The FBI is currently ruling out the hypothesis that there is a link between the explosion of the Tesla Cybertruck in Las Vegas and the vehicle-ramming attack in New Orleans, both of which occurred on Wednesday. There are, however, similarities between the two suspects, who both served in the US military, for example.
• Also read: “Terrorist act” in New Orleans: the toll rises to 15 dead and 35 injured
• Also read: [VIDÉO] One dead, seven injured in Cybertruck explosion in Las Vegas
• Also read: Who are the victims of the ‘terrorist’ attack in New Orleans?
Who is Matthew Livelsberger?
The driver of the Tesla Cybertruck who was killed when the vehicle exploded outside the Trump Hotel in Las Vegas on Wednesday has reportedly been identified as a military veteran and Colorado Springs resident.
According to several American media, Matthew Livelsberger, aged 37, died in Elon Musk’s electric van which caught fire on New Year’s Day in front of a hotel in Las Vegas, also leaving seven people injured.
Getty Images via AFP
He reportedly served in the military for 19 years, 18 of which were in Special Forces, according to KTNV. In 2016, he received the Meritorious Honor Award from the State Department.
Mr. Livelsberger is said to have several addresses associated with him in Colorado Springs.
According to media Denver7, FBI agents were monitoring one of these addresses on Marksheffel Road on Wednesday evening, awaiting a search warrant.
Getty Images via AFP
The suspect in question has still not been officially identified by the police.
“At this time, our top priority is to ensure that we correctly identify the individual involved in this incident. Then our second objective is to determine whether or not this is an act of terrorism. I know everyone is interested in this term and wants to know if we can say: “yes, this is a terrorist attack.” That’s our goal and that’s what we’re looking to determine,” acting special agent in charge of the FBI’s Las Vegas field office, Jeremy Schwartz, told CNN.
The Cybertruck explosion is being investigated by the FBI as a “possible act of terrorism.”
-Who is Shamsud-Din Jabbar?
The suspect in the vehicle-ramming attack in New Orleans, which left at least 15 dead and around thirty injured, which occurred a few hours earlier Wednesday, was also identified as an army veteran.
Shamsud-Din Jabbar, aged 42, was a “US national from Texas” and former Army soldier, according to federal police and the FBI.
He reportedly served nearly eight years in the U.S. Army, was deployed to Afghanistan from February 2009 to 2010 and left the Army Reserve as a master sergeant in July 2020, according to the Times of India.
This American citizen born in Texas was a real estate agent and former soldier. He was the father of three children and twice divorced.
President Joe Biden explained that “just hours before the attack,” the suspect had “posted videos on social media indicating that he was inspired by ISIS” and showing a “desire to kill “.
His brother, Abdur Jabbar, who spoke to the New York Times, speaks of him rather as “a love, a nice guy, a friend, very intelligent, attentive”.
It said the suspect had converted to Islam at a young age, stressing: “What he did does not represent Islam. It is rather a form of radicalization.”
Other similarities?
According to Denver7, Matthew Liverlsberger and Shamsud-Din Jabbar served on the same military base.
AFP
The two vehicles involved in the attack in New Orleans and the explosion in front of the Trump hotel in Las Vegas were rented via the application of the car-sharing company Turo, according to American media.
“We are heartbroken by the violence in New Orleans and Las Vegas, and our prayers are with the victims and families,” a Turo spokesperson said in a statement sent to ABC News.
“We do not believe that any of the tenants involved in the attacks in Las Vegas and New Orleans had a criminal history that would have identified them as a security threat,” he said. continued.
