{"id":108369,"date":"2025-01-03T12:03:24","date_gmt":"2025-01-03T12:03:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lascrucestoday.com\/newstalklc\/las-vegas-cybertruck-explosion-investigators-piece-together-suspects-final-hours\/"},"modified":"2025-01-03T12:03:24","modified_gmt":"2025-01-03T12:03:24","slug":"las-vegas-cybertruck-explosion-investigators-piece-together-suspects-final-hours","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lascrucestoday.com\/newstalklc\/las-vegas-cybertruck-explosion-investigators-piece-together-suspects-final-hours\/","title":{"rendered":"Las Vegas Cybertruck explosion investigators piece together suspect’s final hours"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n
Obtained by ABC News<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

(LAS VEGAS) — Matthew Livelsberger — the suspected driver of the Tesla Cybertruck that exploded on New Year’s Day outside the Trump International Las Vegas Hotel — died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound prior to the blast, officials said at a Thursday press briefing.<\/p>\n

Investigators had already collected significant evidence that Livelsberger was behind the wheel of the vehicle before publicly confirming their suspicions.<\/p>\n

Officials found credit and identification cards in his name, purchase records identifying him as the owner of weapons found in the destroyed vehicle and identified tattoos similar to Livelsberger’s on the driver’s body, physical injuries to which slowed the identification process.<\/p>\n

The Clark County Coroner ultimately identified Livelsberger — of Colorado Springs, Colorado — as the driver on Thursday. His cause of death was a self-inflicted intraoral gunshot wound.<\/p>\n

No one else was seriously hurt, though seven bystanders sustained minor injuries, officials said.<\/p>\n

An active-duty Army soldier, Livelsberger was found with a gun at his feet. Two firearms — one handgun and one rifle — were found in the vehicle “burnt beyond recognition,” Sheriff Kevin McMahill of the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department said.<\/p>\n

Both weapons were purchased legally on Monday, he added.<\/p>\n

Livelsberger rented the Tesla vehicle on Saturday in Denver via the Turo app, before driving to Las Vegas through cities in Colorado, New Mexico and Arizona. His progress was tracked through Tesla charging stations, officials said.<\/p>\n

The vehicle first pulled into the Trump International Las Vegas Hotel valet area just after 7:30 a.m. Wednesday, officials said. It then left the area, driving along Las Vegas Boulevard, before returning to the valet area at about 8:39 a.m., exploding 17 seconds after its arrival.<\/p>\n

Livelsberger served as a Green Beret in the Army and was on approved leave from serving in Germany at the time of his death, a U.S. Army spokesperson said Thursday.<\/p>\n

He received extensive decorations in combat, including the Bronze Star with a “V” device for valor, indicating heroism under fire. Livelsberger received four more standard Bronze Star medals, according to Army records. He also earned the Afghanistan Campaign Medal with three stars. Each star represents service in a separate campaign in Afghanistan.<\/p>\n

The Las Vegas incident is not believed to have any direct connection to the New Year’s Day truck attack in New Orleans that killed 14 people — as well as the suspect — and injured 35 others, according to the FBI. The truck used in the New Orleans attack was also rented using the Turo app, officials said.<\/p>\n

“At this point, there is no definitive link between the attack here in New Orleans and the one in Las Vegas,” the FBI’s Christopher Raia said Thursday morning at a press conference on the New Orleans attack.<\/p>\n

The two drivers may have overlapped at Fort Liberty or in Afghanistan, though no evidence suggests the two ever were assigned together or knew each other, McMahill said.<\/p>\n

President Joe Biden, in remarks Thursday, said federal investigators have not any evidence of a connection between the attacks but said he had directed them to keep looking.<\/p>\n

Livelsberger was a supporter of President-elect Donald Trump, an official briefed on the probe told ABC News. His wife, who investigators spoke to in Colorado Springs, said he had been out of the house since around Christmas after a dispute over allegations of infidelity, the official said.<\/p>\n

His wife told officials she did not believe Livelsberger would want to hurt anyone, the official told ABC News.<\/p>\n

Livelsberger is believed to have told the person he rented the truck from that he was going camping at the Grand Canyon, the official told ABC News.<\/p>\n

Investigators are still looking to determine how the items in the truck were detonated, but with the contents of the vehicle so badly burned, it may be a slow process, according to the official.<\/p>\n

The sheriff said Tesla CEO Elon Musk helped the investigation by having the truck unlocked after it auto-locked in the blast and by giving investigators video of the suspect at charging stations along its route from Colorado to Las Vegas.<\/p>\n

McMahill said police believe the explosion was an “isolated incident” and that “there is no further threat to the community.” He also said police do not believe anyone was helping the Las Vegas suspect.<\/p>\n

“We believe everything is safe now,” McMahill said.<\/p>\n

Video played at the Las Vegas news conference showed a load of fireworks-style mortars, gasoline cans and camping fuel canisters in the back of the truck.<\/p>\n

The property is the subject of frequent threats and heightened security given its connection to Trump.<\/p>\n

Copyright \u00a9 2025, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Obtained by ABC News (LAS VEGAS) — Matthew Livelsberger — the suspected driver of the Tesla Cybertruck that exploded on New Year’s Day outside the Trump International Las Vegas Hotel — died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound prior to the blast, officials said at a Thursday press briefing. 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