The US Special Forces soldier who flew a Tesla Cybertruck outside the Trump International Hotel in Las Vegas shot himself in the head before the explosion, officials said Thursday, adding that his motivation is still “unknown.” Was.
Elite Green Berets member Matthew Livelsberger, 37, appears to have committed suicide in a rented vehicle filled with fuel containers and fireworks, which then burst into flames, officials said.
Leavelsbarger’s body was burned beyond recognition, but Las Vegas Sheriff Kevin McMahill said authorities were “fairly confident” that he was the sole owner of the Cybertruck.
McMahill told reporters at a press conference in Las Vegas that Leavelsberger was identified by his military ID, passport and credit card, he had a gunshot wound to the head and a gun was found near his feet.
FBI Special Agent Spencer Evans said, “The motivation is unknown at this point.”
“At this time we have no information that links this individual to any terrorist organization around the world,” Evans said.
Kenny Cooper, a special agent with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, said Livelsbarger had legally purchased two semi-automatic handguns on Monday that were found in the remains of the vehicle.
Video footage from outside the Trump Hotel showed a stainless steel truck parked at the building’s glass entrance early Wednesday then burst into flames followed by small explosions that appeared similar to fireworks.
Seven people were injured in the explosion.
– No connection to the New Orleans attack –
The Trump-branded building, which opened in 2008, is owned by the Republican president-elect’s family business.
Evans said the president-elect’s link is “not hidden” from investigators, nor is the fact that Tesla is owned by the world’s richest man — and prominent Trump supporter — Elon Musk.
“But at this point we don’t have information that tells us definitively” that this was motivated by any particular ideology, he said.
Kevin McMahill said Leavelsberger rented the vehicle in Colorado on Dec. 28, from where authorities tracked him driving alone through Arizona and New Mexico to Las Vegas, where he arrived on Jan. 1.
McMahill said Livelsberger was a Green Beret who deployed to Afghanistan in 2009 and was currently stationed in Germany.
An Army spokesman said that Livelsberger “was on approved leave at the time of his death” and that he had been awarded several Bronze Star Medals, including one for valor.
Investigators said it was not yet clear how the explosion occurred, but its components were mainly consumer products such as fireworks and fuel.
He said that some components had not detonated, and the level of sophistication in the explosion was not what he would expect from someone with Leavelsberger’s military background.
“I don’t think it was done as well as he was hoping,” McMahill said.
The blast came just hours after a pickup truck plowed into a crowd of revelers in New Orleans’ French Quarter, killing at least 14 people and injuring dozens.
Investigators were initially probing possible connections between the incidents, but New Orleans officials said Thursday they believe the Islamic State-inspired attacker acted alone, while the FBI investigated the Vegas incident. Described as “isolated”.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
