The man identified inside the Tesla Cyber truck that exploded outside the Trump Hotel in Las Vegas on Wednesday morning harbored no animosity toward President-elect Donald Trump and was likely suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder, according to the FBI.
Matthew Livelsperger, an active-duty US Army member from Colorado who was found dead inside the car, also had other family problems or personal grievances, FBI officials said.
Officials also stressed that the deadly truck attack in New Orleans that left 14 people dead earlier on New Year's Day was not related to the explosion in Las Vegas.
Police said the Las Vegas explosion appeared to be a “tragic suicide.”
“There is no evidence that these two events are related,” Spencer Evans, an FBI agent in Las Vegas, told reporters on Friday, as officials provided new information about the incident.
Evans added: “The investigation steps have discovered, and Army information indicates, that he was likely suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder, and we also recognize that there were other possible family issues or personal grievances in his life that may have been contributing factors.” He said.
Officials said data uncovered from Mr. Livelsperger's phone, including a series of notes he appeared to have written, suggested the 37-year-old was suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder related to his time in combat.
His body was found inside a charred Tesla, which had exploded due to fireworks that Mr. Livelsberger had bought on his way to Las Vegas from Colorado.
Mr. Livelsperger's identity was confirmed through a DNA sample obtained by the authorities from a family member.
He also appeared to have been shot, police said.
In digital notes recovered by police, Levelsberger also mentioned political grievances, calling on fellow military officers to criticize the military leadership.
In another note, police said he specifically wrote that the incident “was not a terrorist attack” but rather an “alarm bell.”
Mr. Levelsberger was an SS intelligence sergeant serving in Germany, but was on approved leave at the time of the explosion.
His father told CBS News, the BBC's US partner, that his son was in Colorado to see his wife and eight-month-old daughter.
He said he last spoke to his son at Christmas and there was nothing out of the ordinary.
Mr. Livelsperger's ex-girlfriend He told the Washington Post That he once told her that he had suffered a traumatic brain injury while deployed overseas. Alicia Arit, a 39-year-old nurse who dated Livelsberger on and off from 2018 to 2021, said he admitted to having problems with memory and concentration and feeling intense guilt over his actions on the battlefield.
The Daily Beast reported that Mr. Livelsperger was a major Trump supporter. A senior law enforcement official who spoke with Mr. Livelsberger's family told the newspaper that he voted for Trump in the November election.
Police were able to track his movements in the days before the accident thanks to surveillance cameras and other data obtained from the Tesla car itself.
They said Mr. Livelsberger rented a Tesla Cybertruck from a mobile app called Turo in Colorado on Dec. 28 and drove it more than 800 miles to Las Vegas. He also legally purchased two firearms during that period, which were found inside the vehicle.
Sheriff Kevin McMahill of the Las Vegas Police Department said authorities had not determined why Mr. Livelsperger chose the location outside the Trump Hotel for the blast, but he added that evidence suggested it was one of several locations he was considering.
Seven people were slightly injured as a result of the explosion. Everyone has since been released from the hospital, Sheriff McMahill said.
He added that the investigation is still ongoing, and that police have “barely scratched the surface” of the data they recovered from the man’s devices.
If you are affected by any of the issues raised in this story, you can visit the BBC Action Line. Help and support outside the UK can be found at Befrienders Worldwide or you can call the US Suicide and Crisis Lifeline on 988.
