“It was not a terrorist attack, it was a wake-up call. » One of the messages left by the soldier found dead in the Tesla Cybertruck which exploded on Wednesday 1is January in front of the Trump Hotel in Las Vegas (Nevada) seems to confirm the thesis of an isolated act and unrelated to a terrorist enterprise.
“This appears to be a tragic case of suicide involving a decorated veteran (…) who struggles with post-traumatic stress disorder and other issues »explained the FBI agent in charge of the investigation, Spencer Evans, during a press conference on Friday, January 3.
Matthew Livelsberger, a member of the US Army Special Forces – the “Green Berets” – ended his life at the age of 37, in a vehicle rented online. The explosion left seven people lightly injured and caused very little damage to the hotel. Authorities have yet to fully understand how the suspect was able to shoot himself in the head while lighting fireworks and camping fuel inside the vehicle, causing the explosion.
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Vague motivations
The exploitation of his phone began to reveal vague motivations. Investigators notably found two letters there where he mentions “political grievances”explained a Las Vegas sheriff's deputy, Dori Koren. Matthew Livelsberger discusses “questions about conflicts elsewhere” in the world and “national problems, societal problems”as well as “personal challenges”he detailed.
“We are the United States of America, the greatest country that ever existed”writes the soldier in one of the letters. “But right now we are fatally ill and heading towards collapse. It was not a terrorist attack, but a warning signal,” he continues.
The suspect also explains that he acted in this way because “Americans only pay attention to spectacles and violence”. To explain his action, he cites trauma suffered during his military career. “I needed to clear my mind of the brothers I lost and relieve myself of the burden of the lives I took”he writes.
According to the authorities, the suspect acted alone, but the political proximity between Tesla boss Elon Musk and Donald Trump fueled speculation around his action. According to the first elements of the investigation, Matthew Livelsberger “had no animosity towards the president” elected Republican, detailed Mr. Evans.
“My life has been hell”
According to the American federal police, there is also nothing to establish a link between the explosion in Las Vegas and the car-ramming attack in New Orleans (Louisiana), a few hours earlier during the New Year's Eve celebrations. , by a former soldier inspired by the Islamic State group, who killed fourteen people.
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In recent years, Matthew Livelsberger confided in a former girlfriend, who had served as a nurse in the army. He spoke of the pain and exhaustion — which she attributed to head trauma — that kept him up at night, as well as reliving the violence of his deployment to Afghanistan, she said.
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“My life has been personal hell over the past year,” he wrote to her in a text message sent at the start of their relationship in 2018.
The Green Berets are special forces of the United States Army, specializing in guerrilla warfare and unconventional combat tactics. Matthew Livelsberger, who received several decorations, rose through the ranks and was deployed twice to Afghanistan. According to the military, he also served in Ukraine, Tajikistan, Georgia and Congo. He recently returned from a mission in Germany and was on leave.
