♪♪ good day. i'm chris jansing live at msnbc headquarters in new york city. could this be the break they've

been waiting for? senior officials tell nbc news police are questioning a man in pennsylvania who had a gun similar to the one used in the murder of a prominent ceo in manhattan. we have the very latest coming up in a minute. plus, a brutal dictatorship ends, but what comes next for the syrian people, more jubilation on the streets. finally free from a regime that ruled with brutality more than half a century. the possibilities and pitfalls ahead for them, and the challenges for the u.s. as it tries to keep that country from slipping into chaos. and free to go. a jury finds daniel penny not guilty in the choke hold death of a homeless man on a new york city subway. a case that polarized residents across the city and nation. the reaction from inside and outside the courtroom coming up. we begin with that significant breaking news on the manhunt that has gripped the nation. a man is now being questioned in connection to the fatal shooting

of unitedhealthcare ceo brian thompson. authority says the map was spotted inside a mcdonald's looking suspicious. customers called police, according to three senior officials. two senior officials say once he was at the police station officers found not only a similar weapon but a silencer and a fake new jersey i.d. this possible breakthrough coming on day six of the manhunt and on the same day as a source tells us loved ones are gathering at thompson's private funeral. it follows an intense weekend for investigators. the nypd sub ba team has been in the pond, one of the most elite diving teams in the world trained to recover evidence in the murkiest of waters, a backpack was recovered in central park with a jacket and monopoly money inside and police dogs had been searching numerous locations for the gun used to kill thompson. the question now in altoona is, do they now have it. nbc's sam brock reports from new

york city. joining us, msnbc national security analyst and former fbi special agent clint watts, law enforcement analyst and former law enforcement executive cred brick alexander and nbc news national law enforcement and intelligence correspondent tom winter, with me here in studio. what's the very latest you're hearing from your sources? >> sure. so again, this person has not been charged with anything. they are in custody purely for investigative purposes. five senior law enforcement officials are telling us when he checked into the hostel on the upper west side of new york city he used a fake i.d. from new jersey and the name was mark mezero. when taken into custody and searched his backpack in person they found a fake i.d. also from new jersey with the name mark rosario. some of the details in this case are starting to line up some of the details we've been aware of

in the investigation prior to this point. but, obviously, still more work needs to be done with respect to the weapon, with respect to other information. he appears to have arrived in altoona from a bus. law enforcement officials say from philadelphia. this comes together because a number of people at the mcdonald's in altoona see this guy -- we've seen his images -- person of interest we've been looking at for the past few days pick up the phone and call police. the specific timing we don't know. the nypd has not announced any sort of briefings this afternoon. that could change. and we need to get some court documents from pennsylvania if this person is charged. but at least some of the information we're hearing seems to sync up with some of the things we've been reporting or heard for the last couple days. ultimately where this goes we'll see. that's a big reason we're not naming this person because if, in fact, it turns out not to be him we don't want to do that for somebody who has no connection with this crime.

detectives believe and nypd detectives are on their way to altoona, pennsylvania, this is a significant update in the case. >> clint, pull back the curtain for us. what is the process of figuring out whether or not they charge this guy, whether they call him a suspect? it's, in fact, what two hours since we first heard about him being brought in, but do they likely already know? >> there's a decent chance they know. i can't stress enough the importance of the weapon. if the weapon which they had not recovered up to this point and the divers didn't find over the weekend is in that individual's backpack, that's a key piece of evidence because it is unique to the crime scene. any of the bullets that were recovered and the casings that were recovered would match to that weapon most likely. there would be markings. every barrel has a very specific way that it hits. every hammer that strikes a shell has a very specific marking. that would be that key piece of evidence that they can match together. that takes time to do. separately as tom also said, the

fictitious name if it matches, also key and ka probably just get to the point where you might be able to arrest him for further questioning or at least as being involved in it. that is another key piece of evidence. and then tracking out the location, the transit from the bus. remember they lost track of him at the bus station up towards the george washington bridge, but one of the routes that was there was to philadelphia as tom noted. putting all of that together some circumstantial, but the one key piece of it i would imagine would be that weapon, that handgun is unique not just in terms of its actual technical markings, the forensics that would be left there, but also in terms of as tom said the silencer mechanism on it, not something you commonly find. >> let me ask you this, tom, i thought earlier on i think friday when police had a press conference and said the weapon was likely a veterinary gun, the kind to euthanize animals. are they traceable in the same

way, first of all, do we know that that is -- still holds and are they traceable the way a hand fwoon or an ar-15 would be? >> that was the belief coming into today. depending upon what comes out of this investigation, and i'm being a little bit cryptic because we're trying to make sure we have all of our information together, the gun will very closely match in visual description what was allegedly used last week. the question becomes, do we have a ballistics match. i think that's something that's going to take a little bit of time, but i think that's something that is -- would be helpful as far as bringing this case. >> exactly what clint was talking about too the markings and so on. sam, what else are we hearing from nypd? >> sure. so nypd as tom mentioned a second ago doesn't have a scheduled press conference right now. obviously, that could change. what is interesting is that mayor adams has a scheduled 30 weekly media availability which as far as we understand is still on, which is to say in about 20 or 30 minutes we may be hearing directly from the mayor. over the weekend, chris, he said

that the net was tightening. he felt confident this situation was going to be coming to a close and shortly. one of the big questions in all of this was how could you flood the public with images of this person, you know, of interest, the suspect, depending on which angle you are looking at it. a couple days ago we saw the video with no mask at all coming from a hostel and pictures from the taxicab wearing a surgical mask and all efforts to try to find the firearm that clint was speaking to. what are the odds and coincidences between a fake i.d. used at a hostel that is new jersey based and according to tom with the same name and the chief of detectives over the weekend said was an unusual weapon, larger than normal. they were examining whether it might be a veterinary type gun. we are expected to hear from

mayor adams within the next 15 or 20 minutes and see what he has to say. >> okay. i didn't realize that was coming up quickly. cedric, talk about the break before the possible break. right. so, obviously, nypd has been talking every single day getting these pictures out there. but the one that was so critical is the one that's full faced. it may have been as simple as the report is, at that hostel, he was flirting with a girl behind the desk, pulled his mask down, smiled at her, and again, we don't know, we don't want to get ahead of what the reporting is, but it certainly gives people who are looking at someone who is acting suspiciously, a much better idea of what someone might look like than someone with a mask, cedric. >> yeah. that's true. and certainly there's some pretty clear vivid images here of this subject that appear now to be matching up with the

person that they have in custody. not only in terms of the photos themselves, but also what you heard from both clint and tom, much of the physical evidence that's being gathered at this very moment, we've heard about two or three days ago, they appeared to be in possession of. this is going to determine, quick frankly, through ballistic testing. one thing i am certain ability in a case that's as high-profile as this one, nypd and all the supporting agencies are going to make sure before they announce anything beyond what they have right now, that they have the right person and have the evidence that they need in order to report that. because remember, everything's got to be done right in this case because this case, should it be him, should it be him, still has to go to trial. >> how quickly could they run ballistics, clint? >> it would seem like they would accelerate it in this case. it does take some time, though. you're going to have to physically take the weapon,

physically take some of those rounds and usually they will fire it into essentially like a water tank or testing thing to get another round to do the ballistic matching. it depends on the facility locations. for example, fbi crime lab has that kind of thing. new york nypd i would imagine would have something similar. there could be other locations between pennsylvania and here that might be able to do it as well. it could take i would imagine a few hours to come to that conclusion, but it may be tomorrow by the time they can confirm it and feel comfortable with that assessment. >> so, tom, what questions would investigators be asking and who would take the lead in questioning this person of interest? >> well, of course, we have the miranda warning, so this individual has rights. they may choose to invoke their rights as far as not -- >> want a lawyer. >> exactly. all those things. so there's that. at some point the nypd will want to speak to him and as we've

been reporting they are on their way if not already to altoona, pennsylvania. that's the big question. will he speak and what was found on his person that might point to motive. >> let me ask you finally, cedric, about coordination. you have the local police who were presumably the first ones who were called when, you know, people thought oh, there's somebody suspicious in the mcdonald's. you have the nypd and the fbi. what's coordination like right now? >> well n , in a case like this these agencies are not working with each other for the first time and they've been working with each other for years and have relationships with each other. they know how to go into these investigations particularly if they're high-profile cases such as this one. so nypd very well may take the lead. it happened in their jurisdiction. but they will be supported, of course, by atf that we talked about and the fbi and all other

agencies even all the way down to atlanta where they have been working with them as well which they think may have been a point of origin for this subject. >> sam brock, tom winter, clint watt, cedric alexander, thank you so much. coming up after the break, the post-assad era begins in syria but what does that mean for the united states and the 900 u.s. troops in the country? former director of the cia john brennan joins us in 90s seconds. and get a samsung galaxy s24+, on us, with circle to search. even if your phone is old or dated, you can turn it in at verizon for gifts for you and the family. for a limited time get galaxy s24+, watch and tab. all three on us. that's up to $1,900 in value. survive the holidays with samsung. powered by verizon. eggs make all our family moments better. especially when they're eggland's best.

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today in syria the stunning fall of president bashar al assad after a quarter century of brutality has changed the makeup of the middle east providing both an opportunity and a risk for the u.s. take a look at these pictures out of damascus this morning. crowds with a giant syrian flag underscoring the momentous opportunity for them to chart their country's future without assad. but the situation also threatens to add new instability to a region that has seen more than its fair share of volatility. president biden is expressing qualified support for the militants and rebels who ultimately forced assad out while keeping an extremely close eye on how things will unfold. >> make no mistake some of the rebel groups that took down assad have their own grim record

of human rights abuses. it would be a waste of this historic opportunity if one tyrant was toppled only to see a new one rise in its place. for the moment the fall of assad's brutal and bloody regime is giving way to a sweeping sense of hope and celebration with crowds toppling assad statutes, cheering and waving flags in the streets. here's how one father described what this moment means to him. >> now i can understand that my children will not be raised under oppression. we're free syria. we are free people. >> i want to bring in matt bradley in beirut, lebanon, along syria's western border. with me john brennan, former cia director and msnbc senior national security and intelligence analyst. michael cowly, diplomatic correspondent for the "new york

times." matt, give us a sense of what's happening in syria on this first full day of the post-assad era. >> yeah. you are seeing this in your introduction with the comments from the father. you know, it's just ecstatic sensations going on in damascus but also mixed with a lot of anxiety, a lot of people not necessarily sure about what's going to happen next. not necessarily sure about this abu mohammad al jolani who is now going by ahmad al shara. the leader of hayat tahrir al sham the group that took over with the help of allies took over the regime of bashar al assad and bounced him out of the country in such a quick, quick turnaround. that was really astonishing both to the regime and rebels themselves. he has this history that's quite mixed. he's a designated terrorist by the united states. he was serving in prisons in iraq where he was a militant against the united states. history of islam is m, some

level of islamic state, stuff he's renounced and wearing the flag of liberalism and inclusivity saying everybody has a place, all the ethnic groups and religions that make up the patchwork of powers within syria they're all going to be welcomed under his broad tent. there's still a lot of conflict, there's still a lot of division, and a lot of people who are not necessarily hearing from all the time not piling out into the streets of damascus and cheering and shooting guns into the air, they are going to be quite anxious about what's to come. as well, diplomats in the west. you heard that quote from president joe biden. there is a lot of celebration, a lot of optimism, but like i was saying, a lot of anxiety going with it because as we saw from the taliban in afghanistan they made a lot of noises about how they were going to be more inclusive, fair to women, you know, less supportive of a hardline, and at the same time now we've seen them going back on all of those promisess. >> thank you so much for that.

director brennan, he makes a really good point, right, so can you explain to folks who these rebels are who are now in charge, the folks that toppled assad, and whether you think they can potentially govern syria going forward without all of the complications and backtracking that happened before? >> chris, i think matt teed it up well. the syrian opposition of the last 14 years has been a diverse constellation of various militias, terrorist groups, other types of gangs and rivals that really over the past 14 years have been fighting among themselves which really undermine the ability to topple assad. jolai has been very effective in terms of trying to bring together as many of these groups as possible under this broad coalition and as pointed out he has moderated his rhetoric over the past number of years and this very quick collapse of the syrian military is being met

with jubilation across syria because bashar al assad was a real ruthless authoritarian leader who killed and tortured so many syrians. i must say when i look at the history of the arab world of leaders, authoritarian leaders who have been toppled, the aftermath has really not been all that good when you think about iraq or yemen or libya, sudan. there's a lot of anxiety because although this coalition was united because they had a common enemy, that enemy now is gone and so the question is whether or not they can govern or they can participate in a governance structure that really is going to address the myriad of problems that the syrian people face because much of their country has been destroyed, the infrastructure destroyed, the economy is awful in shambles and a lot of parts of syria are still ungoverned and as we saw with centcom strikes against isis there is concern that the power vacuum created by the fall of the assad regime is going to

be filled by some of these groups that are going to continue to pursue rather radical and extremist agendas. >> michael, the question becomes is it ungoverned or ungovernable? i think david sanger in your paper said the question moving forward is whether the fall of assad represents liberation -- which, obviously, is the hope of all the people celebrating on the streets -- or simply a prelude to more military action. what will you be watching for? >> well, chris, i think the biggest thing we're going to be watching for is the potential reconstitution of terrorist groups or activities by groups that are now claiming to be more moderate, but maybe still have a terrorist nature that would threaten the u.s., and its allies. i think that's the top priority right now for the united states, is essentially keeping a lid on any sort of activity that could threaten u.s. troops in the region, u.s. nationals in the area or the american homeland.

so you've already seen the biden administration hitting isis really hard out in the desert, partly to ensure that, you know, the isis fighters who still are operating in syria can't take advantage of this moment and move into the cities, maybe seize strategic positions that have oil, weapons, god forbid chemical weapons. that's the top priority. but then you have a bunch of other potential concerns, you know, if you have, you know, new spasms of violence that could push more refugees out of syria. of course we know that the syrian civil war created a refugee crisis throughout a lot -- you could have more waves of refugees if there's new degrees of fighting in the country. israel, what does this mean for israel? are there going to be new threats to israel? on the one hand it's good news for israel that iran has lost its key ally in bashar al assad, but how does it work now? are there new threats from the -- from some of the new groups that have control in the

country and again potentially have access to chemical weapons and you're seeing the israeli conduct strikes. the first order security questions. you have the migration questions. you have instability generally which can ripple through this region. there's a lot to worry about and just in conclusion the officials that i've been talking to and hearing from they have a lot more questions than answers right now. they're really in wait-and-see mode. going to see how this unfolds. but they're very anxious. >> one of the questions, obviously, that's key, director brennan, what the u.s. role in all of this is? donald trump posted a message on social media basically saying the u.s. should stay out of it. is that an option, a viable option? >> well, we're also in this critical transition between the biden administration and the trump administration, so i think the united states, you know, irrespective of the administration in power is going to have to continue to watch carefully because the reverberations of this collapse of the assad regime can affect neighboring states, as pointed out.

israel, jordan, iraq. and so this sunni islamist coalition that's been pulled together and the -- they have relations with isis. they have roots in al qaeda. so there's just a lot of concern. so i don't think the united states wants to get in there and do anything in terms of trying to shape the future at this point, but we also have 900 troops or so in the north as well as in the south of syria trying to ensure that we're able to monitor and to address any further growth of isis elements inside of syria. so the trump administration when it comes in, it's going to have to deal with this. i do think that there's probably going to be a standoff position that donald trump is advocating for, but we cannot just sit back and just watch things collapse if, in fact, this is going to have, again, further ramifications across the region. >> michael, another colleague at the "times," tom friedman, as he often does, summarized some thoughts.

very, very well. he wrote this. attention mr. trump, syria is the keystone of the entire middle east. it just collapsed like a blownup bridge, creating vast new dangers and opportunities that everyone in the region will seize upon and react to. staying out of this is not on the menu, especially when we have several hundred troops stationed in syria. we need to figure out our interests and use the events in syria to drive them because everyone else will be doing just that. the question always, right, and again donald trump is not new to this in the sense of he was president for four years before, but is it an opportunity for someone with more experience and knowledge of the region -- marco rubio who is likely to get confirmed for secretary of state -- to help him do that? again, what do you think the internal white house might be or that folks who are very vested in this and knowledgeable about

it will be looking at? >> wellrs chris, i think you're going to see as the case on a bunch of foreign policy issues, a pretty hot debate within trump's advisory circle and i think it's hard to know how it's going to play out. you mentioned there are people around trump right now, including marco rubio, who have been very hawkish on syria and very committed to the idea that the u.s. should be taking more action to try to shape events there. on the other hand, you know, trump's selection to be director of national intelligence, tulsi gabbard, was somebody who met with bashar al assad, who portrayed the rebels as terrorists and in some cases they are, it's factually true, with a broad brush said the rebels are bad guys, and assad should remain in power. and there are a lot of people around trump who are very noninterventionist who believe the u.s. over extended itself. look at trump's record itself in his first term. i believe his first use of military action when he struck

some syrian chemical weapons sites to punish the use of chemical weapons but trump went on and cut off u.s. support for the syrian rebels. so, you know, it's -- the evidence, the data points are all over the map an it's guesswork at this point and i think there's going to be a feverish argument internally and who knows, it may just be policy by improvisation. we have to wait an see. >> michael crowley, thank you so much. director brennan, you're staying with me. coming up, breaking news the not guilty veshg in rdict in th that divided the nation of daniel penny. the emotional reaction after the verdict came in. rdict came in. who's winning? we are, my friend. we are. ♪ like a relentless weed, moderate to severe ulcerative colitis symptoms can keep coming back. start to break away from uc with tremfya... with rapid relief at 4 weeks.

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we're not getting protections. there should be some type of penalty that should have been handed down. this case has become a fault line in the new york area. who stepped in and protected others in a frightening

situation on public transportation. many new yorkers concerned about their safety in public spaces in recently . . . . others who see this as a story you can't asdisconnect from the racial and social justice movements of history in this country. the tensions have spilled over to those working on the trial as well. the manhattan d.a.'s office released a statement saying they respect the jury's decision but unfortunately over the duration of this trial talented career prosecutors and their family members were besieged with hate and threats by phone over e-mail, simply put this is unacceptable the statement read. it gives you a sense of the amount of pain, anger, confusion, and outrage that this case has sparked, not just in new york, frankly, but around the country as people have watched this story so closely. chris? >> thank you. coming up next, donald trump's comment suggesting that president biden is esright to b thinking about preemptive

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of united health care was the victim of a senseless act of violence. our officers have been work new york city mayor adams after a man in al toon in a was picked up for questioning in the related shooting. let's listen.

>> many of them did not go home to pursue this individual. it was crucial we were able to remove him off the streets of america and we were going to seek him out, no matter where he was at the time. 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 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, most importantly do something, and they did. 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 mission commissioner of the city of new york. commissioner tish. >> thank you, mayor. good afternoon, everyone. earlier this morning in altoona, pennsylvania, members of the altoona police department arrested luigi mangioni. 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 suppresser 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, officer recovered a handwritten document that speaks to both his motivation and mindset. nypd detectives are on 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. 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, k9 units and

scuba divers. we leveraged the domain awareness system, cameras and conducted aviation canvass and our detectives 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 few-age technology is what led to this result today. 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 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 remember a family is in mourning. i want to again extend my sympathies to brian's family, 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 our intelligence analysts. we thank the fbi's criminal investigative division leslie rodriguez, 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'm incredibly grateful for his partnership. i'll now pass it along to our

great chief of detectives who will provide additional information. >> thank you. good afternoon. as the commissioner stated earlier a man taken into custody in altoona, pennsylvania, this morning. he has been identified as luigi nicolas mangioni, 26 years old, born and raised in maryland. 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 evident between numerous nypd units including the intelligence and counterterrorism bureau, 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 canvass. we took that photograph and asked for the public's help in identifying this 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, leased 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 plenty responded to the call and based on their investigation notified the nypd. this investigation is active and ongoing. thank you very much. >> [ inaudible ].

>> 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 you mentioned? was that ceo specifically named in that document? was there anything more about him wanting to go after others? also in that document was there any indication that explains the level of detail he went in to killing him? is there anything -- >> like i said that document is in the possession of the altoona police department as above their investigation. we don't think there's threats to other people mentioned in that document. it does seem he has ill will toward corporate america. >> over here, sir. >> chief, was the suspect wearing a mask at the time he was spotted in the mcdonald's? criminal cases often have a linchpin. can you point to a single linchpin that helped crack this case?

>> 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. if i had to it would be the release of that photograph to the media. >> [ inaudible ] do you believe he was trying to flee the country and are you still looking for any evidence in central park and across? >> we had divers in the water yesterday. the passport we don't believe that he was mapping on doing traveling. at this point in our investigation we don't think he was trying to flee the country. >> were they at the mcdonald's buying food? >> it was an employee at the mcdonald's. >> what was the suspect doing? >> sitting there eating. >> will the suspect be brought back to new york and charged here and when? >> we're going to have to work that out with the manhattan district attorney's office and altoona, pennsylvania.

he's going to be facing gun charges there and at some point we'll work out through extradition to bring him to new york. working with the manhattan district attorney's office. >> "new york post" i was hoping to get more details in 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 rantings. can you share with us some of the services he posted on? >> we're still working through his social media and do a scrub of that. like i said, he seems to have ill will towards corporate america but that will come out as part of our investigation. we're not done here. we're still going to be putting this together, working very hard to bring this to a successful conclusion. >> the capture itself, did he put up a fight or say anything to police? >> i don't have that information. >> can you elaborate on how he got there, the path he took from port authority off the george washington bridge to -- >> same thing. just happened this morning. we'll be backtracking his steps

from new york to altoona, pennsylvania. >> i was going to ask if you knew anything, if he took a bus to philadelphia first and then somehow got to altoona? >> still working through that. >> is there any indication that anybody else was helping him on the inside, you know, as far as tracking the ceo's movements? >> we're still working this investigation very hard. it's not at its conclusion yet. that could come out during our investigation. as of right now we have no indication that took place. >> chief, did he have any weapons. >> he was in possession of a ghost gun that had the capability of firing a .9 millimeter round and a suppresser. >> can you get into a little bit about the technical aspects of the investigation. you deployed an unprecedented amount of technology. you also activated the century program through intel. can you talk about how that's going to play into building the

case as far as cell phone and all of the other technical aspects of what you've done? >> in this case, it came down to technology, the use of drones in central park and really comes down to the video canvas that we did. we used every source of video that we could collect, hundreds and hundreds of hours from hundreds of sources, and that helped bring this to where we are right now. >> the gun is -- is it believed to be the gun he used in the shooting? there was some talk it was a veterinarian type gun. is that accurate? >> no. as of right now the information we're getting from altoona the gun appears to be a ghost gun, may have been made on a 3d printer, firing a .9 millimeter round. that will come out during our ballistics testing. >> do you have any indication how long this like handwritten -- is it a

handwritten manifesto you found on the suspect? and ultimately whether or not he put it online at all? >> don't know if it's online. it's a handwritten three-page document. >> does he have ties to that area and was he someone you knew by name? >> we believe he may have attended college in pennsylvania. he has ties to maryland, california, and hawaii. >> was his name on your radar, someone you had been looking into before his arrest. >> we did not have his name prior to today. >> does he have any prior arrests? is there any prior arrests across the country? >> we have not come across any arrests in the country. >> chief, hi. 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 ef to buy the gun the way it was >> that would be part of our investigation as we follow up. >> and, obviously, he's going to

face murder charges, but is there any chance he could face any other charges because of -- because he was targeting a -- you know, the ceo and because of his writings and other things that we're now finding on him? >> that -- >> federal charges -- >> that determination will be made by alvin bragg. >> yes. what connection does he have in pennsylvania? are they in altoona? >> we believe he attended college in pennsylvania. >> does he know anybody in pennsylvania? >> wouldn't be able to tell you that. >> we'll take one more question. >> you talk about the manifesto having said things against corporations, but specifically unitedhealthcare, and do you believe that he acted alone? >> we believe at this point our investigation is leaning towards he was acting alone. like i stated earlier we're still working through the investigation and not stopping today. 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. >> yep. >> good job, chief. commissioner. chief. manager. oh, okay. again great job by the new york city police department, so aspects of this investigation and the crime itself is something that >> 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 3d printer and they are extremely dangerous and we must do more on the federal level to clamp down on

the availability of ghost guns. it just really leads into the topics 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 is the prerequisite to our prosperity and we're going to make this city -- >> we'll listen in to the new york city mayor. this was something he had previously scheduled, but, of course, the big news, the breaking news, that topped this press conference that otherwise was scheduled, and that is, that police are now questioning what they call a person of interest in the murder on the streets of new york city last wednesday of the unitedhealthcare ceo. he has been identified as 26-year-old luigi mangione with ties to san francisco. no prior arrest record in new york city. but he was sitting in a mcdonald's in altoona,

pennsylvania, about four hours away from manhattan, when an employee spotted him, thought he was acting suspicious, and made a phone call to police. as the mayor pointed out at the top of his comments, there are some critical pieces of information. first of all, the man that they're talking to now who was at the mcdonald's matches the description of the person we have all become familiar with from the photos that you're seeing right there. he also has a connection to several items in his possession. first and foremost, this gun, which you've heard him -- heard officials just talk about which they say was a ghost gun, may have made on a 3d printer, he also had an i.d. with him that matches the ichblgts d. and it's a fake i.d. from new jersey that he used to check into a hostel on the upper west side of manhattan before

the shooting took place, and then this handwritten what we believe is a three-page document that officials say speaks to his motive and mindset which suggests some ill will toward corporate america. this isn't over. this is the very beginning of the questioning that they will have, the more information they will be looking for. we have a lot of folks to talk to about this. senior law enforcement analyst cedric alexander, jim cavanaugh, retired atf special agent in charge, charles coleman, civil rights attorney and msnbc legal analyst, and rob d'amico, a retired fbi agent. rob, you heard it. old-fashioned police work. they went through thousands of hours of video, hundreds of tips, but those thousands of hours of video yielded those pictures that you heard from police offisaying that was

the key, right, getting those pictures out there to the point where you had an employee at a mcdonald's, went to work like any other day in altoona, pennsylvania, and sees someone he thinks, you know, that looks like maybe the guy i saw on television. talk about what we just heard. >> i think the biggest thing is when you lose someone initially out of that tight ring that they're trying to catch him in, then you're going back to the public. you're putting his picture out i think it's really important that they got the picture from the hostel that showed his entire face because it's really tough when you just see someone's eyes and a mask putting that together with someone. i kept saying, you know, it's going to lead to someone just making a phone call and says, this person looks familiar and the police being in a position to act on it. and then once he pulled out a fake i.d. and they brought him in, i'm sure they did then this searchrs the safety search. if you're going to bring someone into your car you're going to search him and that's when they found the gun. the gun leads to everyt