Police are investigating a possible act of terror in Nevada after a Tesla Cybertruck exploded outside of President-elect Donald Trump’s hotel in Las Vegas on New Year’s Day.
One person has died, and several more were injured during the incident on Wednesday morning.
The exact cause of the violent explosion is unknown, however, authorities said they were “well aware” of the deadly terrorist attack in New Orleans, and were “taking all precautions.”
Joe Biden said in a Camp David address on Wednesday evening that investigators were trying to establish any links between the New Orleans and Las Vegas incidents.
Here’s what we know so far:
What happened?
The explosion occurred around 8:40 a.m. Wednesday morning in the valet area outside of the lobby of Trump International Hotel at Las Vegas Boulevard and Sammy Davis Jr. Drive.
The 64-story hotel is just off the famed Las Vegas Strip and across the street from the Fashion Show Las Vegas shopping mall.
Video posted on social media showed different angles of the massive explosion, which appeared to include fireworks. Footage from inside the hotel showed the burning vehicle right outside the entrance, with a series of explosions going off.
Guests staying at the hotel and on surrounding properties told FOX5 that they heard several “booms” which many described as being louder than the New Year’s Eve fireworks.
“It was shaking the glass, it was so loud,” one witness who was staying at the Resorts World on the Las Vegas Strip told KLAS. “I looked out and saw smoke and me and my wife booked it out of there.”
Las Vegas County Sheriff Kevin McMahill said the hotel was evacuated and guests were taken to Resorts World while police investigated.
What was the cause of the explosion?
Police initially said that the cause of the explosion was unknown, though Tesla boss Elon Musk wrote online that the company’s entire senior team was also assisting with investigations.
In a later post on X, Musk said that the incident was not due to a fault with the Cybertruck itself.
“We have now confirmed that the explosion was caused by very large fireworks and/or a bomb carried in the bed of the rented Cybertruck and is unrelated to the vehicle itself,” he said. “All vehicle telemetry [data collection] was positive at the time of the explosion.”
A police source told ABC that the Cybertruck was carrying a load of fireworks-style mortars.
Was there a motive behind the incident?
McMahill noted during Wednesday’s press conference that officials are “very well aware” of the New Orleans attack in which a man intentionally drove a truck into a crowd of people celebrating New Year’s Eve just hours earlier, killing 10 people.
He said that officials are “taking all of the precautions that we need to take to keep our community safe” and that they are “looking for secondary devices.”
The FBI is also involved in the investigation. “I know you have a lot of questions,” Jeremy Schwartz, acting FBI Special Agent in Charge for the Las Vegas office, said at the news conference. “We don’t have a lot of answers.”
Despite authorities’ caution, Musk later posted that the incident “appears likely to be an act of terrorism.” Both this Cybertruck and the F-150 suicide bomb in New Orleans were rented from Turo. Perhaps they are linked in some way,” he suggested.
Joe Biden has directed his team to offer any federal assistance needed, the White House said.
Who are the victims?
One person died inside the vehicle, according to McMahill, and efforts were underway to remove the body. It is uncertain whether the individual was male or female.
Seven other people were injured in the explosion.
Two of the injured were transported to University Medical Center Southern Nevada for treatment. McMahill said all the injuries were minor, and there did not appear to be any further threat to members of the public.
Further details on the victims are yet to be released.