Investigators have not yet determined what prompted an active-duty US Army soldier to rent a Tesla Cybertruck and drive it to Trump International Airport. Hotel in Las VegasHe was shown shooting himself in the head before the car exploded on New Year's Day.
Las Vegas Sheriff Kevin McMahill has identified 37-year-old Matthew Livelsberger of Colorado Springs, Colorado, as a person of interest in the matter, although he will not say with 100% certainty that Livelsberger is a suspect until the DNA matches the remains of a body inside the Cybertruck. .
But Thursday evening, the Clark County coroner identified the driver of the car as Livelsperger, stating the cause of death was an intraoral gunshot wound and the manner of death was suicide.
At approximately 8:40 a.m. on New Year's Day, the truck was seen stopping at the hotel entrance before coming to a stop. Seventeen seconds later, the car exploded, and the sound of fireworks being fired from the bulletproof truck was heard.
Besides fireworks, the truck contained camping fuel and gasoline, McMahill said. Al-Sharif pointed out that the explosion did not cause any damage to the body of the truck except the glass and the bed cover.
Flames rise from a Tesla Cybertruck after it explodes outside the Trump International Las Vegas Hotel in Las Vegas on New Year's Day 2025. (Alcides Antunes/via Reuters)
He added that the hotel's glass doors were not damaged, although seven passers-by were slightly injured.
While the person's body was burned beyond recognition, McMahill also said the person was shot in the head before the bombing, and a gun was found at his feet inside the car.
McMahill did not say that Livelsperger was on a suicide mission, although he described it as “suicide by explosion that occurred immediately afterwards.”
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Matthew Livelsperger (Fox News)
On Thursday, FBI agents searched Livelsperger's home in Colorado Springs to try to determine his motives and how he got to Las Vegas.
“We know we definitely had a bombing, and it certainly has factors that raise concerns,” FBI Special Agent in Charge Spencer Evans said during a press conference on Thursday. “It's not lost on us that it's in front of the Trump Building and that it's a Tesla, but we don't have information at this point that tells us conclusively… it was because of this specific ideology or any reason behind it.”
Livelsberger recently returned from an overseas assignment in Germany and was on approved leave when he died, according to a U.S. official, the Associated Press reported.
A law enforcement official also told AP investigators learned through interviews that Livelsperger may have gotten into a fight with his wife over relationship issues shortly before he rented the Tesla and the legally purchased handguns were found in the truck. The official spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to discuss the ongoing investigation.
One dead and 7 injured after a Tesla truck explodes outside the Trump Hotel in Las Vegas: police
Matthew Livelsperger poses in an undated photo. (Fox News)
It appears that Livelsberger was at one time married to Sarah Livelsperger, who is 38 and lives in Delray Beach, Florida. Matthew Livelsperger divorced in 2018 and remarried in 2022, The Denver Post reported.
In Facebook posts from 2016, Sarah said she was a registered Democrat and shared photos disparaging President-elect Trump.
Although Livelsperger lives in Colorado, he has connections in Ohio.
Livelsperger was issued a speeding ticket in Franklin County for driving 70 mph in a 65 mph zone in September 2011, Ohio's Columbus Dispatch reported.
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Investigators are looking into the contents inside the Tesla Cybertruck, which exploded in front of the Trump International Hotel in Las Vegas on New Year's Day. (Las Vegas City Police press conference)
Livelsperger had an address in Westerville, the newspaper reported. He also owns real estate in (Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio).According to property records obtained by The Columbus Dispatch.
He graduated from Bucyrus High School in Ohio, where he played baseball and football. But after suffering an injury while playing football, Livelsberger joined the U.S. Army and worked with the Special Forces as a communications officer.
His uncle, Dean Livelsberger, told The Independent that his nephew “was 100% patriotic” and described him as “like a Rambo type, for lack of a better term.”
Dean said his nephew had a patriotic Facebook thread and liked President-elect Trump, The Independent reported.
Dean also reportedly spoke to the publication about his nephew's skills with explosives.
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Investigators are looking into the contents inside the Tesla Cybertruck, which exploded in front of the Trump International Hotel in Las Vegas on New Year's Day. (Las Vegas City Police press conference)
“Matt was a very skilled warrior, and he would have been able to make — if it had been him, and if he had — he would have been able to make more sophisticated explosives than using propane tanks and camping fuel.” He said. “He was what we would call a ‘super soldier.’ If you ever read about the things he acquired and the experience he gained, some of it doesn’t make sense, when he had the skills and ability to make something more, let’s say, ‘effective.’ And his skills were formidable by comparison.” “What he learned in the army.”
With those skills, Livelsperger could have had them, Dean said I made a bomb He would wipe out half of this hotel if he seriously wanted to hurt others.
Livelsberger was a Green Beret Operations Sergeant He spent most of his time at Fort Carson, Colorado, and in Germany. McMahill said Livelsperger was approved for leave from Germany, where he was serving with a Special Forces group. He also previously served in the National Guard and Army Reserve.
He also received many awards and decorations while serving in the US Army.
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US Army Public Affairs told Fox News that Livelsberger was awarded the Bronze Star Medal for Valor; Bronze Star Medal four times; Meritorious Service Medal; Military Commendation Medal with Valor; Military Commendation Medal three times; Military Achievement Medal twice; Army Good Conduct Medal five times; National Defense Service Medal; Afghanistan Campaign Medal with three times Campaign Star; Global War on Terrorism Medal; Global War on Terrorism Service Medal; Non-commissioned officer professional development bar three times; Army Service Ribbon; Overseas service bar; NATO Medal twice; Special Forces tab; Combat Infantryman Badge; parachutist badge; Free fall badge.
Fox News Digital's Sarah Rumpf-Whitten and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
