An explosion outside Trump International Hotel in Las Vegas, Nevada, USA, on New Year’s Day, involving a Tesla Cybertruck, left Army veteran Matthew Livelsberger dead and injured seven others. Authorities confirmed Livelsberger detonated the device in a likely suicide, while conspiracy theories have been questioning his motives.
Just after 8:40 a.m. on Wednesday (January 1), Livelsberger, a 37-year-old army veteran, reportedly detonated explosive devices inside a Tesla Cybertruck, which he had parked outside of the Trump International Hotel in Las Vegas.
Video posted on social media reportedly showed different angles of the explosion, which included fireworks.
Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department Sheriff Kevin McMahill later confirmed that camp fuel canisters and “firework mortars” were found in the truck, The Independent reported on Thursday (January 2).
There was an explosion outside Trump International Hotel in Las Vegas, Nevada, USA, on New Year’s Day
Image credits: KTNV Channel 13 Las Vegas
McMahill said on Thursday that investigators were confident that Livelsberger was the person in the vehicle, though his body was “burned beyond recognition.”
The sheriff added that there was evidence that he had shot himself in the head prior to the blast, as per The Independent.
Despite the reports, a slew of people were left perplexed, as a Facebook user questioned: “What was his motive?”
Image credits: Las Vegas Metropolitan Police
A person argued: “I'm not buying it. Dude could have taken down half the building with what he knew, but he used a tank to contain the blast and fireworks..... nope.
“Doesn't make sense.”
The explosion involved a Tesla Cybertruck
Image credits: Las Vegas Metropolitan Police
“Math ain’t mathing here folks!” a netizen commented.
An observer wrote: “Having worked in an intensive care burn/trauma unit, highly doubtful he was burned beyond recognition but his tattoos were identifiable.
“Math ain’t mathin’ on this one.”
Image credits: LinkedIn
A separate individual chimed in: “Something isn't adding up here.”
Nevertheless, the Las Vegas explosion was officially ruled a suicide, as the suspect sustained a gunshot wound to the head before the blast, according to authorities.
It left Army veteran Matthew Livelsberger dead and injured seven others
Image credits: Las Vegas Metropolitan Police
Police noted the Tesla Cybertruck’s reinforced design likely minimized casualties and damage by directing the explosion upward.
“I’m comfortable calling it a suicide with the bombing that occurred immediately thereafter,” Sheriff McMahill said. “I’m not giving it any other labels.”
Authorities have been investigating potential links between the Las Vegas and New Orleans New Year’s Day attacks, as both suspects, military veterans, had ties to military base Fort Bragg and rented their vehicles via Turo.
Image credits: Las Vegas Metropolitan Police
While the FBI has not confirmed a connection, they are reportedly exploring the possibility of terrorism in both cases.
Livelsberger was from Colorado Springs, USA, and “was a 100 percent patriot,” who loved the Army and was an ardent supporter of President-elect Donald Trump, family member Dean Livelsberger told The Independent.
Livelsberger shared: “He used to have all patriotic stuff on Facebook, he was 100 percent loving the country.”
Authorities confirmed Livelsberger detonated the device in a likely suicide
Image credits: Las Vegas Metropolitan Police
“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.”
Livelsberger, who divorced his first wife, shared a newborn with his last partner.
Image credits: Matt Berg/Facebook
Moreover, he had 18 years of experience in the Special Forces and was highly skilled and decorated, earning accolades such as the Department of State Meritorious Honor Award and graduating summa cum laude from Norwich University.
His recent role was as a Remote and Autonomous Systems Manager, and he was on leave in Colorado Springs before driving a rented Tesla Cybertruck to Nevada.
Conspiracy theories have been questioning his motives
Image credits: CBS Evening News
The Tesla Cybertruck explosion occurred hours apart from the New Orleans truck attack which killed at least 15 people and injured dozens in the morning on New Year’s Day.
The suspect, Shamsud-Din Jabbar, plowed into a New Year’s crowd on Bourbon Street in New Orleans, USA, in a pickup truck. The act was investigated as terrorism by the FBI.
Jabbar, a Texas native and Army veteran, was killed in a shootout with police and had declared allegiance to ISIS in videos recorded before the attack.
The Tesla Cybertruck explosion continued to ignite speculations
