McDonald’s order trips up Facebook slaying suspect

Pennsylvania State Police investigate the scene where Steve Stephens, the suspect in the random killing of a Cleveland retiree posted on Facebook, was found shot dead Tuesday, April 18, 2017, in Erie. Pennsylvania. Acting on a tip, Pennsylvania State Police spotted Stephens, 37, in Erie County, in the state’s northwest corner, and went after him. After a brief chase, he took his own life, authorities said. (Photo by GREG WOHLFORD / Erie Times-News via AP)

Facebook slaying suspect Steve Stephens was undone by a 20-piece Chicken McNuggets and an order of fries.

The man who police say shot a Cleveland retiree at random and posted video of the killing on Facebook pulled up to the drive-thru window of a McDonald’s restaurant outside Erie, Pennsylvania, and waited for his order.

It was late Tuesday morning, almost lunchtime, and authorities were in the third day of an intensive manhunt for Stephens.

Now, more than 100 miles from the shooting, his time on the run was nearly up.

The attendant who took his money recognized the suspect 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 were delayed.

Stephens didn’t want to wait. He took his McNuggets and whipped out of the parking lot, nearly hitting Gail Wheeler, 54, a retail operations manager from Erie who was on her way home from the grocery store.

“Two seconds later, I hear these sirens, and they come whipping past me,” she told The Associated Press.

Wheeler followed behind for a couple miles. She said the chase slowed suddenly from 50 mph to about 20 mph when the road narrowed from four lanes to two.

One of the pursuing troopers picked his spot — in front of an abandoned school — and hit Stephens’ bumper to get him to stop. The Ford Fusion did a half-turn and came to rest at the curb.

Police were starting to get out of their cruisers when “I heard a shot. It was loud and distinctive,” Wheeler said.

“The next thing I know, they’re approaching the car. The one officer just shook his head. He was closest to the car. … They had their guns out but when he shook his head, they lowered their guns.”

Stephens killed himself, authorities said.

State police Maj. William Teper Jr. said the trooper who bumped Stephens’ car “saw him pull the gun out and shoot himself.”

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Associated Press researcher Monika Mathur in Washington contributed to this report.