How Quick-thinking McDonald’s employees helped bring an end to ‘Facebook killer’ manhunt

It was horrifying to learn about the elderly man who was murdered at random live on Facebook on Easter Sunday. The man who shot him was on the run for nearly 48 hours before police found him. And for that, they have some McDonald’s employees to thank.

The “Facebook killer,” as he became known, had made his way from Cleveland to Erie, Pennsylvania, on Tuesday when he decided to pull into a McDonald’s and order some food. Thankfully, an employee at the drive-thru recognized the man and called police. The location’s owner and supervisor then tried to stall him by telling him his fries weren’t ready. But the murderer just took his 20-piece McNuggets and drove away. But even though he was only stalled for 15 or 20 seconds, it was enough time for police to arrive.

Fox News Insider has the details:

When [Steve Stephens] pulled up to the drive-thru window of a McDonald’s restaurant outside Erie, Pennsylvania, Tuesday and ordered a 20-piece McNuggets and fries, the employee who took his money recognized him and dialed 911.

Stephens pulled up to the next window, where restaurant owner Thomas DuCharme Jr. and a supervisor tried stalling him by telling him his fries weren’t ready.

Stephens didn’t want to wait. He took his McNuggets and drove off.

State troopers quickly arrived on the scene and began pursuing Stephens. He fatally shot himself in the head after a brief pursuit.

That was some pretty heroic actions taken by these employees who took a big risk to engage a dangerous man who wanted to drive around and kill people at random. But stalling him for even a few seconds made all the difference in the world and allowed a state trooper to be on scene right as the suspect’s car was pulling out.

“We’re all very proud of how we handled it,” DuCharme said. “We’re all very proud of the Pennsylvania state police for being there so quickly. And of course all of our thoughts and prayers in the restaurant are for all the families that have been affected by this.”

I’m sure this location will have a lot of visitors stopping by and thanking the crew for their bravery in stopping a madman on the loose.

Photo credit: elycefeliz via Foter.com / CC BY-NC-ND