Authors: Rich McKay and Hannah Lang
(Reuters) – Officials on Thursday positively identified the person found dead in a Cybertruck that exploded outside the Trump International Hotel in Las Vegas as a U.S. Army soldier from Colorado, while the FBI said it was not yet clear whether the explosion was an act of terrorism.
The FBI says it has not yet found a definitive link between the New Year’s Day truck attack in New Orleans that killed 15 people and the Cybertruck explosion in Las Vegas later that day that left seven people with minor injuries.
The driver of the Cybertruck was identified as Matthew Livelsberger, 37, an active-duty Army soldier from Colorado Springs, and police said he acted alone.
Livelsberger committed suicide by shooting himself in the mouth, police said, citing a Clark County coroner/medical examiner’s report, according to a Page X post by the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department.
Police said Livelsberger was in the vehicle when gasoline canisters and enormous firework mortars exploded in the truck.
Police earlier told a news conference that they believed the person found in the truck was Livelsberger, but because the body had been burned beyond recognition, investigators were waiting for confirmation from DNA evidence and medical records.
Livelsberger shot himself just before detonating the explosives in the vehicle, Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department Sheriff Kevin McMahill told reporters. A gun was found at his feet.
It was one of two semi-automatic pistols found in the Cybertruck, and both were legally purchased by Livelsberger on December 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. A spokesman said the Army Special Operations Command did not want to comment on an ongoing investigation.
A U.S. official told Reuters that Livelsberger was awarded the Bronze Star for Valor and the Army Commendation for Valor, as well as the Combat Infantryman Badge. The official said he served five combat missions in Afghanistan.
A close relative of Livelsberger, who asked that his last name not be used because he did not want to be publicly associated with the suspect, told Reuters that even as a tiny child, Livelsberger always wanted to be an “army soldier in special forces.” And when he achieved that, he was a soldier.”
Livelsberger has supported President-elect Donald Trump throughout the Republican’s political career, viewing him as someone who loves the military, a relative told Reuters. “He thought Trump was the greatest thing in the world.”
Livelsberger went to high school in Bucyrus in northern Ohio, the man said, where he played football and baseball and seemed happy and popular.
The man said the family had no inkling that Livelsberger was planning anything like the Las Vegas bombing. He said he couldn’t come to terms with what Livelsberger says he did to someone he knew both as a child and as a man.
Livelsberger graduated from Bucyrus High School in 2005, according to Ohio media. After graduating, he immediately left to join the army, his relative said.
Videos recorded by witnesses inside and outside the Las Vegas hotel showed the Cybertruck, an electric vehicle with a distinctive, angular appearance, exploding and flames coming from it as it stood outside the hotel at around 8:40 a.m. local time (16:40 GMT). ) on Wednesday.
A Trump spokesman did not respond to a request for comment on Thursday.
TRUMP BUILDING, TESLA VEHICLE
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 January 20. The president-elect’s son, Eric Trump, director of the Trump Organization, praised Las Vegas fire and law enforcement officials on Wednesday for their quick actions after the explosion.
Tesla (O:) CEO Elon Musk was a major supporter of Trump in his 2024 presidential campaign, as well as an advisor to the new president.
“We are not indifferent to the fact that it is in front of the Trump building and that it is a Tesla vehicle, but at this point we have no information that clearly tells us or suggests that it happened because of this particular ideology or … reasons,” he said McMahill of the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department.
Police said Livelsberger rented a Cybertruck in Denver on Dec. 28 and stopped in several cities, including Albuquerque, New Mexico, and Flagstaff, Arizona, before arriving in Las Vegas early Wednesday.
The truck drove along the Strip, lined with hotels and casinos, through the driveway of the Trump hotel, and then returned to the valet parking area. After the explosion, the Trump hotel was evacuated and most of the guests were moved to another hotel.
McMahill said both the Cybertruck and the vehicle used in the New Orleans attack were rented through the Turo car-sharing service.
A Turo spokesman said the company does not believe any of the vehicle renters have a criminal history that would identify them as a safety risk.
