A decorated U.S. Green Beret who served twice in Afghanistan was killed when a Tesla Cybertruck loaded with explosives burst into flames outside a Las Vegas hotel co-owned by Donald Trump. , officials announced Thursday.
The driver and sole occupant of the electric Tesla Cybertruck that caught fire and exploded have been identified as Matthew Leiblesberger of Colorado Springs, Colorado.
Leiblsberger, 37, was killed and seven bystanders were injured. Libersberger was first identified in media reports, and on Thursday afternoon the FBI announced that it believed the suspect was Libersberger and was awaiting DNA testing to confirm this.
The explosion occurred early Wednesday morning, hours after a massacre in New Orleans in which a military veteran drove a truck into a crowd. Immediately after the Las Vegas explosion, investigators discovered the vehicle was loaded with a firework-style mortar, camping fuel, and gas canisters.
Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department Sheriff Kevin McMahill also confirmed the suspect’s name and said Libersberger shot the police officer moments before the explosion, which authorities believe was a self-inflicted gunshot wound.
McMahill said investigators found Libersberger was in possession of two legally owned firearms. The body was burnt beyond recognition, the official added.
Law enforcement officials confirmed to local news outlets that the electric vehicle was rented from Turo, a vehicle-sharing service that was also used to rent trucks in the New Orleans attack.
This prompted news outlets such as Joe Biden, Tesla owner Elon Musk, and law enforcement officials to report throughout the day that Libersberger and the suspect in the New Orleans attack worked at the same military base. Questions arose one after another about the possibility of a connection between the two incidents. At some point.
Anonymous sources told The Associated Press that the two spent time at Fort Liberty, North Carolina, a vast military base formerly known as Fort Bragg that is home to the Army’s Special Forces headquarters. However, the official added that their length of stay did not overlap.
“At this time, there is no definitive connection between the attack here in New Orleans and the attack in Las Vegas,” FBI Deputy Director Christopher Reier said at a Thursday news conference.
According to the U.S. military, Libersberger served on active duty from 2006 to 2011, then transferred to the National Guard and then to the Army Reserve. He returned to the Army in 2012 as a special operations soldier.
U.S. Special Operations Command confirmed that Libersberger was assigned to the command and was on leave at the time of his death.
He was a member of the Green Berets, a highly trained special forces unit that works on counterterrorism overseas and training U.S. partners, according to a military statement. He was deployed twice to Afghanistan and also served in Ukraine, Tajikistan, Georgia and the Democratic Republic of Congo, the military said. He was awarded two Bronze Stars, including the Valorous Apparatus, Combat Infantry Badge, for bravery under fire, and the Army Commendation Medal, for bravery.
The FBI, with assistance from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), is conducting an investigation and investigation related to the Cybertruck explosion in Colorado Springs, sources told ABC News. Investigators are pursuing leads in at least four states and overseas, officials said.
Mr. Libersberger’s most recent military role was listed as remote and autonomous systems administrator, and he had been in office for just three months.
The Trump Hotel was not damaged by the explosion. Tesla founder Elon Musk later told I didn’t.”
A Colorado Springs address associated with Libersberger was staked out and subsequently searched by FBI agents.
McMahill acknowledged at a news conference that the truck used in the attack was rented from Touro, Colorado, and driven to Nevada.
McMahill said investigators were able to track the truck’s journey from Colorado to Las Vegas, where the driver stopped at charging stations along the way and the truck remained in front of the hotel for 15 to 20 seconds before exploding. said.
The sheriff’s office said Musk cooperated with investigators by forcing his truck to unlock after it had auto-locked due to the explosion and by providing investigators with video of him at charging stations along the 800-mile route. .
McMahill also addressed the political issues involved in the Las Vegas incident. “It’s a Tesla truck. And we also know that Elon Musk is working with President-elect Trump. And Trump Tower. So obviously there’s something to be concerned about,” he said.
A Touro spokesperson said in a statement: “We are actively working with law enforcement authorities to investigate both incidents. Both of the tenants involved in the Las Vegas and New Orleans attacks have criminal histories that would pose a security threat. I don’t think there was.”
