The driver of a car which violently exploded outside Donald Trump’s Las Vegas hotel was an “active-duty US Army Green Beret”, according to US media reports.
Matthew Alan Livelsberger’s Tesla Cybertruck had exploded outside the Trump International in the Nevada city – killing the driver and injuring seven others.
On Thursday, the US Army said that Livelsberger had died – but did not explicitly say it was in the dramatic New Year’s Day explosion.
And now, a law enforcement source familiar with the investigation has confirmed he was an “active” special forces member, according to CNN.
Matthew Alan Livelsberger was an ‘active-duty US Army Green Beret’
Smoke had been seen pouring out from near the hotel’s lobby on January 1 – with early eyewitness reports saying an explosion had taken place.
Further footage then emerged appearing to show a Tesla Cybertruck in flames just metres from the Trump International’s front door, with fire and smoke pouring out of the electric vehicle.
Then, a CCTV recording from the scene showed the car violently bursting into flames as sparks flew across the street.
Tesla owner Elon Musk was quick to take to his social media platform to address the chaos.
LATEST ON A DAY OF CHAOS IN THE US:
The US Army did not explicitly say Livelsberger’s death was in the dramatic New Year’s Day explosion
REUTERS
He said his car firm’s senior team had “never seen anything like this” – before hailing how the “evil knuckleheads” behind the blast “picked the wrong vehicle for a terrorist attack”.
The Cybertruck “actually contained the explosion and directed the blast upwards. Not even the glass doors of the lobby were broken”, he wrote.
Musk also confirmed that the explosion was “caused by very large fireworks and/or a bomb carried in the bed of the rented Cybertruck” and was “unrelated to the vehicle itself”.
Las Vegas’s Clark County Fire Department Deputy Chief Thomas Touchstone said that as first responders began to extinguish the fire, they “realised at the same time that there were multiple persons with injuries located around the vehicle.”
CCTV footage from the scene showed the car violently bursting into flames as sparks flew across the streetXOne law enforcement official told CNN that authorities identified Livelsberger as the driver based on tattoos identified by his wife – while further tests, including DNA, are underway.
Meanwhile, the FBI is investigating whether the explosion is tied to terrorism – with officials saying the Musk and Trump symbolism was “something to be concerned about”.
“It’s a Tesla truck, and we know that Elon Musk is working with President-elect Trump, and it’s the Trump tower,” Kevin McMahill, sheriff of the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department, said. “So, there’s obviously things to be concerned about there, and that’s something we continue to look at.”
But for now, the FBI deputy assistant director Christopher Raia has said: “At this point, there is no definitive link between the attack here in New Orleans and the one in Las Vegas.”