The person authorities believe died in the Tesla Cybertruck that exploded outside one of Donald Trump’s hotels was an active-duty Army soldier, US officials said.
Two police officers identified the man who was inside the rented vehicle, which burst into flames in vegas on New Year’s Day, like Matthew Livelsberger, according to the AP news agency.
He was a member of the military who spent time at a base formerly known as Fort Bragg, a center in North Carolina that houses special forces command, they said.
Seven other people suffered minor injuries when the vehicle caught fire outside the Trump Worldwide Lodge.
The explosion is being considered a possible terrorist attack, officials said. So far no cause has been given for the explosion, but fireworks mortars, canisters and other explosive devices were found in the back of the truck.
Authorities investigate possible link with New Orleans
The incident occurred a few hours after a man drove a truck into a crowd celebrating New Year’s in New OrleansLouisiana, killing 15 people before being shot dead by police.
The suspect in that attack has been identified as Shamsud-Din Jabbar, 42, a US Army veteran. An ISIS flag flew from the truck.
Authorities are investigating a “possible military connection” between the two men, reports Sky Information’s US partner NBC Information. Jabbar also spent time at Fort Bragg, but an official said no overlap in his assignments there has been found so far.
Law enforcement officials are also investigating the fact that both men used the Turo Automotive app to rent the vehicles used in both incidents.
Las Vegas Police Sheriff Kevin McMahill also said officers are investigating possible connections.
The truck involved in the Las Vegas explosion was rented in Colorado and arrived in the city at 7:30 a.m. local time (3:30 p.m. British time), he said.
“It immediately went up and down Las Vegas Boulevard before immediately stopping at Trump Towers,” McMahill added.
The 64-story resort is just behind the famous Las Vegas Strip and across from the Trend Present Las Vegas shopping center.
Tesla is owned by the tech billionaire Elon Musk who has been a close ally of Mr Trump – donating millions to his successful 2024 US election campaign. He has also been tasked with running Trump’s Department of Government Efficiency.
McMahill said video captured at Telsa charging stations provided by Musk helped authorities track the vehicle’s journey.
The Tesla boss provided officers with “quite a bit of additional information about how the vehicle was locked after it exploded,” he said, “as well as being able to capture all the video from Tesla charging stations across the country.” .
Previously, Musk wrote on
“All vehicle telemetry was positive at the time of the explosion.”
Eric Trump, one of Trump’s sons who is also executive vice president of the Trump Organization, posted about the fire in X, praising the fire department and local authorities “for their quick response and professionalism.”
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