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By Rich McKay and Hannah Lang
(Reuters) – Authorities on Thursday positively identified the person found dead in a Cybertruck that exploded outside the Trump International Hotel in Las Vegas as a U.S. Army soldier from Colorado, while the FBI said he was not it is not yet clear whether the explosion was an act of terrorism.
The FBI says it has so far found no concrete link between the New Orleans truck attack that killed 15 people and the Cybertruck explosion in Las Vegas later the same day, which left seven people dead. and minor injuries.
The driver of the Cybertruck was identified as Matthew Livelsberger, 37, an active duty Army veteran from Colorado Springs, and police said he was working alone.
Livelsberger committed suicide with a gunshot to the mouth, police said, citing a report from the Clark County Coroner/Medical Examiner, according to a post on X by the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department.
Police said Livelsberger was in the car when gasoline cans and large firecrackers in the bed of the truck exploded.
Police previously told a news conference that they believed the person found in the truck to be Livelsberger, but because the body was so badly burned, investigators were awaiting confirmation of DNA evidence and medical records.
Livelsberger shot himself shortly before the explosives in the car exploded, Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department Sheriff Kevin McMahill told reporters. A handgun was found at his feet.
It was one of two semi-automatic rifles found in Cybertruck, both of which were legally purchased by Livelsberger on Dec. 30. Law enforcement also found military identification, a passport, an iPhone and credit cards in the truck.
Livelsberger was assigned to the Army Special Operations Command and was on approved leave at the time of his death, an Army official said. The Army’s Special Operations Command declines to comment on ongoing investigations, a spokeswoman said.
A US official told Reuters that Livelsberger was awarded the Bronze Star for bravery and the Army Commendation for bravery, as well as the Combat Infantryman’s Badge. He completed five combat missions in Afghanistan, the official said.
A close friend of Livelsberger, who asked that his name not be used because he did not want to be publicly associated with a suspect, told Reuters that Livelsberger had always wanted to be a “Soldier in the Army , in the Special Forces, even as a young child. . And when he reached that, he was a soldier.
Livelsberger was a supporter of President-elect Donald Trump throughout his Republican political career, seeing him as a pro-military figure, a relative told Reuters. “He thought Trump was the greatest thing in the world.”
Livelsberger went to Bucyrus High School in northern Ohio, the man said, where he played football and baseball and seemed happy and popular.
The man said there had never been any suggestion that Livelsberger was planning something like the Las Vegas bombing. He said he could not come to terms with what Livelsberger is believed to have done with someone he knew as a child and a man.
Livelsberger graduated from Bucyrus High School in 2005, according to Ohio media. He immediately left to join the army after graduation, a relative said.
Videos taken by witnesses inside and outside the Las Vegas hotel showed the Cybertruck, an electric vehicle with a unique shape, exploding with flames pouring out of it, sitting in front of the hotel so that bang at 8:40 am local time (1640 GMT. ) on Wednesday.
A spokesman for Trump did not return a request for comment Thursday.
TRUMP BUILDING, TESLA CAR
The Trump International Hotel in Las Vegas is part of the Trump Organization, the company of Donald Trump, who will return to the White House on Jan. 20. The son of the president-elect Eric Trump, a manager with the Trump Organization, praised Las Vegas. fire and law enforcement officials on Wednesday for their quick response after the explosion.
Tesla ( O: ) CEO Elon Musk was a key supporter of Trump in his 2024 presidential campaign and is an adviser to the incoming president.
“We’re not losing sight of the fact that it’s in front of the Trump building, that it’s a Tesla car, but we don’t have any information right now that tells us or suggests that it’s because of this idea, or … about the reasons behind it,” McMahill, of the Las Vegas Police Department, said.
Police say Livelsberger rented a Cybertruck in Denver on Dec. 28 and made stops in several cities, including Albuquerque, New Mexico, and Flagstaff, Arizona, before arriving in Las Vegas early Wednesday.
The truck drove by a city- and Strip hotel with a casino, passed the Trump hotel driveway and then returned to the valet area. Trump’s hotel was evacuated and many guests were moved to another hotel after the explosion.
The Cybertruck and the car used in the New Orleans attack were rented through the ride-sharing service Turo, McMahill said.
A Turo spokesperson said the company does not believe any of the car hirers involved have a criminal record that would have flagged them as a security threat.
