A Tesla Cybertruck exploded outside the Trump International Hotel in Las Vegas early Wednesday, killing one person, in an incident that is being investigated as a possible act of terrorism, according to authorities.
Investigators do not believe there is “any other danger to the network at this time,” FBI agent Jeremy Schwartz said at a press convention Wednesday night.
The sole person inside the vehicle died, and seven people suffered minor injuries, Sheriff Kevin McMahill of the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department said. He called the explosion “an isolated incident” and said there is no indication that it was linked to ISIS.
Law enforcement resources told CBS News that the Cybertruck was rented to Matthew Alan Livelsberger, 37, an active-duty intelligence sergeant with the U. S. Army Special Forces, who was serving in Germany and still on leave. in Colorado at the time. of the incident.
Las Vegas Police said the Clark County Coroner confirmed Thursday that Livelsberger had been identified as the driver of the vehicle in the explosion. The cause of death was a self-inflicted gunshot wound, the coroner’s office said.
At a briefing earlier Thursday, the FBI said their investigation determined the driver had shot himself in the head before the vehicle detonated, and a gun was found at his feet.
They said they considered Livelsberger the subject of the investigation, but needed a dental or DNA match for identification since the body was burned beyond recognition. They said his military ID, passport and credit cards were found in the vehicle, along with several firearms.
“I’m comfortable calling it a suicide,” McMahill said at the briefing.
CBS News spoke with two of Livelsberger’s relatives who were aware of any involvement in the incident but proved he had rented a Cybertruck. A relative told CBS News that Livelsberger’s wife had heard from him for several days.
Federal agents have been at his Colorado Springs home since Wednesday night and said the activity was related to the Las Vegas explosion, CBS Colorado reported. No one was evacuated during the on-site investigation.
According to CBS News conversations with his father, Livelsberger founded in Fort Carson but had served in Germany. His father said he worked with drones. He attended Bucyrus High School in Ohio and enlisted in the Army in 2006. His father said they last spoke on Christmas Day and described everything as normal, emphasizing that Matthew is a faithful father.
Law enforcement officials said Thursday there were no other subjects of the investigation at this time.
Schwartz also noted, “We don’t think there are many other people who will support or help this. ” »
Shortly after the Cybertruck, a 2024 model rented in Colorado, pulled up in front of the hotel’s glass doors, smoke began billowing from the vehicle and then a giant explosion ensued.
Several videos were posted on social media of the explosion and the Cybertruck engulfed in flames.
McMahill said fuel cans, camp fuel cans and giant fireworks mortars were discovered in the back of the vehicle after the explosion, which occurred about 15 seconds after the vehicle came to a stop in front of the building. It is still unclear exactly how the explosives were ignited. Said.
The sheriff’s Cybertruck arrived in Las Vegas around 7:30 a. m. Wednesday and crossed the Strip before arriving at the hotel.
Las Vegas Mayor Shelley Berkley said police and city commissioners “will remain on additional alert” and asked others to expect “a significant official presence in the downtown StripArray and valley over the next two days. “
The explosion occurred hours after a deadly New Orleans attack, when a man intentionally drove a pickup truck into a crowd of revelers on Bourbon Street, killing at least 14 people. The driver was killed in a shootout with police. The FBI said “weapons and a potential IED,” or improvised explosive device, were found in his vehicle, which was flying an ISIS flag.
But on Thursday, Christopher Raia, deputy assistant director of the FBI’s counterintelligence division, said, “At this point there is no definitive link between the attack here in New Orleans and the one in Las Vegas.”
Authorities were looking into several odd similarities between the incidents in the two cities. In addition to their timing on New Year’s Day, both incidents involved trucks rented from the carsharing app Turo. Both involved U.S.-born military servicemen who served in Afghanistan around the same timeframe. But two U.S. officials say the military has not yet found any overlap between them at either Fort Bragg or in Afghanistan. They both served there, these officials say, but not at the same time.
President Biden said Wednesday evening that law enforcement and the intelligence community are investigating whether the Las Vegas blast has any possible connection with the New Orleans attack, but “thus far there’s nothing to report.”
In a statement, a Turo spokesperson said: “We are actively partnering with law enforcement authorities as they investigate both incidents. 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.”
Over the past year, Tesla CEO Elon Musk has had a major donor and close adviser to Trump, and the billionaire has been tasked with running Trump’s Department of Government Effectiveness, or DOGE. Musk and his DOGE co-leader Vivek Ramaswamy aim to cut billions in federal spending.
“[Or] obviously a Cybertruck, the Trump Hotel – there are a lot of questions we want to answer as we move forward with this project,” McMahill said.
Tesla did not respond to a request for comment.
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In a message posted a few hours later, he stated that the explosion “was caused by a very giant firework and/or a bomb carried in the bed of the rented Cybertruck and was unrelated to the vehicle itself. “
A county spokeswoman said in a statement that the fire in the valet area of the Trump International Hotel Las Vegas was reported at 8:40 a. m. m. The main points of the incident were unclear.
“I know you have a lot of questions,” Jeremy Schwartz, acting FBI Special Agent in Charge for the Las Vegas office, said at the news conference. “We don’t have a lot of answers.”
Eric Trump, one of the president-elect’s sons, wrote an article about the X-shaped chimney, saying that “an electric vehicle chimney occurred at the door of Trump’s carriage in Las Vegas. ”
Officials urged people to stay away from the area around the Trump Las Vegas hotel, which was evacuated. The 64-story hotel is just off the famed Las Vegas Strip and across the street from the Fashion Show Las Vegas shopping mall.
Tesla brought its futuristic-looking metallic Cybertruck in 2023, and Musk was touting the vehicle’s bulletproof windows at the time. The value of the four-wheel drive Cybertruck ranges from approximately $80,000 to $100,000.