NEW YORK — As police learn more about Luigi Mangione, the man accused of killing UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompsona witness says he saw the suspect at a McDonald’s in Altoona, PA on Monday.
The witness, named Larry, said he didn’t know it was Mangione, but his friends did pointed out the similarity to the person of interest at the time. He said they are regulars at the restaurant located about 300 miles away from the crime scene in Manhattan.
“A guy came in and I didn’t really look at him. I thought everyone was joking. That one guy said, ‘That looks like the New York shooter,'” said Larry, who declined to give his last word give. name, said Ali Bauman of CBS News New York. “We just went about our business, but we were joking about it, guys, wouldn’t that be something?”
The man said Mangione placed his order and then walked to the back of the fast food restaurant. Photos from Pennsylvania State Police show the suspect eating what appears to be a potato wedge with his mask down.
“I went to the restroom and he was sitting in the back. But I thought it was one of the employees because they go there during recess and put their hood up, and he was sitting in the corner with his hood up,” Larry said.
“‘He’s the man from New York'”
Pennsylvania State Police/X
Larry said his friend, who noticed the similarity, said the suspect was wearing a backpack and had his hood up.
“He said it looked almost identical, but he said, ‘I didn’t get a good look at the front of him,’ he said it was more of a side view,” Larry said.
He said a worker who took the suspect’s order also recognized him.
“She said between his eyes and his eyebrows, ‘When I took his order, it was like’ she had in her mind, ‘Oh my God, he’s that guy from New York,’” he said.
Larry added that he was not there when police took Mangione into custody.
“I left and went to church, but then I heard, ‘Oh my God, they arrested this guy at McDonald’s.’ So then I came back,” he said.
He said he was not the one who alerted staff to call police, but he was later interviewed by investigators.
“It’s unbelievable. I kept thinking about it all day yesterday, how can that be? Here we are in this little town, and you just don’t know, you never know, I guess,” he said. “I guess I’m a little surprised, because of where we are right now. But I’m not really surprised, just the way the world is right now, pretty crazy.”
Mangione was taken into custody at McDonald’s And later charged with murder in Thompson’s murder last week outside a New York City hotel. The 26 year old is now pending extradition to New York.
McDonald’s has since hired private security after employees alerted police they worry about their safety. Altoona police have received multiple emails and phone calls since the arrest, including death threats.
Ali Bauman
