TESLA CYBERTRUCK DRIVER, WHO DIED IN BLAST OUTSIDE TRUMP-OWNED HOTEL, WAS ON ACTIVE ARMY DUTY: REPORT

 

 

New Delhi- Matthew Livelsberger, the driver of the Tesla Cybertruck that exploded outside the Trump International Hotel in Las Vegas is an active-duty Special Forces operations sergeant, who was in the US on leave from Germany, reports said.

 

The 37-year-old Colorado resident and Army soldier was serving in Germany with the 10th SFG, three US officials cited in a report by news agency Associated Press said.

 

He had reportedly spent time at the base, formerly known as Fort Bragg, a massive base in North Carolina which is home to the Army special forces command.

 

The official, spoke to the news agency on condition of anonymity as they were not authorised to disclose information about his service. The Tesla Cybertruck driven by Livelsberger exploded outside the Las Vegas hotel owned by US President-elect Donald Trump, killing the Army soldier and injuring seven others. Livelsberger reportedly rented the electric pickup truck in Colorado with the help of an app called Turo and then drove it to Nevada.

 

Reportedly, the car was packed with firework-like mortars, camping fuel and canisters at the time of the incident.

Officials from the Federal Bureau of Investigation visited one of the many Colorado Springs addresses associated with Livelsberger late on Wednesday.

 

The federal agency has not ruled out the "terrorism angle" and is investigating the explosion as a possible act of terror. The Tesla explosion came hours after a US Army veteran, 42-year-old Shamsud-Din Jabbar rammed a pickup truck into people celebrating New Year on New Orleans' famed French Quarter, leaving 15 people dead. He was shot to death by police.

 

Jabbar reportedly also spent time at the Fort Bragg base, but an official said that so far no overlap in his assignments with those of Livelsberger's have been found. He had the left the Army service as a staff sergeant. Additionally, Jabbar had also used the Turo app to rent the pickup truck that he used to ram into the crowd. Similar to the truck explosion, the New Orleans attack is also being investigated by the FBI as a possible act of terror.