A McDonald’s employee is being credited with a breakthrough in the manhunt that followed the murder of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson. A witness for the Pennsylvania outlet, who saw police strip away 26-year-old Luigi Mangione, said subscribers were surprised by the suspect’s resemblance to the images circulated.
The New York Police Department had released photos of the suspect two days earlier – sparking a nationwide manhunt after the murder and making global headlines.
The witness, identified only by his first name, Larry, told the BBC that he had gone to a McDonald’s in downtown Altoona for coffee with about five of his friends. At the outlet, one of his friends talked about the suspect’s appearance – that he was wearing similar clothes to the images circulated by police, but Larry thought he was joking.
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Larry said that when he asked that friend about it the next morning – after the suspect was arrested – he said, “Yeah, I was serious.”
Another restaurant employee Larry spoke to said she noticed the similarity in his “eyes and eyebrows” while noting down his order. He was working on a laptop wearing a mask and cap at that time.
An employee at the fast-food restaurant notified police after another customer recognized the suspect. Mangione, an Ivy League student, was soon arrested by the outlet and charged with the murder of the UnitedHealthcare CEO last night.
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Police found a gun, fake ID, and documents in his possession that showed he had a “malice toward corporate America.” A two-page note found in his possession said, “These parasites were having it.”
When they asked the suspect if he had recently been to New York, he became silent and “started to tremble”.
Thompson was attending an investor conference in New York last week when Mangione approached from behind and fired several rounds in full public view. As Thompson fell to the ground, he fled on foot. Later, he biked to Central Park and boarded a bus.
