Luigi Mangione has been charged with first-degree murder in the killing of health care official Brian Thompson last month, New York District Attorney Alvin Bragg said Tuesday.
Mr. Mangione has been charged with one count of murder, and two counts of murder, one of which counts murder as an act of terrorism, Bragg said.
Announcing the charges, Bragg called the shooting a “horrific, well-planned and targeted murder”.
Mr Mangione is expected to appear in court on December 19 to determine whether he will be extradited to New York on the charges, according to the BBC’s media partner CBS News.
The extradition process will be held on the same day he is scheduled to sit for trial on gun-related charges in Pennsylvania.
Mr. Mangione was arrested at a McDonalds in Altoona, Pennsylvania, with a ghost gun and a fake ID, police said, five days after the alleged shooting death of health officer Brian Thompson on Dec. 4.
His lawyer, Thomas Dickey, said he plans to fight the recall and says he has yet to see evidence linking Mr Mangione’s gun to the case.
Prosecutors in New York began sharing evidence in their case against Mr. Mangione with a grand jury last week.
Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg suggested that Mr. Mangione may withdraw his extradition, meaning his arrival in New York would be imminent, according to CBS News.
If released, the 26-year-old is likely to be held at Riker’s Island or another New York prison.
Evidence against Mr. Mangione includes good match between his fingerprints and those found at the scene, said NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch.
In addition to the ghost gun – a gun that had been assembled from untraceable parts – and a fake ID, police said they found a passport and a handwritten note showing Mr Mangione’s “intent and mindset” when he was arrested.
He was charged in Pennsylvania with forgery, carrying a firearm without a license, tampering with records or identification, possession of criminal paraphernalia and providing false information to police.
While Mr. Mangione awaits his fate in the New York court system, he remains under maximum security at the Huntingdon State Correctional Institution in Huntingdon County, Pennsylvania.
He was denied bail.
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