During an earlier press conference, the police were not 100% certain of the identity of the driver of the Tesla Cybertruck that exploded in front of Trump International Hotel in Las Vegas and were awaiting DNA verification.
The police have now confirmed the identity as Matthew Livelsberger, 37, an active-duty Army soldier who was based in Germany and home in the USA on leave.
(Via Reuters) […] the FBI said it was not yet clear if the blast was an act of terrorism. The FBI said it had so far found no definitive link between the New Year’s Day New Orleans truck attack that killed 15 people and the Cybertruck explosion in Las Vegas later on the same day, which left seven people with minor injuries.
The Cybertruck driver was identified as Matthew Livelsberger, 37, an active-duty Army soldier from Colorado Springs, and police said he acted alone.
Livelsberger killed himself with a gunshot to the mouth, police said, citing a report from the Clark County Coroner/Medical Examiner, according to a post on X by the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department.
Livelsberger was inside the vehicle when gasoline canisters and large firework mortars in the truck bed exploded, police said.
Police previously had told a press conference they believed the person found in the truck was Livelsberger, but because the body was burned beyond recognition, investigators were awaiting confirmation from DNA evidence and medical records.
Livelsberger shot himself just before explosives in the vehicle were detonated, Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department Sheriff Kevin McMahill told reporters. A handgun was found at his feet.
It was one of two semi-automatic handguns found in the Cybertruck, both of which were lawfully purchased by Livelsberger on Dec. 30. Law enforcement also found military identification, a passport, an iPhone and credit cards in the truck.
Livelsberger was assigned to the Army Special Operations Command and was on approved leave at the time of his death, an Army official said. The Army Special Operations Command would not comment on an ongoing investigation, a spokesperson said.
[…] Livelsberger was a supporter of President-elect Donald Trump throughout the Republican’s political career, seeing him as someone who loves the military, the relative told Reuters. “He thought Trump was the greatest thing in the world.”
[…] The Trump International Hotel in Las Vegas is part of the Trump Organization, the company of Donald Trump, who will return to the White House on Jan. 20. The president-elect’s son Eric Trump, an executive with the Trump Organization, praised Las Vegas fire and law enforcement officials on Wednesday for their quick action following the explosion.
Tesla CEO Elon Musk was a key backer of Trump in his 2024 presidential campaign and is also an adviser to the incoming president.
“It’s not lost on us that it’s in front of the Trump building, that it’s a Tesla vehicle, but we don’t have information at this point that definitively tells us or suggests it was because of this particular ideology, or… any of the reasoning behind it,” McMahill, of the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department, said.
Police said Livelsberger rented the Cybertruck in Denver on Dec. 28 and made stops in several cities, including Albuquerque, New Mexico, and Flagstaff, Arizona, before arriving in Las Vegas early on Wednesday.
The truck drove along the city’s hotel- and casino-lined Strip, drove through the Trump hotel’s driveway and later returned to the valet area. The Trump hotel was evacuated and most guests were moved to another hotel following the explosion.
Both the Cybertruck and the vehicle used in the New Orleans attack were rented through car-sharing service Turo, McMahill said. (more)
