US authorities have identified a man who died in the explosion of a Tesla vehicle outside Donald Trump's hotel in Las Vegas as an Army Green Beret.
The person who died in the explosion of a Cybertruck loaded with explosives outside President-elect Donald Trump's hotel in Las Vegas was an active Army soldier, authorities reported Thursday.
Two officers identified the man inside the futuristic-looking Tesla vehicle as Matthew Livelsberger. They both informed AP on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss an ongoing investigation.
Livelsberger was a member of the Green Berets, a special forces unit and guerrilla warfare experts, according to an Army statement. He joined the military in 2006, rising through the ranks, and was on approved leave when he died, the statement said.
Green Berets work to counter terrorists abroad using unconventional techniques.
Livelsberger spent time at the base formerly known as Fort Bragg, a huge military base in North Carolina, home of the Army's special forces command.
The FBI said Thursday in a post on
The explosion of the vehicle, loaded with fireworks mortars and camp fuel canisters, occurred several hours after Shamsud-Din Bahar Jabbar, 42, hit a truck to a crowd in New Orleans' famous French Quarter early on New Year's Eve, where he killed at least 15 people before being shot dead by police.
That incident is being investigated as a terrorist attack, and the FBI said Thursday that the driver acted alone.
Jabbar, an Army veteran, was also at Fort Bragg, now called Fort Liberty, but an official said that, so far, there are no coincidences in the work they carried out there.
The FBI said Thursday there was no link between the incidents in Las Vegas and New Orleans.
Seven people nearby suffered minor injuries when the Tesla exploded. Tesla CEO Elon Musk said Wednesday afternoon on social media site with the vehicle itself.”
“All vehicle telemetry was positive at the time of the explosion,” Musk wrote.
Authorities know who rented the vehicle with the Turo app in Colorado, Las Vegas Police Chief Kevin McMahill said Wednesday.