You also activated the Sentry Program through Intel.

Can you talk about how that is going to play into actually building the case as far as cell phone and all of the other technical aspects of what you've done in this.

KENNEDY: In this case, it really came down to technology, was the use of drones in Central Park and really comes down to the -- to the video canvass that we did.

We used every source of video that we could collect, hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of hours from hundreds of sources. And that helped bring this to where we are right now.

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Chief, the gun is -- is it believed to be the gun used in the shooting? And can -- there was some talk that it was a veterinarian type gun. Is that accurate?

KENNEDY: So right now, the information we're getting from Altoona is that the gun appears to be a ghost gun. May have been made on a 3-D printer. The capability of firing a .9-millimeter round. Obviously, that will come out during our ballistics testing.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Oliver?

OLIVER BARNES, CORRESPONDENT, "THE FINANCIAL TIMES": Yes. Oliver Barnes from "The Financial Times."

Do you have any indication how long this, like handwritten -- is it handwritten manifesto that you found on the suspect? And then also whether or not he put it online at all?

KENNEDY: Don't know if it's online. As of right now, it's a handwritten three-page document. UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (INAUDIBLE)

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Chief, does he have ties to that area? And was he someone who you knew by name before his arrest?

KENNEDY: We believe he may have attended college in Pennsylvania. But like I said earlier, he has ties to Maryland and California and Hawaii.

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: And, you know, we -- name before today, was his name on your radar?

KENNEDY: Excuse me?

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Was his name on your radar? Was he someone who you had been looking into before he was arrested?

KENNEDY: No. We did not have his name prior to today.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (INAUDIBLE)

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Hi. Does he have any prior arrests not only in New York City but anywhere else --

KENNEDY: I know there were none for New York City.

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: But is there any prior anywhere else in the country?

KENNEDY: We have not come across any arrests in the country.

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: I just -- Chief, hi, how are you?

On two things. On the ghost gun, is it something you're going to be looking into to see if he made it himself? And can he make that himself, or is that -- would he have to buy the gun the way it was?

KENNEDY: No. Once, again, that'll be part of our investigation as we follow up.

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: I mean, obviously, he's going to face murder charges, but is there any chance that he could face any other charges because of he was targeting a -- you know, the CEO and because of his writings and other things that we're now finding on him?

(CROSSTALK)

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: That federal charges or --

KENNEDY: That determination will be made by Alvin Bragg.

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: What connections does he have in Pennsylvania that you know of? Are they in Altoona specifically?

[13:55:02]

KENNEDY: We believe he attended college in Pennsylvania.

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Does he know anybody in Pennsylvania?

KENNEDY: I wouldn't be able to tell you that.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: All right. We're going to take one more question from -- (INAUDIBLE) -- and then we're going to go.

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: If there -- what -- you talk about the manifesto having said things against corporations, but specifically UnitedHealthcare? And do you believe that Mangione acted alone?

KENNEDY: We believe, at this point, our investigation is leaning toward he was acting alone.

Like I stated earlier, we're still -- we're still working through the investigation. We're not stopping today.

And as far -- as far as the manifesto, like I said, I don't have the complete details of that. It's in the possession of the Altoona Police Department.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We're going to shift to (INAUDIBLE)

ADAMS: Good job, Chief, Commissioner, Chief Maggie (ph).

Yes, sir. Again, great job by the New York City Police Department. And certain aspects of this investigation and the crime itself is something that we have been zeroing in on, ghost guns.

We have really talked about this since the beginning of the administration. They can be made on a 3-D printer, and they are extremely dangerous. And we must do more on the federal level to clamp down on the availability of ghost guns.

And it just really leads into just the top areas of what we did last week and what we're doing this week. This week is all about public safety.

Public safety, I've stated over and over again, it's a prerequisite to our prosperity, and we're going to continue to make this city a safe city, the safest big city in America.

But any time you have a crime of this magnitude, it shocks us. And it really has a major impact on the perception of crime in this city.

This -- crime has continued to go down. We're going to continue to do what's needed.

Today, we announced in Every Block Count Initiative and the blocks that we identified since October, they have not had one shooting or one shots fire job that came over.

We're going to add that onto our Community Link Operation. That has resulted in over 1000 operations in over 700 complaints resolved, nearly 16,000 -- SANCHEZ: We've been listening to officials in New York delivering

major breaking news. A strong person of interest has been arrested in the shooting of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson.

Officials today announcing that they believe the person on your screen may be Luigi Mangione, a 26-year-old, who was recognized by a McDonald's employee in Pennsylvania, some 275 miles away from New York City.

Mangione, apparently, was acting suspiciously, according to officials. He had multiple I.D.s on him, his passport, masks like those seen worn by the shooter who was captured on security footage, as well as multiple fake I.D.s, including one that they believe was used to gain access to the hostel where the shooter is believed to have stayed.

As well as some handwritten notes, speaking to mindset and motivation, as officials in New York described it. Apparently, showing some ill will toward corporate America.

A lot of questions still to be answered, but now we've learned that Luigi Mangione is who officials believe was behind the shooting of the UnitedHealthcare CEO.

KEILAR: And Shimon Prokupecz was there in that press conference.

Shimon, we learned a lot. Of course, there are still a lot of questions.

SHIMON PROKUPECZ, CNN SENIOR CRIME & JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT: A lot. Well, yes, I mean, you know, ultimately, well hear of an arrest once they can directly link whether it's the weapon that they found on him or his fingerprint that they have recovered at the scene or the DNA.

And that should be done fairly quickly. So perhaps, maybe with technology and stuff, by tonight, maybe we should have word of an arrest.

But I do want -- a couple of things that we're very significant in this press conference. Number one, the ghost gun. I mean, that has been a significant issue for law enforcement all across the country. Very difficult to trace.

You heard the mayor there speak about the fact that it's possible that he put this weapon together himself off of 3-D printers. The chief of detectives said that is something that they will be looking into.

[13:59:58]

The other thing, I found it very interesting, is that he was simply caught while in a McDonald's. The chief said that he was eating when an employee spotted him, and then obviously it set off the chain of events where the person luckily called 911 and the local Altoona police responded.

But from everything that we've been told and from this press conference, the police have a --