The driver of the vehicle was Matthew Livelsberger, a US special forces sergeant. He committed suicide before the vehicle exploded.
Wednesday January 1either a few hours After the car-ramming attack in New Orleans, a Tesla Cybertruck exploded in front of Trump Tower in Las Vegas. THE driver of the car died and seven other people were slightly injured.
The Las Vegas sheriff later announced that they had found fireworks and cans of gasoline in the vehicle.
The American authorities confirmed this Thursday, January 2 that the driver of the car committed suicide just before the explosion. The reasons for this act still remain “unknown“. “We discovered, thanks to the medical examiner's office, that the individual had been shot in the head before the vehicle exploded“Las Vegas Sheriff Kevin McMahill said at a news conference. Investigators do not think there are “other dangers for the community”.
Who was the driver?
Now identified, the driver was Matthew Alan Livelsberger, a man of 37 ans, father of an 8-month-old girl, according to our colleagues at CBS News. His father, who had last spoken to him on Christmas Day, said that “everything seemed normal“, adding that he “loved the military and America.” He had been enlisted since 2006 and joined the Special Forces in 2012. A US Army Special Forces Intelligence Sergeant, he was serving in Germany and was currently on vacation in Colorado His wife said she hadn't heard from him in a few days.
Authorities say the driver in the Tesla Cybertruck explosion outside the Trump International Hotel in Las Vegas on New Year’s Day has been identified as active-duty soldier Matthew Alan Livelsberger. They say the 37-year-old shot himself in the head before the blast. Federal… pic.twitter.com/V4csc64bFU
— CBS Evening News (@CBSEveningNews) https://twitter.com/CBSEveningNews/status/1874980369956507697?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
It was difficult for investigators to identify his body because it was burned and therefore “unrecognizable”. His papers were found in the vehicle, as were “two semi-automatic handguns” purchased legally on December 30.
Those close to him called him an “honest” man, with some not believing he was involved in the explosion.
“We're still trying to determine the motive for this type of incident,” said Spencer Evans, special agent in charge of the FBI's Las Vegas division.
