Two law enforcement officials identified the man inside the vehicle as Matthew Livelsberger. The officials spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss an ongoing investigation.
Matthew Livelsberger was a member of the US Army's “Green Berets”, a unit of special forces and guerrilla experts, according to an army statement. Joining the Army in 2006, he rose through the ranks and was on approved leave when he died, according to the release. The Green Berets work to counter terrorists overseas using “unconventional” techniques.
Livelsberger spent time at the base formerly known as “Fort Bragg,” a major base in North Carolina that houses the Army's Special Forces Command.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) said in a post on
The explosion of the vehicle, filled with fireworks mortars and cans of camping fuel, came hours after Shamsud-Din Bahar Jabbar, 42, drove a truck into a crowd in the New Orleans' famous French Quarter early on New Year's Day, killing at least 15 people before being shot and killed by police. This incident is being investigated as a terrorist attack and police believe the driver was acting alone.
Jabbar, a U.S. Army veteran, also spent time at Fort Bragg, now called Fort Liberty, but an official said so far there was no overlap in their missions there.
The investigation so far has not shown that the events in Las Vegas and New Orleans were linked, and authorities do not believe the two men knew each other, the two law enforcement officials said. .
Seven people nearby were slightly injured when the Tesla van exploded in Las Vegas.
Tesla CEO Elon Musk wrote on X Wednesday afternoon that “we have now confirmed that the explosion was caused by very large fireworks and/or a bomb carried in the bed of the rented Cybertruck and that it is not linked to the vehicle itself.
Authorities know who rented the vehicle with the Turo app in Colorado, Las Vegas Police Department Sheriff Kevin McMahill said Wednesday.
