Law enforcement officials have identified a US Army soldier from Colorado as the likely individual inside a Tesla Cybertruck that exploded outside the Trump International Hotel in Las Vegas, resulting in the driver’s death and seven others sustaining minor injuries.
Authorities suspect that Matthew Livelsberger, a 37-year-old active-duty US Army soldier from Colorado Springs, was in the vehicle at the time of the explosion and that he acted independently.
The body was charred beyond recognition, with investigators awaiting confirmation through DNA evidence and medical records.
This explosion occurred just hours after a driver, 42-year-old Shamsud-Din Bahar Jabbar, plowed a truck into a crowd in New Orleans’ famous French Quarter, leading to at least 15 fatalities before police shot him dead.
According to Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department Sheriff Kevin McMahill at a news conference, the individual in the Cybertruck suffered a self-inflicted gunshot wound immediately prior to the detonation of explosives within the vehicle.
Authorities discovered a handgun inside the vehicle.
The Tesla Cybertruck exploded outside a Trump hotel
Two semi-automatic handguns were recovered from the Cybertruck, both of which were lawfully purchased by Mr. Livelsberger on December 30.
Authorities also found military identification, a passport, an iPhone, and credit cards in the truck.
Mr. Livelsberger was serving in the US Army Special Operations Command and was on approved leave at the time of his death, according to an Army official.
A spokesperson for the US Army Special Operations Command declined to comment on the ongoing investigation.
A US official informed reporters that Mr. Livelsberger had received a Bronze Star for valor, an Army commendation for bravery, and was awarded a Combat Infantryman Badge.
He had completed five combat deployments to Afghanistan, the official stated.
The FBI’s Denver office confirmed that federal and local authorities had searched a residential address in Colorado Springs related to the Las Vegas explosion.
Videos captured by witnesses inside and outside the Las Vegas hotel showed the Cybertruck erupting in flames as it sat in front of the hotel.
Hotel guests are seen outside the valet area where a Cybertruck caught fire
A representative for Trump did not respond to a request for comment.
Eric Trump, son of the US president-elect, commended the quick actions of Las Vegas fire and law enforcement personnel following the explosion.
‘Lots of questions’
The Trump International Hotel in Las Vegas is part of the Trump Organization, owned by US President-elect Donald Trump, who is set to return to the White House on January 20.
Tesla CEO Elon Musk has been a notable supporter of Trump’s 2024 presidential campaign and is also an adviser to the incoming president.
“It’s not lost on us that this occurred in front of the Trump building and involves a Tesla vehicle, but we currently lack information that definitively indicates a connection to specific ideologies or the reasons behind it,” Mr. McMahill commented.
Watch: Enhanced security outside Trump Tower in New York City following the Las Vegas explosion
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Police reported that Livelsberger rented the Cybertruck in Denver on December 28, making stops in various cities, including Albuquerque, New Mexico, and Flagstaff, Arizona, before arriving in Las Vegas early yesterday.
The truck traversed the city’s hotel and casino-studded strip until it reached the Trump hotel, where it drove through and subsequently returned to the valet area.
Police block an area where the Tesla Cybertruck caught fire and exploded
The Trump hotel was evacuated following the explosion, and most guests were relocated to another hotel.
“Detectives discovered gasoline canisters and large fireworks mortars in the bed of the truck,” a police statement noted.
Mr. Musk, in a post on X, stated, “We have now confirmed that the explosion was caused by very large fireworks and/or a bomb carried in the bed of the rented Cybertruck and is unrelated to the vehicle itself.”
Both the Cybertruck and the vehicle involved in the New Orleans incident had been rented through the car-sharing service Turo, Mr. McMahill confirmed.
A Turo spokesperson remarked that the company did not believe either of the renters associated with the vehicles had a criminal background that would have flagged them as a security risk.
