The driver of a Tesla Cybertruck that exploded in front of the Trump International Hotel in Las Vegas on New Year’s Day was an Army Special Operations soldier on approved leave from his unit when he allegedly carried out the attack, Pentagon officials said Thursday morning.
Matthew Livelsberger, 37, of Colorado Springs, who died in the blast, also reportedly served at the same Army base as Shamsud-Din Jabbar, who authorities say killed at least 15 people when he deliberately drove his truck into a crowd on Bourbon Street in New Orleans on Wednesday. The two men also used the same car rental app, Turo, to book the vehicles used in the separate incidents, according to the San Francisco-based company.
FBI officials said at a briefing Thursday morning they have not found a definitive connection between the two events. But the shared Army history between the two suspects, and the fact that they carried out their attacks within hours of one another, have fueled questions about whether a coordinated terrorist plot is unfolding on American shores.
Jabbar, a U.S. citizen who authorities say was carrying an Islamic State flag in his vehicle at the time of the attack, seems to have struggled deeply in his personal life and had exceptional difficulty transitioning to civilian society after his service. The Daily Mail cited an interview Jabbar reportedly gave to the Georgia State University newspaper in 2015 about his troubles communicating without using military jargon.
“There’s so many different acronyms you’ve learned,” he said, according to the paper. “You don’t know how to speak without using these terms, and you’re not sure what terms are used outside the military.”
He received a bachelor’s degree from the school in 2017.
The Pentagon said that Jabbar served in the Army as a human resource specialist and information technology specialist from March 2007 to January 2015, and then in the Army Reserve as an IT specialist from January 2015 through July 2020. He deployed to Afghanistan from February 2009 to January 2010.
His service overlaps with that of Livelsberger, though so far there is no direct indication the two men knew each other.
An Army spokesperson confirmed Thursday that Livelsberger enlisted in the service in January 2006 and served until March 2011. He then spent stints in the National Guard and Army Reserve until December 2012, when he again entered active duty in the Army and was a Army Special Operations soldier.
“U.S. Army Special Operations Command can confirm Livelsberger was assigned to the command and on approved leave at the time of his death,” the Army spokesperson said.
A LinkedIn profile purporting to belong to “Matt Livelsberger” of the Colorado Springs area says that he worked in the Army as a communications specialist and as an intelligence and operations specialist, among other things. His career history lists a stint from July 2011 to May 2012 on contract at General Dynamics. One of his skills associated with that job was “explosives detection,” according to the LinkedIn profile.
Most recently, he appears to have been a “remote and autonomous systems manager.” His educational background includes a bachelor of science in strategic studies and defense analysis from Norwich University.
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Livelsberger served at the same Army base as Jabbar, according to Denver ABC affiliate KMGH-TV and other Colorado media outlets.
Signs of a troubled life
Jabbar, a U.S.-born citizen, was twice divorced and sympathized with the Islamic State after an apparent radicalization in recent years.
He was from Beaumont, Texas, but had been living in the Houston area at the time of the attack late Tuesday on Bourbon Street, according to Texas officials.
President Biden said a flag representing the Islamic State, or ISIS, was found in the vehicle he used in the attack, and that “mere hours before the attack, he posted videos on social media indicating that he’s inspired by ISIS, expressing a desire to kill.”
“The ISIS flag was found in his vehicle, which he rented to conduct this attack,” Mr. Biden said.
Jabbar’s brother, Abdur Jabbar, says the pair were brought up Christian but the older Jabbar converted to Islam a long time ago.
“What he did does not represent Islam. This is more some type of radicalization, not religion,” Abdur Jabbar told the New York Times.
Beyond his apparent radicalization, the older Jabbar seemed to struggle in his personal life.
He divorced his first wife in 2012, though they had two daughters together who are now 15 and 20. Filings related to his second divorce, in 2022, hint at financial difficulties, including potential foreclosure on his house due to nonpayment of the mortgage.
Here’s what we know about Jabbar’s educational and professional background:
• Jabbar’s online resume says he received an associate degree from Central Texas College in 2010 and a bachelor’s degree from Georgia State University in 2017.
• Jabbar received training and a license to be a Realtor and posted videos in 2020 that said he was a real estate agent in Houston
• Deloitte, the global consulting firm, confirmed that Jabbar had worked for the firm in a “staff-level role” since 2021.
• Tom Howell Jr. can be reached at thowell@washingtontimes.com.
• Ben Wolfgang can be reached at bwolfgang@washingtontimes.com.