Luigi Mangione Was Busted in a McDonald's While Eating a Hash Brown — Here's How He Got Caught

United HealthCare CEO Brian Thompson was fatally shot Dec. 4, 2024, while walking to his company's annual investor conference. The incident occurred on the streets of Midtown Manhattan and became an instant source of fascination for all of social media. Still images from closed-circuit television (CCTV) and other surveillance footage showed a masked individual shooting Thompson in the back.

A suspect was arrested on Dec. 9 at a McDonald's in Altoona, Pa. He was later identified as 26-year-old Luigi Mangione, a former data engineer originally from Towson, Md. During the five days that Mangione was allegedly on the run, social media grew increasingly more obsessed with him. This was almost entirely based on his physical appearance. There is no other way to put this: A lot of people think he's pretty good-looking. How was Mangione caught? Here's what we know.

According to NPR, the New York Police Department offered a $10,000 reward for information leading to the suspect's arrest and conviction. The FBI was willing to shell out $50,000 for the same. It's worth noting that a conviction has to happen in order for the tipster to receive a payout. That brings us to the person who alerted law enforcement to Mangione's presence at a McDonald's in Altoona, Pa., which is roughly 300 miles from Manhattan.

One year after Thompson was killed, the 911 call made by the tipster was released during one of Mangione's numerous court appearances, per CBS News. Mangione was spotted by a fellow diner, who passed the information along to the manager of the McDonald's. It was that manager who phoned in the tip.

In the audio of the 911 call, the manager tells the dispatcher there is no emergency, but they were informed by a few customers that the CEO shooter might be at the McDonald's. The 911 operator responds with, "OK." The manager goes on to say the other customers were "really upset," which is when she made the call.

On Dec. 2, 2025, lawyers for Mangione made an "oral application in Court to seal body-worn camera footage" that was admitted and displayed during a hearing. Attorney Karen Agnifilo argued that releasing this footage to the media "creates a substantial probability that Mr. Mangione's right to a fair trial will be prejudiced if potential jurors see this footage in the media." A formal letter was submitted to Judge Gregory Carro a week later.

The body cam footage was released the day Agnifilo made the official request to have it sealed. It was shared by NBC News and begins with two police officers approaching Mangione in the McDonald's. The first officer asks Mangione to remove his mask, which he does. The officer then asks his name. Mangione tells him his name is Mark Rosario. "Someone called and said you were suspicious," said the first officer, before asking for identification.

Mangione apologizes and reaches into his pocket. While he's handing over his license, the officer says, "She thought you looked like someone," before trailing off. After police learned the license was fake, he was arrested on forgery charges. Photographs of what Altoona police found in Mangione's backpack have also been released. They include pictures of the alleged murder weapon, a handwritten escape plan that says "pluck eyebrows" and "change hat," cash, and a necklace with a USB drive on it.