McDonald's employee hailed as a 'hero' for leading police to murder suspect Luigi Mangione

Luigi Mangione, 26, is currently being held without bail in Pennsylvania, as police suspect him of being the shooter who fatally shot UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson in broad daylight outside a midtown Manhattan hotel on December 4.

Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro commended a McDonald's employee for tipping off police about Mangione's location on Monday morning, describing the worker as a "hero."

The 911 caller "saw something early this morning at McDonald's and sent something to our local police," Shapiro stated during a Monday night press conference. "Our local police here in Altoona acted swiftly."

“I want to ask all of our fellow Pennsylvanians to demonstrate the same type of thoughtfulness and courage and smarts as the individual at McDonald’s did this morning and help law enforcement here in Pennsylvania as we continue with our investigation,” Shapiro added.

When reporters sought clarification on whether it was a McDonald's employee or customer who initially recognized Mangione, authorities explained that they believe a customer spotted him first and then informed an employee, who called 911.

Luigi Mangione was apprehended by a rookie police officer who said he was confident they had found the murder suspect “immediately.”

Altoona Police Officer Tyle Frye, who has been on the force for just six months, was one of two officers who responded to the McDonald’s on Monday morning after reports suggested the suspected killer of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson was inside the dining area.

Frye recounted that he and another officer asked the 26-year-old to lower the surgical mask he was wearing and that they “recognized him immediately.”

“We didn’t even think twice about it, we knew that was our guy,” Frye said.

Mangione then presented a fake ID to the officers, which was the same one used by Thompson's killer to check into a New York City hostel before the December 4 assassination.

“It feels good to get a guy like that off the street, especially starting my career this way, it feels great,” Frye added.