The driver of the Tesla Cybertruck that caught fire and exploded in Las Vegas in front of one of the hotels of Donald Trump’s business empire has been identified as Matthew Livelsberger, a US Army soldier from Colorado Springs (Colorado) who died in the accident.
Livelsberger, 37, was killed in the explosion, while seven bystanders were injured. The military veteran, identified by the media SOLDIER y KTNV of Denver, was behind the wheel of the electric-powered truck, which investigators soon discovered was packed with pyrotechnic-type mortars, camping fuel and gas canisters when it exploded Wednesday morning.
As confirmed The New York Timesthe officer who died in the explosion, who held the rank of sergeant major, was on leave.
Law enforcement sources have confirmed to local media that the electric vehicle was rented on Turo, the car-sharing service that was also used in the New Orleans attack that same day. There, suspect Shamsud-Din Jabbar used the Turo app to rent a Ford electric van used in that attack in the early hours of New Year’s Day, in which 15 people were killed and dozens injured.
The news channel Denver 7 This Thursday, police sources were cited as saying that Livelsberger and Jabbar had served at the same military base, a possible connection that the US Army denied this Thursday, after stating that they did not coincide during their stays at Jabbar’s base.
The deputy director of the FBI counterintelligence unit, Christopher Raia, also ruled out in a press conference held early this Thursday to the media that, “at this point, there is no definitive connection between the attack in New Orleans and the from Las Vegas.”
The FBI is conducting operations and searches in Colorado Springs, Colorado, in connection with the Cybertruck explosion, sources tell ABC Newswith the help of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF). Investigators are following leads in at least four states and abroad, the same sources add.
In a national address Wednesday, Joe Biden said the ongoing investigations into the New Orleans attack are “fluid.” At the moment no connection has been discovered between the two attacks, said Biden, who promised to keep Americans informed as the investigation progresses.
Livelsberger served more than 19 years in the military, 18 of them in the special forces, according to his LinkedIn profile. His most recent position was that of manager of remote and autonomous systems, which he had held for only three months.
The Trump hotel was not damaged in the explosion in Las Vegas. Tesla founder Elon Musk later posted on the social network X that “evil knuckleheads chose the wrong vehicle for a terrorist attack.” In reality, the Cybertruck contained the explosion and directed it upward. “Not even the glass doors in the lobby were broken.”
Colorado Springs addresses linked to Livelsberger were surveilled and subsequently searched by FBI agents on Wednesday.
Kevin McMahill, sheriff of the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department, confirmed at a press conference that the truck used in the attack was rented from Turo in Colorado and driven to Nevada.
McMahill said investigators were able to trace the truck’s journey from Colorado to Las Vegas as the driver stopped at charging stations along the route and the truck was in front of the hotel for 15 to 20 seconds before it exploded. .
The sheriff said Musk helped the investigation by having the truck unlocked after it self-locked in the explosion and by giving investigators video of the suspect at charging stations along his nearly 800-mile route.
A Turo spokesperson said in a statement: “We are actively collaborating with law enforcement authorities in the investigation of both incidents. “We do not believe that either of the two tenants involved in the Las Vegas and New Orleans attacks had criminal records that would have identified them as a security threat.”
Musk said Wednesday afternoon 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 not related to the vehicle itself. “All vehicle telemetry was positive at the time of the explosion.”
In a previous post on the platform after attending a New Year’s Eve party at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort, Musk stated: “The entire senior team at Tesla is investigating this matter right now. “We have never seen anything like this.”
Source: www.eldiario.es
