ALTOONA — Karen Townsley praised the McDonald’s employee who reported to police Monday suspicions that a customer was the man being sought by New York City authorities in the fatal shooting of UnitedHealthcare’s CEO.
“I was pretty shocked,” she said. “I thought he was probably from New York City.”
The suspect made great efforts to get away, she said — the McDonald’s where he was found is 4 1/2 hours from New York City.
“That’s so weird that an employee solved it,” she said. “I’m anxious to hear the whole story.”
The arrest thrust Altoona, with about 43,000 residents, into the national spotlight as hordes of media parked themselves outside of the city’s police station, not far from white lights hanging over 12th Avenue that said “Welcome to City of Altoona.”
A mixture of at least 50 members of the media and residents awaited the departure of the suspect — identified by police as Luigi Mangione, 26, of Maryland — from the Altoona police station to his arraignment at the Blair County Courthouse, about 15 minutes south in Hollidaysburg.
Residents stood among the media with their cellphones up ready to capture the moment. A group of four women took a selfie together while they waited. The gathering was in the downtown area of Altoona, not far from where its Spirit of Christmas Parade and lighting of the town’s Christmas tree took place over the weekend.
Altoona is known as the birthplace of Sheetz and is home to a Penn State University branch campus and a UPMC medical center, which was the top employer in the county in 2023, according to the state Department of Labor & Industry. PNG Field, where the Altoona Curve play baseball, is just outside city limits.
The town is split by a large rail yard, which contributed to Altoona’s origin and growth, according to information on the city website.
The Pennsylvania Railroad began developing what would later become Altoona in 1849 as construction started on the rail line to connect with Harrisburg. By 1880, 12 years after it was incorporated as a city, population there had ballooned to 20,000.
The population peaked in 1930 with 82,000 inhabitants, according to the city. As the decades passed, commerce spread out from the town center, though residents said the mayor is pushing for revitalization in the downtown area. Department of Community and Economic Development Secretary Rick Siger visited several small businesses during a trip to Altoona in August to promote a $20 million investment in the new Main Street Matters program.
The 118-year-old Mishler Theatre, on 12th Avenue, is home to the local symphony and community theater, and has several touring acts and musicals booked. On nearby 11th Avenue are several businesses, including a brewery, fitness studio and the historic McCrory’s department store building, which is being transformed into luxury apartments and a market.
Jay Beere and Bill Latterner, who live in the downtown area, listed the town’s attributes while expressing surprise that someone accused of such a heinous crime would make their way there. Beere recalled seeing New York City Police Department cars racing through town with their lights flashing Monday afternoon.
“I was surprised seeing NYPD cars flying through a very busy intersection,” he said.
NYPD detectives and staff from the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office traveled to Altoona to interview Mangione, authorities said.
Altoona police were called at 9:14 a.m. to the McDonald’s on East Plank Road, a busy thoroughfare just off Interstate 99 with restaurants, shopping centers and gas stations, after an employee noticed that the male customer resembled the suspect in last week’s fatal shooting of Brian Thompson, 50.
The suspect sat at a table in the back of the restaurant and opened a laptop, police said in court papers. When Altoona officers got there, they asked the man to pull down the medical mask he was wearing and said they immediately recognized him as the suspect from photographs disseminated by media.
Mangione was taken into custody on charges of forgery, tampering with evidence, a weapons violation and related offenses. Police reported finding a 3D-printed pistol and silencer in the backpack sitting at his feet inside the restaurant.
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Townsley, who lives in nearby Logan Township, was waiting for her granddaughter outside the McDonald’s late Monday afternoon. Her granddaughter works there but wasn’t on the clock at the time and said she didn’t know who the employee was.
A woman who declined to be identified said she was having breakfast at the restaurant when police swarmed the building. She didn’t know what happened until seeing it on the news later.
Mangione will eventually be extradited to New York to face charges in connection with Thompson’s death, police said.
“I think it’s surprising that Altoona’s on the national stage, but not that surprised someone snitched,” Latterner said.