Posted on: January 2, 2025, 07:40h.
Last updated on: January 2, 2025, 07:40h.
Authorities continue to unravel the puzzling New Year’s Day explosion which left one person dead and seven injured outside of the Trump International Hotel Las Vegas.
Local police confirmed on Wednesday they are investigating possible connections between the deadly Las Vegas Strip explosion and the mass killing which took place on New Orleans’ Bourbon Street just hours before.
“This is a joint investigation with federal, state, and local authorities,” the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department (LVMPD) said in a recent statement. “Investigators are working to identify the suspect and determine if this was an act of terrorism. Current findings suggest this was an isolated incident with no indication of a larger plan.”
Reported ID of Suspect
The suspect who drove the Tesla Cybertruck to the Trump Hotel’s valet area was identified as Matthew Livelsberger, 37, according to the New York Post.
He was described as an Army veteran who resided in Colorado. He had several residences in Colorado Springs, Las Vegas TV station KTNV further reported.
He rented the 2024 electric truck through a Turo app and picked up it in Colorado. He began the trip to Nevada on Monday, frequently stopping at Tesla charging stations. He drove alone in the truck, and arrived in Las Vegas at about 7:30 a.m. on Wednesday.
The truck bed was filled with gasoline tanks, camping fuel, and firework mortars, according to Clark County Sheriff Kevin McMahill.
Initially, Livelsberger drove around Las Vegas Boulevard for about an hour. At around 8:39 a.m., the driver turned into the valet area at the Trump Hotel. The vehicle was parked in front of the hotel’s main entrance. Seconds later, smoke appeared, and the truck burst into flames with a flash and explosion.
The explosion triggered the valet area sprinklers. Emergency officials were alerted. Clark County firefighters and LVMPD officers quickly arrived at the hotel.
The first responding engine company was at the scene just four minutes after the explosion was reported. A team of firefighters soon covered the engulfed truck with a specialized tarp to extinguish the massive flames.
“The individual that was in that truck is obviously deceased,” McMahill said at a press conference.
The sheriff’s office has yet to confirm his identity. But several news outlets and social media sites identified him as Livelsberger.
Seven other victims who were in the valet area were injured from the explosion. Two were transported to University Medical Center where they were treated and later released.
Damage to the hotel was limited, apparently because of the design of the Cybertruck. The exterior of the truck remained intact.
The evil knuckleheads picked the wrong vehicle for a terrorist attack,” Tesla CEO Elon Musk posted on X, the social media site he owns, that was formerly known as Twitter. “Cybertruck actually contained the explosion and directed the blast upwards. Not even the glass doors of the lobby were broken.”
Most of the guests at the Trump International Hotel were evacuated to the nearby Resorts World Las Vegas. The close by Fashion Show Las Vegas mall was evacuated, too. The mall was reopened later on Wednesday.
Jeremy Schwartz, the FBI’s acting agent in charge for its Las Vegas office, told reporters on Wednesday the agency’s immediate efforts will focus on confirming the suspect’s identity and then determining if the incident was “an act of terrorism or not.”
We believe this is an isolated incident,” Schwartz added. “We do not believe that there is a bunch of folks out there supporting this or helping this. We don’t believe there is any other danger to the community right now.”
But, McMahill said investigators aren’t ruling anything out.
Police and federal agents will pursue questions if it was merely a coincidence that the Cybertruck at the Trump hotel and the F-150 used in the New Orleans deadly attack were both rented using a Turo app.
Trump-Musk Relationship
In addition, there’s concern that the attack was undertaken at a Trump-owned hotel and the suspect there used a Tesla vehicle, a company owned by Musk.
Musk is taking a key role in President Donald Trump’s second administration.
It’s a Tesla truck. We know that Elon Musk is working with President-Elect Trump. And it’s the Trump Tower. So, there’s obviously things to be concerned about there. It’s something that we continue to look at,” McMahill confirmed during the press conference.
To ensure the public’s safety, the LVMPD has assigned an increased number of officers for the next couple of days on the Las Vegas Strip, in Downtown Las Vegas, and in other locations under the department’s jurisdiction.
