Las Vegas police said Wednesday that a deceased suspect was shot in the head inside a Cybertruck outside the Trump International Hotel, destroying the vehicle and wounding seven people.
Las Vegas Sheriff Kevin McMahill released more information about the explosion at a news conference Thursday, saying authorities found fuel, fireworks, two semi-automatic firearms and the identification card of Matthew Livelsberger, 37, of Colorado Springs, inside the Cybertruck. It was revealed. Colo.
“Now, what makes the identification of this individual even more complicated is that we have also discovered through the coroner’s office that the individual suffered a gunshot wound to the head prior to the vehicle explosion,” McMahill said.
One of the two guns registered in Livelsberger’s name was found near the driver’s feet of the Cybertruck.
McMahill said the individual was “burned beyond recognition” and is believed to be Livelsberger, although DNA testing has not yet been completed.
Kenny Cooper, assistant special agent who leads the San Francisco Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, said it is too early to tell whether the material inside the Cybertruck was intended to cause a larger explosion.
“You can’t expect that level of sophistication from an individual with this type of military experience,” Cooper said. “Most of the material inside Tesla was fuel that helped fuel a larger explosion.”
An Army spokesperson confirmed to The Hill that Livelsberger was a sergeant major who served on active duty in the Army from January 2006 to March 2011. He later joined the National Guard and then the Army Reserves.
After the explosion, police tracked the movements of the rented Cybertruck through Tesla charging stations across Colorado, New Mexico and Arizona.
The investigation is ongoing and the motive is unknown at this time.
The explosion raised concerns about political violence and a potential link to the New Orleans terrorist attack that occurred just hours earlier.
A Texas man named Shamsud-Din Jabbar crashed a pickup truck on Bourbon Street, killing 15 people and injuring many more. There were explosives in his truck and the surrounding area, and he was carrying an ISIS flag.
Las Vegas police confirmed that both men were members of the Army, stationed at Fort Bragg in North Carolina, now known as Fort Liberty, and deployed to Afghanistan. Both men used rental company Turo to rent a vehicle at the time of the attack.
The police emphasized that it is unknown whether the two incidents are related or whether the two men are related to each other.
