The gunman who killed UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson remains at large, but more clues are turning up, including the contents of a backpack believed to have belonged to the shooter.
Sources told MSNBC on Saturday that the backpack, which was found in Central Park, contained a Tommy Hilfiger jacket and Monopoly money. But it didn’t contain a gun. The report was later backed up by other news outlets.
The New York Police Department didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.
Police divers searched for a gun in a Central Park lake Saturday, and the NYPD has said the weapon that the shooter used to kill Thompson could have been a veterinary pistol.
Images of the gunman showed him wearing a distinctive backpack, drawing immediate attention as a potential clue to his identity. CNN reported that it was in fact made by Peak Design, and the police examined it at a forensic lab in Queens.
The presence of Monopoly money raised questions that it could be another cryptic message, after bullet casings found at the scene of the crime had the words “deny,” “defend,” and “depose” written on them, an apparent reference to practices in the insurance industry.
Former Washington, D.C., homicide detective Ted Williams told Fox News that the Monopoly money is a sign of the “killer playing games with the authorities. All part of a cat and mouse game.”
He added, “This killer knew they would more likely than not find the backpack, and he is leaving breadcrumbs to let [the] authorities know that he is in control, not them.”
On social media, others speculated that the Monopoly money could have been more of a political message, pointing out that the game’s inventor initially conceived it as an indictment of capitalism.
The backpack adds to the growing list of evidence that’s been collected so far, including images of the suspect from security cameras, a cell phone found along the escape route, as well as a water bottle and a wrapper for a protein bar, both of which have been tested for DNA.
Correction, Dec. 8, 2024: A previous version of this article misstated one of the words written on the bullet casings.