McDonald’s Employee Called 911 After Seeing United Healthcare CEO Shooting Suspect: ‘The Real Hero’

Mar. 15, 2025

Luigi Mangione.Photo:Luigi Mangione/Facebook

Luigi Mangione/Facebook

Mangione was arrested five days afterthe fatal shooting of UnitedHealthcare CEOBrian Thompsonin front of the Hilton Hotel in Midtown Manhattan on Wednesday, Dec. 4.

Mangione was detainedat a McDonald’s in Altoona, Pa., on Monday, Dec. 9, after a customer told an employee that they spotted him eating. The employee then notified the police. He has been labeled a “person of interest” in the shooting and has already been charged with multiple lesser offenses.

Luigi Mangione.Luigi Mangione/Facebook

“Brian Thompson was a father to two. He was a husband. And he was a friend to many. And yes he was the CEO of a health insurance company,” Shapiro said during apress conferencehours after Mangione’s arrest.

“In America, we do not kill people in cold blood to resolve policy differences or express a viewpoint… in a civil society, we are all less safe when ideologues engage in vigilante justice,” he continued. “In some dark corners, this killer is being hailed as a hero. Hear me on this: he is no hero.”

“The real hero in this story is the person who called 911 at McDonald’s this morning,” Shapiro continued. “Real heroes every day in our society are the women and men who put on uniforms like these and go out in our communities to keep us safe. This killer is not a hero. He should not be hailed [as one].”

UnitedHealth Group

WhenMangione was detained, he was allegedly found in possession of a 9mm “ghost gun” similar to that used to shoot Thompson, multiple fake IDs, anda 3-page manifestocritical of the health insurance industry, per New York and Altoona police.

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Mangione was arraigned in a Hollidaysburg, Pa., courthouse. He was ordered held without bond and is due back in court on Dec. 23. He is charged with one felony count of forgery, one felony count of carrying afirearm without a license, one misdemeanor count of tampering with records or identification, one misdemeanor count of possessing instruments of a crime and one misdemeanor count of false identification to law enforcement authorities.

source: people.com