The Cybertruck bombing that happened outside the Trump International Hotel in Las Vegas on New Year’s Day appears to be the suicide of a veteran who was struggling with PTSD and other issues, the FBI said Friday.
Police identified Matthew Alan Livelsberger, a 37-year-old active duty member of the Army Special Forces, as the driver of the Cybertruck that exploded in the hotel’s valet area Wednesday morning. The Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department said Thursday the county coroner had determined Livelsberger shot himself in the head.
Investigators believe the car was detonated at the same time as the suicide, the police department’s Sheriff Kevin McMahill told reporters. The detonation was under investigation with help from the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, McMahill said.
Spencer Evans, the special agent in charge of the FBI’s office in Las Vegas, said during a news conference Friday that the bureau facilitated obtaining DNA from a family member to confirm Livelsberger’s identity.
Information uncovered by investigators and from the Army indicated that Livelsberger likely had PTSD, Evans said. Family issues and personal grievances may have also contributed to Livelsberger renting the car in Colorado, filling it up with explosives and detonating it in Las Vegas, Evans said. The bureau was continuing to investigate the possible contributing factors for the bombing.
"It’s evident that the subject considered, planned and thoughtfully prepared for this act alone — that’s what we believe, and we have no information to the contrary at this point," Evans said.
While the bombing happened outside a Trump hotel, Livelsberger held no animosity toward President-elect Donald Trump, Evans said. He said the bureau learned that through interviews with Livelsberger’s family members, friends, associates and members of the military that he served with. Investigators don’t definitively know why Livelsberger chose the hotel, Las Vegas or a Cybertruck for the bombing, McMahill said.
Several other people were injured in the bombing. McMahill said they had minor injuries for which they were treated and released from a hospital. This image provided by Alcides Antunes shows the Tesla Cybertruck that exploded outside the Trump International Hotel in Las Vegas on, Jan. […]
Cybertruck bombing appears to be suicide of veteran who had PTSD, FBI says
