"Rats Here"... Star Bombing at US McDonald's Store Reported for Shooter

'1-Star Reviews' Flood McDonald's Near Pennsylvania
Many Sympathetic Opinions Toward Health Insurance CEO Murder Suspect
Star Rating Terrorism Posting Rat Photos... Rat Also Means Informer

Luigi Manzoni (26), the suspect in the shooting murder of the CEO of the largest health insurance company in the United States, was arrested by police on the 9th (local time) at a McDonald's store. However, rumors spread that an employee of the store reported Manzoni's location to the police, leading some local residents who support Manzoni to launch a 'review bombing' campaign.

Earlier, the New York Police Department held an emergency press conference in the afternoon and announced that Manzoni, identified as the suspect in the murder of Brian Thompson, CEO of United Healthcare, was arrested at a McDonald's store in Altuna, Pennsylvania. Manzoni is accused of killing CEO Thompson at the entrance of the Hilton Hotel in Midtown, New York, with a silenced handgun.

McDonald's. The photo is not related to any specific expression in the article. Photo by Getty Images Yonhap News.

Unexpectedly, the McDonald's store where Manzoni stayed became the target of backlash. Some netizens spread rumors that an employee of the store had betrayed Manzoni's location.

American media such as Axios reported that at least three McDonald's stores in Altuna are currently experiencing 'review bombing' from angry netizens, with dozens of users leaving one-star ratings in the store reviews on Google Maps. These netizens are using harsh words such as "collaborator," "rat," and "traitor" to criticize the store employees. However, Google is reportedly taking measures to delete these 'review bombings.'

The media also reported that private health insurance companies in the U.S., including United Healthcare, receive very negative evaluations from consumers. Reactions among residents regarding the Thompson CEO murder case are mixed; some netizens express sympathy for the shooting suspect Manzoni, and some even regard him as a hero.

There are a total of three McDonald's locations in Altoona, Pennsylvania, but it is not known exactly which location the suspect stayed at. Google Maps capture

Meanwhile, according to foreign media reports including The New York Times (NYT), suspect Manzoni was a gifted student who graduated at the top of his class from a private high school in Baltimore, U.S., and earned both bachelor's and master's degrees in computer engineering from the prestigious Ivy League University of Pennsylvania.

It is said that the shell casings of the bullets presumed to have been used in the crime bore inscriptions such as "Deny" and "Defence." These phrases are known to be commonly used by U.S. health insurance companies when denying insurance claims. Based on this evidence, the police are focusing their investigation on the possibility that Manzoni committed the crime out of dissatisfaction with private health insurance companies in the U.S.

Thompson, the CEO who died in the shooting, had worked at United Healthcare Group for 20 years and became CEO of the group's core health insurance division in 2021. He was attending an annual investor event at the Hilton Hotel on the day of the incident when he was attacked.