LAS VEGAS, Nevada –
The person authorities believe was killed in the explosion of a Tesla Cybertruck filled with fireworks mortars and camp fuel canisters outside President-elect Donald Trump’s hotel in Las Vegas was an active-duty U.S. Army soldier, three said. U.S. officials told The Associated Press on Thursday.
Two law enforcement officers identified the man inside the futuristic-looking van as Matthew Livelsberger. Law enforcement officials spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss an ongoing investigation.
Three U.S. officials said Livelsberger was an active-duty member of the Army, who spent time at the base formerly known as Fort Bragg, a massive Army base in North Carolina that houses the Army’s Special Forces Command. The officials also spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to disclose details of their service.
The truck explosion came hours after a driver, Shamsud-Din Bahar Jabbar, 42, plowed a truck into a crowd in New Orleans’ famed French Quarter early on New Year’s Day, killing at least to 15 people before being shot dead by police. That accident was being investigated as a terrorist attack and police believe the driver did not act alone.
Jabbar, a U.S. Army veteran, also spent time at Fort Bragg, but an official said there is no overlap in his assignments there so far.
