Soldier found dead after Tesla truck blast at Trump hotel ‘shot himself in head’
A Vegas Trump’s Outside Tesla Ap Alcides Cybertruck Donald Via Antunes Exploded Hotel Las Picture:
The man inside the Tesla Cybertruck that burst into flames outside President-elect Donald Trump’s Las Vegas hotel suffered a gunshot to the head before the explosion, officials said.
Clark County Sheriff Kevin McMahill said at a news conference that a handgun was found at the feet of the man who has been identified as Matthew Livelsberger. Officials believe the shot was self-inflicted.
Livelsberger served in the Green Berets, highly trained special forces who work to counter terrorism abroad and train partners, the Army said in a statement.
He had served in the Army since 2006, rising through the ranks with a long career of overseas assignments, deploying twice to Afghanistan and serving in Ukraine, Tajikistan, Georgia and DR Congo.
He was awarded two Bronze Stars, including one with a valour device for courage under fire, a combat infantry badge and an Army Commendation Medal with valour. Livelsberger was on approved leave when he died, according to the statement.
The FBI said on Thursday in a post on X that it was “conducting law enforcement activity” at a home in Colorado Springs related to Wednesday’s explosion but provided no other details.
The explosion of the truck, packed with firework mortars and camp fuel canisters, came hours after 42-year-old Shamsud-Din Bahar Jabbar rammed a truck into a crowd in New Orleans’ famed French Quarter early on New Year’s Day, killing at least 14 people before being shot dead by police.
That crash is being investigated as a terrorist attack. The FBI said on Thursday that they believe Jabbar acted alone, reversing its position from a day earlier that he likely worked with others.
Both Livelsberger and Jabbar spent time at the base formerly known as Fort Bragg, a massive centre in North Carolina that is home to multiple Army special operations units. However, one official said there is no overlap in their assignments at the base, now called Fort Liberty.
Chris Raia, FBI deputy assistant director, said on Thursday that officials have found “no definitive link” between the New Orleans attack and the truck explosion in Las Vegas.
Seven people nearby suffered minor injuries when the Tesla truck exploded. Video showed a tumble of charred fireworks mortars, canisters and other explosive devices crowded into the back of the pick-up. The truck bed walls were still intact because the blast shot straight up rather than to the sides.
Tesla CEO Elon Musk said on Wednesday afternoon on X that “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”.
“All vehicle telemetry was positive at the time of the explosion,” Mr Musk wrote.
He has recently become a member of Mr Trump’s inner circle. Neither was in Las Vegas early Wednesday. Both had attended Mr Trump’s New Year’s Eve party at his South Florida estate.