Matthew Livelsberger, Cybertruck driver in front of the Trump hotel in Las Vegas

The driver of the Tesla Cybertruck that exploded in front of Trump International Hotel Las Vegas On New Year’s Day he was identified as Matthew Alan Livelsberger, 37, a U.S. Army service member from Colorado, U.S. officials said.

Livelsberger was shot in the head in what police believe was a self-inflicted gunshot before the vehicle detonated, police said.

Authorities used his tattoos, along with his credit cards, military identification and passport, to identify it on the spot.

“There are two tattoos, one on his stomach and one on his arm, of which we can see fragments, compared to what we now know he had on his body.” Sheriff Kevin McMahill of the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department said Thursday.

“That has given us a lot of confidence that it is, indeed, the same person, in addition to what is clearly evident, which are the credit cards, the military identification, the passport,” he added.

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Matthew Livelsberger poses in an undated photograph. (Fox News)

Las Vegas police established that Matthew Livelsberger was a person of interest in the explosion of a Tesla Cybertruck in Las Vegas on Wednesday, using forms of identification found in the truck, as well as a tattoo on his arm. (Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Press Conference)

Military career:

The 37-year-old recently returned from an overseas assignment in Germany and was on approved leave at the time of the incident, according to a U.S. official.

He had served in the military since 2006, rising through the ranks.

“Sergeant Major Matthew Alan Livelsberger enlisted as an 18X and served in the Army on active duty from January 2006 to March 2011. Livelsberger then joined the National Guard from March 2011 to July 2012, followed by the Reserve Army from July 2012 to December 2012. Entered the Army on active duty in December 2012 and was US Army Special Operations Soldier“an army spokesperson confirmed to Fox News.

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He received a total of five Bronze Stars, including one with a valor under fire badge, a combat infantry badge, and an Army Commendation Medal for valor.

He was deployed twice to Afghanistan and also served in Ukraine, Tajikistan, Georgia and Congo, the Associated Press reported.

Matthew Livelsberger seen in a photograph. (Fox News)

Political affiliation:

There has been speculation online about his political affiliations, but there are no confirmed reports about how he voted.

Livelsberger’s uncle Dean told The Independent that he “loved Trump.”

“He loved Trump and was always a very, very patriotic soldier.” an american patriot” Dean said. “It’s one of the reasons he was in Special Forces for so many years.”

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Family:

Livelsberger appears to have been married at one time to Sara Livelsberger, a 38-year-old woman who lives in Delray Beach, Florida. Denver Post She reported that she had divorced in 2018 and remarried in 2022.

Fox News Digital has reached out to Sara Livelsberger for comment.

A Facebook page for Sara has been silent since 2016, but makes multiple references to Livelsberger as her husband.

In Facebook posts from 2016, Sara said she was a registered Democrat and shared images disparaging President-elect Trump.

The Cybertruck was rented in Colorado, authorities said during a news conference Wednesday.

The futuristic Tesla vehicle came complete with large fireworks mortars in the back and fuel canisters. He arrived in Las Vegas around 7:30 a.m. local time on Wednesday and toured the Strip before arriving at the Trump hotel.

The vehicle was parked for about 20 seconds before exploding. the police said.

Authorities continue to investigate whether the incident was an act of terrorism, which came just hours after another American veteran killed at least 15 people when he ran over a truck carrying an Islamic State flag on Bourbon Street in New Orleans.

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The authorities are still working to determine a motive.

“It’s not lost on us that it’s in front of the Trump building, that it’s a Tesla vehicle, but we have no information at this time that definitively tells us or suggests that it was because of this particular ideology,” Spencer Evans said. The special agent in charge of the Las Vegas FBI.

Fox News Digital’s Greg Wehner and The Associated Press contributed to this report.