Jan. 2 (UPI) — The man who rented the Cybertruck that exploded at the Las Vegas Trump Hotel had a background in the U.S. military and shot himself in the head, officials said Thursday.
The suspect was officially identified as Matthew Livelsberger, USA Today and CBS News reported.
Livelsberger, 37, shot himself in the head immediately prior to the Cybertruck exploding at 8:40 a.m. Wednesday in the hotel’s valet area, Clark County (Nev.) Sheriff Kevin McMahill said during a news conference on Thursday
McMahill said investigators still don’t know his motive for the incident.
Tesla founder and Chief Executive Officer Elon Musk said the Cybertruck was working as designed when it exploded while carrying several fireworks.
Livelsberger was a resident of Colorado Springs, Col., and had 20 years of service in the Army before dying in the Cybertruck explosion, according to USA Today.
Livelsberger was a Green Beret master sergeant who enlisted with Special Forces in 2006 and was on active duty with them until March 2011. After a short time in the National Guard and Army Reserve he rejoined active duty as an Army Special Operations soldier.
He was on leave when he died in the Cybertruck’s Las Vegas explosion.
The FBI is investigating whether the explosion in Las Vegas is terrorism-related.
NBC News reported that investigators are also probing a possible military connection between the New Orleans deadly truck attack and the exploding Cybertruck.
New Orleans truck attacker Shamsud-Din Jabbar, who died in a gun battle with police, was an Army veteran from Texas who worked in human resources and technology departments for the military from 2006 to 2020. He was also deployed to Afghanistan in 2009.
Authorities are looking into possible links between that and the deadly New Orleans truck attack. Both the New Orleans and the Las Vegas trucks were rented through Turo.
A Turo spokesperson told CNN, “We do not believe that either renter involved in the Las Vegas and New Orleans attacks had a criminal background that would have identified them as a security threat.”
The Tesla Cybertruck exploded and burned in front of the Trump International Hotel in Las Vegas Wednesday, killing one person.
Construction of the truck contained much of the explosion’s power, limiting the surrounding damage.
NBC News, citing Louisiana’s attorney general, said investigators suspect the explosives found in the New Orleans truck were made in an Airbnb in New Orleans rented by those involved.
Presdent Joe Biden said Wednesday law enforcement and the intelligence community are investigating any possible connection between the two incidents.
