The man who authorities believe died in the Tesla Cybertruck that exploded outside one of Donald Trump’s hotels was an active-duty army soldier who served in the special forces, US officials have said.
Speaking at a news conference, Las Vegas sheriffs and FBI officials said the identity of the driver had not yet been officially confirmed through DNA, but evidence pointed towards it being Matthew Livelsberger, 37, of Colorado Springs in Colorado.
The man who died had suffered a gunshot wound to the head prior to the rented Tesla vehicle bursting into flames outside the Trump International Hotel on New Year’s Day, said Clark County Sheriff Kevin McMahill.
Officials believe the wound was self-inflicted and said a firearm was found at the driver’s feet.
A second gun was also discovered inside the truck, along with a passport, military identification, an iPhone and a smartwatch, Mr McMahill said. The identification found and two tattoos on the driver’s body “give a strong indication” that Livelsberger was driving, he added.
Damage from the blast was mostly limited to the interior of the truck, the officials told reporters.
The level of sophistication of the explosive “is not what we would expect from an individual with this type of military experience”, said Kenny Cooper, a special agent in charge for the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.
Livelsberger served in the Green Berets, highly trained special forces who work to counter terrorism abroad and train partners, the US army said in a statement.
He had served in the army since 2006 and spent some time at a base formerly known as Fort Bragg, a centre in North Carolina that is home to special forces command. He also had a long career of overseas assignments, deploying twice to Afghanistan and serving in Ukraine, Tajikistan, Georgia and the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
He was still on active duty and on approved leave at the time of the explosion. Seven other people suffered minor injuries when the vehicle caught fire.
The explosion is being looked at as a possible terror attack, officers have said. As yet, no cause for the blast has been given, but fireworks mortars, cannisters and other explosive devices were found in the back of the truck.
The FBI has said it is “conducting law enforcement activity” related to the explosion at a home in Colorado Springs, but provided no other details.
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‘No definitive link’ with New Orleans at this stage
The incident occurred just hours after a man drove a truck into crowds celebrating the New Year in New Orleans, Louisiana, killing 14 people before he was shot dead by police.
The suspect in that attack has been identified as Shamsud-Din Jabbar, 42, who was a US army veteran. An Islamic State flag was flown from the truck.
During a news conference on the New Orleans attack on Thursday, Christopher Raia, deputy assistant director of the FBI’s counter-terrorism division, said there was “no definitive link” between the two incidents at this stage in their investigations.
Authorities had said they were looking into a “possible military connection” between the two men, Sky News’ US partner NBC News reported earlier on Thursday. Jabbar also spent time at Fort Bragg but one official said no overlap in their assignments there had been found so far.
Law enforcement officers were also looking into the fact both men used the Turo car app to rent the vehicles involved in both incidents.
Read more:
‘Quiet and smart’: What we know about New Orleans suspect
Teenage girl and Princeton graduate among New Orleans victims
Sheriff Kevin McMahill, from Las Vegas police, said the truck involved in the explosion in Vegas was rented in Colorado and arrived in the city at 7.30am local time (3.30pm UK time).
“It went immediately up and down Las Vegas Boulevard before immediately pulling into the Trump Towers,” he added.
The 64-storey hotel is just behind the famous Las Vegas Strip and opposite the Fashion Show Las Vegas shopping mall.
Tesla video helped track journey
Tesla is owned by tech billionaire Elon Musk who has been a close ally of Mr Trump – donating millions to his successful 2024 US election campaign. He has also been tasked with leading Mr Trump’s Department of Government Efficiency.
Mr McMahill said video captured at Telsa charging stations provided by Mr Musk helped authorities track the vehicle’s journey.
The Tesla boss provided officers with “quite a lot of additional information in regards to how the vehicle was locked after it exploded”, he said, “as well as being able to capture all of the video from the Tesla charging stations across the country”.
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Earlier, Mr Musk wrote on X: “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.”
Eric Trump, one of Mr Trump’s sons, who is also executive vice president of the Trump Organisation, posted about the fire on X, praising the fire department and local law enforcement “for their swift response and professionalism”.
