A McDonald’s staff is credited with the breakthrough in the manhunt that followed the murder of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson. A witness at the Pennsylvania outlet, who saw the cops swoop away 26-year-old Luigi Mangione, said the customers were struck by the resemblance of the suspect with that of circulated images.
The New York Police Department had released photos of the suspect two days ago – after the killing sparked a nationwide manhunt and made global headlines.
The witness, identified by only his first name Larry, told BBC he had gone to the McDonald’s in Altoona town for coffee with about five of his friends. At the outlet, one of his friends talked about the suspect’s resemblance – that he was wearing similar clothes in the images circulated by the cops, but Larry felt that he was joking.
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Larry said when he asked that friend about it the next morning- after the suspect was arrested – he said, “Yes, I was serious.”
Another restaurant employee, whom Larry spoke to, said he found a similarity with his “eyes and eyebrow” while noting down his order. He was working on a laptop, wearing a mask and a beanie, that time.
A staff at the fast-food restaurant tipped the cops after another customer recognized the suspect. Mangione, who was an Ivy League student, was soon arrested from the outlet and was charged with the UnitedHealthcare CEO’s murder last night.
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The cops found a gun in his possession, fake IDs, and documents that suggested he had “ill will towards corporate America”. “These parasites had it coming,” said a two-page note found with him.
When they asked the suspect if he had been to New York recently, he became quiet and “started to shake”.
Thompson was attending an investors’ conference in New York last week when Mangione came from behind and fired multiple rounds in full public view. As Thompson collapsed to the ground, he fled on foot. Later, he took a bike to Central Park and boarded a bus.
