The 26-year-old Ivy League graduate, Luigi Mangione, began visibly shaking when police approached him and asked if he had been to New York City recently, according to a criminal complaint filed Monday, as reported by the New York Post.
The prime suspect in the murder of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, was arrested at a McDonald’s in Altoona, Pennsylvania, after a customer recognized him from surveillance footage.
Mangione was sitting alone at a table in the fast food restaurant, wearing a face mask and a beanie, when he was identified. A fellow customer, who recognized Mangione from media coverage, alerted a McDonald’s employee, who immediately called the police just before 9:15 am.
Officers arrived to find Mangione, who seemed anxious and unresponsive when questioned about his potential ties to New York, as reported by the Post.
“When the officers asked him if he had been in New York recently, the suspect became quiet and started shaking,” Altoona deputy chief of police Derek Swope. “That reaction spoke volumes about his state of alarm.”
Searches of his backpack revealed chilling evidence: A 3D-printed pistol, a silencer, and a loaded magazine with six rounds. Mangione had used a fake New Jersey ID to check into a Manhattan hostel.
Mangione now faces multiple charges, including forgery, firearms offenses, and providing false identification. After being arraigned in court Monday night, he was ordered held without bail.
But while Mangione’s arrest marks a significant breakthrough in the case, the online response has been far from celebratory. Some social media users have taken to bashing the tipster, calling the alerting employee a “snitch” and even making threats. “To the stupid b–h that ratted out my baby Luigi Mangione…you will be dealt with,” one post read, accompanied by a violent meme.
The backlash didn’t stop there. Supporters of Mangione have rallied online, with some calling for a boycott of local McDonald’s locations in protest of the arrest. “Out of solidarity, I will be boycotting all McDonald’s in the area,” one Reddit user proclaimed. Even memes mocking the situation flooded online, with one joking that the McRib’s return was what “took him down.”
