How a Photographer Got Top Reuters Photo of Murder Suspect Luigi Mangione in Just 7 Seconds
Photographers waited hours — in cold rainy weather — for murder suspect Luigi Mangione to appear at the Blair County Courthouse in Hollidaysburg, Pennsylvania.
Among the anxious media group on December 10 was freelancer Matthew Hatcher from Philadelphia, on assignment for Reuters.
“This was my first perp-walk shoot,” he says. “I got the shot. He (Mangione) was in my view for about seven seconds.”
Reuters “Pictures of the Day” gallery on December 11, 2024, led with Hatcher’s photo of Mangione arriving at the courthouse for an extradition hearing.
In this article, Hatcher shares how he prepared for this high-pressure assignment, the equipment he used, how he filed, and advice for others assigned to document perp walks with global interest.
Equipment
Hatcher used a Nikon D5 and a Nikon 80-400mm lens.
“I had the D5 set to Continuous High, and the ISO turned up,” he says. “We were waiting outside for several hours. Every 15 minutes or so I would recheck my settings to make sure I was exposed for the lighting.”
As Hatcher was photographing, he was sending photos directly from his camera to the Reuters desk via a wireless transmitter.
Positioning to Get the Shot
“I positioned and repositioned several times and found myself squatting down facing exactly where he (Mangione) would be led into the courthouse,” Hatcher recalls. “When police took him out of the car, I focused on the top of his head. I couldn’t see his face as it was obstructed.”
“He began yelling and I started firing off frames. As he yelled something, the police rushed him and threw him against a wall and he yelled again. I held the shutter and that was when I got the shot.”
The Assignment
Reuters called Hatcher on December 9 and sent him to Altoona, Pennsylvania, because a suspect had been arrested there in the shooting death of United Healthcare CEO Brian Thompson in Manhattan. Hatcher left quickly, driving four hours from Philadelphia to the central part of the state.
Hatcher stopped by the Altoona police station, photographed the governor, police officials, and the McDonalds where Mangione was arrested. Hatcher relocated to Hollidaysburg, home of the county courthouse 6+ miles from Altoona, to wait for Mangione the next day.
“My editor made it clear that the main priority of the assignment was to get a picture of Mangione,” said Hatcher.
(On December 23, Mangione pleaded not guilty to New York state charges of killing CEO Thompson.)
Were the Media Contentious or Collaborative?
Both.
“There were about 50 of us, so there was some shoving and jostling as we attempted to get a good position,” Hatcher explains. “Other journalists were a huge help in knowing what was going on as the news was coming out.”
Getty Images assigned Pittsburgh-based photojournalist Jeff Swensen to cover suspect Mangione at the courthouse in Hollidaysburg on December 10. In PetaPixel (December 5), Swensen explained how he photographed the lake-effect snow dump in Erie, Pennsylvania.
Credentials
Hatcher has freelanced full-time since 2017 after working for newspapers in Indiana and Ohio. Since 2019, he covered the war between Ukraine and Russia; he taught himself Ukrainian. Hatcher is Class of 2013 Ohio University, School of Visual Communication.
Tips for Others
“When it comes to shooting (a high-pressure perp walk), the best thing you can do is play out how you think it’s going to go, what picture you want, what lens would be best, what you’ll do if it doesn’t go your way, and make sure you have your setting right,” Hatcher says.
Further, he says other media are a resource and his editor was helpful is explaining how these types of scenarios typically play out.
Image credits: Reuters / Matthew Hatcher
About the author: Ken Klein lives in Silver Spring, Maryland; he is retired after a career in politics, lobbying, and media including The Associated Press and Gannett in Florida. Klein is an alumnus of Ohio University and a member of the Dean’s Advisory Council of the Scripps College of Communication. Professionally, he has worked for Fort Myers News-Press (Gannett), The Associated Press (Tallahassee), Senator Bob Graham, and the Outdoor Advertising Association of America (OAAA).
