Suspect in Las Vegas Cybertruck explosion was Army member on leave: Official

(LAS VEGAS) — The suspected driver of the Tesla Cybertruck that exploded Wednesday outside the Trump International Las Vegas Hotel has been identified as active duty Army soldier Matthew Livelsberger, according to an official briefed on the probe.

The FBI, with the assistance of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, are searching his Colorado Springs home on Thursday morning, officials said.

Livelsberger had already been identified as the person who rented the vehicle via the Turo app, though officials previously said they had still been working through forensics to determine the identity of the person behind the wheel at the time of the incident. The fire and explosion made the identification process difficult because of the physical injuries sustained by the driver, the official said.

Livelsberger served in the Army and was on approved leave at the time of his death, a U.S. Army spokesperson said Thursday.

The incident is not believed to have any direct connection to the New Year’s Day truck attack in New Orleans that killed 15 people and injured dozens more, according to the official briefed on the probe. The military is looking into whether the two drivers may have overlapped at Fort Liberty or in Afghanistan, though no evidence suggests the two ever were assigned together or knew each other, according to the official.

“At this point, there is no definitive link between the attack here in New Orleans and the one in Las Vegas,” the FBI’s Christopher Raia said Thursday morning at a press conference on the New Orleans attack.

Livelsberger was a supporter of President-elect Donald Trump, the official briefed on the probe told ABC News. His wife, who investigators spoke to in Colorado Springs, said he had been out of the house since around Christmas after a dispute over allegations of infidelity, the official said.

His wife told officials she did not believe Livelsberger would want to hurt anyone, the official told ABC News.

Two firearms — one handgun and one rifle — were found badly burned inside the vehicle. Livelsberger is believed to have told the person he rented the truck from that he was going camping at the Grand Canyon, the official told ABC News.

Investigators are still looking to determine how the items in the truck was detonated, but with the contents of the vehicle so badly burned, it may be a slow process, according to the official.

The vehicle was picked up by license plate readers traveling from Colorado to Las Vegas on Wednesday morning.

The investigation into the incident spans at least four states, and law enforcement officials are probing it as a possible act of terror.

The motive behind the incident remains under investigation, even as investigators tell ABC News that they believe it was “intentional.”

The driver of the Cybertruck pulled into the valet area of the hotel and the vehicle exploded, according to an official. The driver was the only fatality from the incident. Seven bystanders had minor injuries, authorities said.

Sheriff Kevin McMahill of the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department told reporters the truck was in front of the hotel for 15 to 20 seconds before it exploded.

The sheriff said Tesla CEO Elon Musk helped the investigation by having the truck unlocked after it auto-locked in the blast and by giving investigators video of the suspect at charging stations along its route from Colorado to Las Vegas.

McMahill said investigators were looking into any possible connections to the deadly attack in New Orleans earlier Wednesday but had not yet discovered any. The truck used in the New Orleans attack was also rented via the Turo app, sources said.

Video played at the Las Vegas news conference showed a load of fireworks-style mortars, gasoline cans and camping fuel canisters in the back of the truck.

McMahill said police believe the explosion was an “isolated incident” and that “there is no further threat to the community.” He also said police do not believe anyone was helping the Las Vegas suspect.

“We believe everything is safe now,” McMahill said.

The property is the subject of frequent threats and heightened security given its connection to Trump.

Musk, a close ally of Trump, said on Wednesday afternoon that the “whole Tesla senior team is investigating this matter right now.”

“Will post more information as soon as we learn anything,” Musk wrote on X, which he also owns. “We’ve never seen anything like this.”

Musk later posted 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.” It’s not known if Musk’s claim has been independently verified.

An official briefed on the investigation told ABC News “this was not a lithium battery” blast, as some have speculated online. There have been instances in the past of battery compartments in Tesla vehicles spontaneously catching fire.

Trump’s son Eric Trump, the executive vice president of the Trump Organization, posted on social media about the incident.

“Earlier today, a reported electric vehicle fire occurred in the porte cochère of Trump Las Vegas,” he wrote. “The safety and well-being of our guests and staff remain our top priority. We extend our heartfelt gratitude to the Las Vegas Fire Department and local law enforcement for their swift response and professionalism.”

The hotel also issued a statement on X suggesting the car involved was electric.

“Earlier today a reported electric vehicle fire occurred in the porte cochère of Trump Las Vegas,” the hotel wrote. “The safety & well-being of our guests and staff remain our top priority. We extend our gratitude to the Las Vegas Fire Department and local law enforcement for their swift response.”

President Joe Biden has been briefed on the fire and explosion near the Trump International Hotel Las Vegas and has directed his team to offer any federal assistance needed, the White House said.

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