Trump Hotel suspect shoots himself before explosion

Posted: 2 January 2025, 07:23 pm.

Last updated: January 2, 2025, 07:23 pm.

Man in Tesla car parked outside Las Vegas Trump International Hotel Shot himself in the head before mass attack explosion On New Year's Day, officials revealed on Thursday.

The suspect has reportedly been identified as Matthew LivelsbergerA 37-year-old active-duty Army soldier living in Colorado Springs, Colorado, died from injuries sustained in the Cybertruck.

burnt beyond recognition

An autopsy performed by the Clark County Coroner's Office found evidence of a gunshot wound. His body was largely unrecognizable due to the flames and explosion.

“He was burned beyond recognition,” Clark County Sheriff Kevin McMahill said during a Thursday press conference.

According to McMahill, there is evidence of two tattoos on his body. One was on the man's stomach and the other on his arm. Items found in the Cybertruck included his military ID, passport, credit cards, an iPhone and a smartwatch.

Two semi-automatic handguns were also found inside the truck. According to the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), Leavelsberger purchased both guns legally on December 30.

Firecrackers and accelerator were also kept in the truck.

Tattoos, documents and other items led police Thursday to believe that Leavelsberger was the man who died in the vehicle. Photographs taken during their journey from Colorado to Las Vegas also confirm their identity.

But DNA testing and medical records will be used for final confirmation.

Relative confidence in human ID

I still don't have 100% confirmation that he is the same person that was inside our vehicle,'' McMahill said of Livelsberger being that person. But the sheriff said he has “complete confidence” that the dead man is Leavelsberger.

Police also revealed that Livelsberger rented the Cybertruck in Denver, Colo., on December 28 and were able to trace his route. Alone in the vehicle, he left Colorado on December 30. He went on a several-day trip to New Mexico and later Arizona.

Police said the truck was first seen in Las Vegas at 7:29 a.m. Wednesday. At 7:34 am the car was on Fashion Show Drive in Las Vegas. A short time later, he walked into the valet area of ​​the Trump International Hotel. He then headed towards Las Vegas Boulevard.

Then, at approximately 8:39 p.m., he returned to the valet area of ​​the Trump Hotel. Seventeen seconds after reaching the valet area, the explosion occurred. In addition to Livelsberger's death, seven people in the area suffered minor injuries and the explosion caused exit Of the hotel.

Spencer Evans, FBI agent in charge of the agency's Las Vegas office, said Thursday that getting the man's motivation is the “number one priority.”

Parallels with the New Orleans attack

Additionally, there are many similarities between Wednesday's deadly attacker new Orleanshave been identified as Shamsud Deen Jabbar and Leavelsbarger.

Like Jabbar, Leavelsbarger served at Fort Bragg, North Carolina. It is not yet clear when each served at the military base. Both of them also served in Afghanistan during 2009. No evidence suggests that they were in the same province or the same units. It was also revealed that Leavelsberger was a Green Berets operations sergeant.

Furthermore, both the men used the same rental app, Turo, to rent their trucks used in the violent incidents. Jabbar drove a car into them on Bourbon Street, killing at least 15 people. Dozens of others were injured. Many of these victims were seriously injured.

Speaking to reporters in New Orleans on Thursday, Christopher Raia, deputy assistant director of the FBI's counterterrorism division, said, “At this time, there is no definite connection between the attack in New Orleans and the attack in Las Vegas.” But he said the investigation was still “very early”.

We are keeping an eye on all possible leads and are not ruling out everything,” Raya said.

Reversing earlier FBI statements, Raya revealed Thursday that the FBI now says Jabbar apparently acted alone without an accomplice in the deadly New Orleans attack.