Identification of a dead US soldier in a Cybertruck truck explosion in Las Vegas: reports | Crime news

Details are beginning to emerge about the man who was killed in Explosion A Tesla Cybertruck outside the Trump International Hotel Las Vegas on New Year’s Day.

At a news conference on Thursday, Las Vegas Mayor Kevin McMahill said the coroner’s office indicated the man died by suicide before the explosion.

“The individual was shot in the head before the car was detonated,” McMahill told reporters. He added that a gun was found at the man’s feet.

Earlier in the day, news agencies, including the Associated Press and Agence France-Presse, identified the man as an active-duty soldier named Matthew Livelsperger.

The media, citing unnamed military officials, explained that Livelsberger was on leave from his position in the US Army Special Operations Command.

He was a Green Beret who had served in various roles with the U.S. Army since 2006, with tours of duty in Afghanistan, Ukraine and Tajikistan, among other locations.

But on Wednesday, Levelsberger was allegedly found dead inside a burning Tesla Cybertruck on the circular driveway outside the hotel’s glass front doors.

Seven other people were injured when the electronic truck exploded, and details are still scarce about the circumstances surrounding the explosion.

Kenny Cooper, special agent for the US Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, expressed his surprise that a military member was involved in the explosion, which caused little damage except for the electronic truck.

“The level of sophistication is not what we would expect from an individual with this type of military experience,” Kenny Cooper said.

Preliminary investigations indicate that the Cybertruck was carrying fireworks and camp fuel canisters when it exploded.

The Trump International Hotel Las Vegas is named after President-elect Donald Trump, a co-owner of the hotel who is scheduled to take office for a second term in the White House on January 20.

short statement The FBI said Thursday that investigators searched a home in Colorado in connection with the incident but did not provide further details.

“FBI Denver; Denver Field Division of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives; The Colorado Springs Police Department is conducting law enforcement activity at a residential address in Colorado Springs, the statement said.

“FBI Denver personnel and specialized teams will be on site for several hours. This activity is related to the explosion that occurred in Las Vegas on Wednesday.”

The explosion occurred on the same fatal day Car ramming attack In the southern city of New Orleans, killing at least 15 people, including the suspect.

At least 35 people were injured in this attack, according to an official estimate on Thursday. This incident is being investigated as a terrorist attack, and explosive devices were allegedly discovered in coolers left in the street at the crime scene.

But the authorities stopped short of linking the two incidents.

At a news conference in New Orleans on Thursday, Christopher Raya, deputy assistant director of the FBI’s Counterterrorism Division, confirmed that he had found no connection yet.

“We are following up on all possible leads and are not ruling out everything,” Raya told reporters. “However, at this point, there is no specific connection between the attack here in New Orleans and the attack that occurred in Las Vegas.”

Law enforcement initially believed the suspect was… New Orleans attackShams al-Din Jabbar, 42 years old, received help from others.

But Raya said on Thursday that authorities now believe Jabbar acted alone. “We are confident at this point that there are no partners.”

He said initial reports of accomplices were likely prompted by eyewitnesses who reported that bystanders had checked coolers with explosive devices, without knowing what was inside.

Jabbar was eventually shot dead after getting out of his car and opening fire on police.

Both the New Orleans car crash and the Cybertruck explosion in Las Vegas involved vehicles rented through the car rental app Turo.

Both Livelsperger and Jabbar were also military veterans who spent time at Fort Bragg, a military installation in North Carolina now known as Fort Liberty.

But an anonymous official told The Associated Press that the two men were not stationed at the base at the same time.