According to Matthew Livelsberger’s uncle, the explosion caused by the Green Beret at a Las Vegas hotel involving a Cybertruck was not meant to harm anyone other than himself, describing it as a peaceful act.
His uncle, Dean Livelsberger, suggested that if Matthew had intended to harm others, he could have created a bomb that would have caused much more devastation, referring to the potential for significant destruction.
Comparing Matthew Livelsberger to Timothy McVeigh, who carried out the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing, his uncle emphasized that McVeigh was a conventional soldier, unlike Matthew who was a Tier 1 operator, highlighting the distinction between the two individuals.
Livelsberger, 37, was identified as the man who drove a rented Tesla to the Trump International Hotel in Vegas before shooting himself dead as he detonated explosives, injuring seven people on New Year’s Day.
He had served in the Army since 2006, rising through the ranks with a long career of overseas assignments, deploying twice to Afghanistan and serving in Ukraine, Tajikistan, Georgia and Congo, the Army said.
Livelsberger was awarded two Bronze Stars, including one with a valor device for courage under fire, a combat infantry badge and an Army Commendation Medal with valor. Livelsberger was on approved leave when he died, according to the statement.
Livelsberger ‘could have fashioned a bomb that would have obliterated half of that hotel if he seriously wanted to hurt others,’ according to his uncle
Livelsberger, seen on one of his deployments, was a highly-decorated Green Beret
The Oklahoma City bombing of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building left a68 people dead
Timothy McVeigh was a former Army soldier
He was burned beyond recognition in the explosion and was identified through his tattoos, Sheriff Kevin McMahill said on Thursday.
As detectives investigate potential motives, it has been revealed that Livelsberger had broken up with his wife. The two had a child over the summer.
His uncle Dean Livelsberger told The Independent that his nephew was ‘100 percent a patriot’, and described him as a ‘Rambo-type.’
‘He used to have all patriotic stuff on Facebook, he was 100 percent loving the country,’ he continued. ‘He loved Trump, and he was always a very, very patriotic soldier, a patriotic American. It’s one of the reasons he was in Special Forces for so many years. It wasn’t just one tour of duty.’
The electric vehicle, which was rented on the app Turo, exploded about 15 seconds after the driver pulled up in front of the hotel’s entrance. Police are still looking for a motive for the attack.
Sheriff McMahill addressed similarities between the terror act in Vegas and the one in New Orleans by Texas native Shamsud-din Jabbar, 42, who flew an ISIS flag as he slaughtered 14 and injured dozens with a rented truck.
The body of Matthew Livelsberger, 37, was burned beyond recognition after he apparently blew up a Tesla Cybertruck outside the Trump hotel in Las Vegas
Police found credit cards, his passport and military ID on him, but they are still referring to him as a person of interest as they await DNA confirmation
Both served at the same military base in North Carolina, but officials do not know if they ever crossed paths. Moreover, both also served in Afghanistan in 2009 – however officials say they have seen no evidence they were in the same providence or unit. That remains under investigation.
The FBI said Thursday that they believe Jabbar acted alone, reversing its position from a day earlier that he likely worked with others.
Chris Raia, FBI deputy assistant director, said Thursday that officials have found ‘no definitive link’ between the New Orleans attack and the truck explosion in Las Vegas.
Livelsberger served in the Green Berets, highly trained special forces who work to counter terrorism abroad and train partners, the Army said in a statement.
Seven people nearby suffered minor injuries when the Tesla truck exploded on Wednesday.
Video showed a tumble of charred fireworks mortars, canisters and other explosive devices crowded into the back of the pickup. The truck bed walls were still intact because the blast shot straight up rather than to the sides.
Livelsberger served in the Green Berets, highly trained special forces who work to counter terrorism abroad and train partners, the Army said in a statement
Tesla CEO Elon Musk said Wednesday afternoon on X that ‘we have now confirmed that the explosion was caused by very large fireworks and/or a bomb carried in the bed of the rented Cybertruck and is unrelated to the vehicle itself.’
‘All vehicle telemetry was positive at the time of the explosion,’ Musk wrote.
