On Friday, investigators said the soldier who died in the explosion of a Tesla Cybertruck at the Trump hotel in Las Vegas left a note saying it was a stunt intended to “stir up” the country's problems.
Matthew Livelsberger, a 37-year-old Green Beret from Colorado Springs, Colorado, apparently bore no ill will toward President-elect Donald Trump, Clark County sheriff's officials said.
Livelsberger wrote in the note that he needed to “clear his mind” of the lives of people he knew and “the burden of the lives I took.”
“While this incident is more public and more sensational than usual, it ultimately appears to have been a tragic case of suicide involving a heavily decorated combat veteran who was struggling with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and other issues,” Special Agent in Charge said in the news FBI Spencer Evans. conference.
The explosion caused minor injuries to seven people but caused virtually no damage to the hotel.
“It wasn't a terrorist attack, it was a wake-up call. Americans only pay attention to glasses and violence. “What better way to convey my thoughts than with a stunt involving fireworks and explosives,” Livelsberger wrote in a letter found by authorities which published only excerpts.
Investigators have identified the Tesla driver who was burned beyond recognition as the Clark County Coroner's Office ruled his death a suicide caused by a gunshot wound.
Pentagon officials would not say whether Livelsberger may have suffered from mental problems, but they have turned over his medical records to police.
The new details emerged as investigators tried to determine Livelsberger's motives, including whether he was trying to establish political contact with Tesla and a hotel named after the president-elect.
The soldier found dead after a Tesla Cybertruck exploded at the Trump hotel in Las Vegas was most likely “struggling with post-traumatic stress disorder and other problems,” investigators said Friday. Matthew Livelsberger also appears to have harbored no animosity toward U.S. President-elect Donald Trump, FBI special agent Spencer Evans said at a news conference.
Tesla CEO Elon Musk recently joined Trump's inner circle. Neither Trump nor Musk were in Las Vegas on Wednesday, the day of the explosion. The two attended Trump's New Year's Eve party at his South Florida estate.
Musk spent an estimated $250 million during the presidential campaign to support Trump, who named Musk the world's richest man, as co-leader of a new effort to find ways to reduce the size and spending of government.
Investigators suspect Livelsberger may have been planning a more devastating attack, but the steel-sided vehicle absorbed most of the force of the crude explosive.
Investigators previously said Livelsberger shot himself in the head inside a Tesla Cybertruck filled with fireworks just before it exploded outside the Trump International Hotel in Las Vegas on New Year's Day.
“We are not indifferent to the fact that it is in front of the Trump building and that it is a Tesla vehicle, but at this point we have no information that clearly tells us or suggests that it was because of this particular ideology,” Evans of the FBI, said on Thursday at a press conference.
Asked Friday whether Livelsberger was struggling with any mental health issues that may have led to his suicide, Pentagon spokeswoman Sabrina Singh told reporters that “the department has turned over all medical records to local law enforcement.”
At a news conference Thursday, authorities said the man, who they believe was a highly decorated Army soldier, shot himself in the head before the Tesla Cybertruck he was driving burst into flames outside Donald Trump's Las Vegas hotel. Investigators did not definitively identify the remains as Matthew Livelsberger, but identification documents and body tattoos “clearly indicate it is him,” said Sheriff Kevin McMahill of the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department.
A law enforcement official said investigators learned from interviews that Livelsberger may have gotten into a fight with his wife over relationship problems shortly before renting the Tesla on Saturday and purchasing the gun. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to discuss the ongoing investigation.
Authorities are still working to determine a motive. McMahill said charred items found in the truck included a gun at Livelsberger's feet, another firearm, fireworks, a passport, military ID, credit cards, an iPhone and a smartwatch. Authorities said both weapons were purchased legally.
Decorated veteran
Livelsberger served in the Green Berets, a highly trained special forces that fight terrorism abroad and train partners. He had served in the Army since 2006, rising through the ranks with a long career overseas, deploying twice to Afghanistan and serving in Ukraine, Tajikistan, Georgia and Congo, the army said. According to a U.S. official, he had recently returned from an overseas mission in Germany and was on approved leave at the time of his death.
In total, he was awarded five Bronze Stars, including one for bravery under fire, the Combat Infantryman's Badge and the Military Commendation Medal for Valor.
As part of the investigation, authorities searched a townhouse in Livelsberger's hometown on Thursday. Neighbors said the man who lived there had a wife and child.
Cindy Helwig, who lives across the narrow street separating the homes, said she last saw the man she knew as Matthew about two weeks ago when he asked her if he could borrow a tool needed to repair an SUV she was working on. He's working.
“He was a normal guy,” said Helwig, who said she last saw her wife and child earlier this week.
The explosion of a truck filled with firework mortars and camp fuel canisters came hours after Shamsud-Din Bahar Jabbar, 42, drove his truck into a crowd in New Orleans' famous French Quarter early on New Year's Day, killing at least 14 people. people before they were shot by police. The FBI says it believes Jabbar acted alone and is being investigated as a terrorist attack.
Chris Raia, deputy director of the FBI, said Thursday that officials had not found a “definitive link” between the New Orleans attack and the Las Vegas truck explosion.