The suspected terrorist who drove a Tesla filled with explosives to the Trump hotel in Las Vegas shot himself in the head before the Cybertruck blew up, officials revealed.
The body of decorated Green Beret Matthew Livelsberger, 37, was burned beyond recognition in the explosion and was identified through his tattoos, Sheriff Kevin McMahill said on Thursday.
Police found credit cards, his passport and military ID on him, but they are still referring to him as a person of interest as they await DNA confirmation.
The weapons found in the truck were purchased legally on December 30, 2024.
The electric vehicle, which was rented on the app Turo, exploded about 15 seconds after the driver pulled up in front of the hotel’s entrance. Police are still looking for a motive for the attack.
Sheriff McMahill addressed similarities between the terror act in Vegas and the one in New Orleans by Texas native Shamsud-din Jabbar, 42, who flew an ISIS flag as he slaughtered 14 and injured dozens with a rented truck.
Both served at the same military base in North Carolina, but officials do not know if they ever crossed paths. Moreover, both also served in Afghanistan in 2009 – however officials say they have seen no evidence they were in the same providence or unit. That remains under investigation.
It comes as Donald Trump‘s incoming border czar Tom Homan said both men were ‘on a suicide mission’ and theorized Livelsberger was also inspired by ISIS.
The body of Matthew Livelsberger, 37, was burned beyond recognition after he apparently blew up a Tesla Cybertruck outside the Trump hotel in Las Vegas
Livelsberger was identified through his tattoos, Sheriff Kevin McMahill said on Thursday
Police found credit cards, his passport and military ID on him, but they are still referring to him as a person of interest as they await DNA confirmation
‘This is just another danger this country faces because this country has been lax on national security and groups like this have been emboldened,’ Homan claimed.
‘I think you’re going to find they both have recent and foreign travel. They were both inspired by ISIS,’ he said.
While the New Orleans suspect flew an ISIS flag and declared his alliance to the terrorist group, police so far have found no evidence that Livelsberger was connected to Islamic terrorism in any way.
The FBI said Thursday that they believe Jabbar acted alone, reversing its position from a day earlier that he likely worked with others.
Chris Raia, FBI deputy assistant director, said Thursday that officials have found ‘no definitive link’ between the New Orleans attack and the truck explosion in Las Vegas.
Livelsberger served in the Green Berets, highly trained special forces who work to counter terrorism abroad and train partners, the Army said in a statement.
The weapons found in the truck were purchased legally on December 30, 2024, police said
The passport found by authorities inside the Tesla vehicle is pictured above
Las Vegas officials shared the above image of the Tesla as it headed to the Trump hotel
He had served in the Army since 2006, rising through the ranks with a long career of overseas assignments, deploying twice to Afghanistan and serving in Ukraine, Tajikistan, Georgia and Congo, the Army said.
Livelsberger was awarded two Bronze Stars, including one with a valor device for courage under fire, a combat infantry badge and an Army Commendation Medal with valor. Livelsberger was on approved leave when he died, according to the statement.
The Green Beret grew up in Ohio and was married to social worker Sara Livelsberger, who has said she had not heard from him for days before his apparent suicide.
His uncle Dean Livelsberger told The Independent that his nephew was ‘100 percent a patriot’, and described him as a ‘Rambo-type.’
‘He used to have all patriotic stuff on Facebook, he was 100 percent loving the country,’ he continued. ‘He loved Trump, and he was always a very, very patriotic soldier, a patriotic American. It’s one of the reasons he was in Special Forces for so many years. It wasn’t just one tour of duty.’
Some of the burned items surrounding the Cybertruck are seen above
He is pictured with wife Sara Livelsberger (both pictured), who in the lead up to the 2016 election shared a slew of Facebook posts spouting anti-Trump rhetoric
Livelsberger is suspected of renting the Tesla Cybertruck in Colorado Springs, via the Turo app, and driving it across the border to Nevada on Wednesday morning – where he carried out the attack (pictured)
Seven people nearby suffered minor injuries when the Tesla truck exploded on Wednesday.
Video showed a tumble of charred fireworks mortars, canisters and other explosive devices crowded into the back of the pickup. The truck bed walls were still intact because the blast shot straight up rather than to the sides.
Tesla CEO Elon Musk said Wednesday afternoon on X 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 is unrelated to the vehicle itself.’
‘All vehicle telemetry was positive at the time of the explosion,’ Musk wrote.