The person in the exploded Cybertruck is believed to be an elite soldier

The man who rented the Tesla Cybertruck that exploded outside the Trump Hotel in Las Vegas was an active-duty US Special Forces soldier, officials have confirmed.

Las Vegas police identified Matthew Alan Livelsberger, 37, as the man who rented the car and drove it from Colorado to Las Vegas.

Officials said they were fairly certain he was found dead in the car after the explosion but were waiting for that to be confirmed through DNA evidence.

Las Vegas Police Chief Kevin McMahill said Thursday that the body in the car was burned beyond recognition and was found with a gunshot wound to the head.

Seven people were injured when the car filled with fuel cylinders and fire mortar shells exploded on New Year’s Day. Officials said all injuries were minor.

Police said the truck arrived in the city on Wednesday morning, less than two hours before the explosion. The car was parked in front of the hotel near a glass entrance, and smoke began to emerge from it, then it exploded.

Authorities said they have not yet determined the motive behind the incident.

“I am comfortable describing it as a suicide bombing that occurred immediately afterward,” Sheriff McMahill said during Thursday’s press conference.

Investigators recovered a military ID card, a passport, two semi-automatic handguns, fireworks, an iPhone, a smart watch and several credit cards in Livelsberger’s name from the charred car, the sheriff said.

Mr McMahill said they found two tattoos on the driver’s remains that matched the tattoos Livelsberger had.

The Colorado Springs native rented a Cybertruck on Dec. 28 in Denver.

Police were able to track his movements using a number of photos while driving from Denver, Colorado to Las Vegas, Nevada. He was the only one seen driving the car.

McMahill said there are many similarities — but no specific connection — between the suspects in the Las Vegas incident and the New Orleans truck attack that left 14 people dead, which occurred on New Year’s Day.

Both suspects served at Fort Bragg in North Carolina, although there is no record that they served in the same unit or were there at the same time. They both also served in Afghanistan in 2009, but there is no evidence that they were in the same area or unit.

They both also used rental company Turo for the vehicles involved in the incidents, Mr McMahill said.

“We do not believe there is any further threat from this subject or anyone associated with it here in Las Vegas,” he said.

Livelsperger has decades of experience in the U.S. Army, having served in both the Army and National Guard. He was a sergeant in Special Forces Intelligence.

He was serving in Germany but on approved leave at the time of the accident.

Livelsberger’s father told CBS, the BBC’s news partner, that his son was in Colorado to see his wife and eight-month-old daughter.

He said he last spoke to his son at Christmas and that everything seemed normal.