Late Thursday morning, authorities in Las Vegas held another press conference regarding the New Year’s Day Cybertruck explosion in front of the Trump International Hotel. Speaking at the press conference were Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department Sheriff Kevin McMahill, FBI Special Agent in Charge Spencer Evans, and ATF Assistant Special Agent in Charge Kenny Cooper.
The conference was relatively brief (roughly 20 minutes) and straightforward, with Sheriff McMahill providing the bulk of the details and responding to the majority of the questions, noting that “You’ll notice that we’re not releasing information that we haven’t corroborated and verified — we’re not putting it out until we can tell you for a fact.”
Perhaps the most stunning news from the press conference was the revelation that the suspect had sustained a gunshot wound to the head just prior to the Cybertruck’s detonation.
The key takeaways from the presser were as follows:
- The suspect is believed to be 37-year-old Matthew Livelsberger of Colorado Springs, Colorado, but because the body was “burnt beyond recognition,” they are basing that determination on the recovery of his military ID, credit cards, and passport from the vehicle, along with some tattoos still discernible on the body, but they will have to wait for DNA and/or medical records to fully confirm his identity.
- They are not aware of any other subjects involved in the case.
- Acknowledged similarities between this case and the New Orleans case include the fact that both served in the military (Livelsberger was still serving); both served at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, though there’s no record they served in the same unit or even in the same years; both served in Afghanistan in 2009, though there is no evidence they were in the same province or same unit; both used the Turo rental app to obtain their vehicles.
- The vehicle was rented in Denver, Colorado, on December 28, 2024. They were able to track it via Tesla charging stations. It was charged in Monument, Colorado, on December 30; in Trinidad, Colorado, and Las Vegas, Albuquerque, and Gallup, New Mexico, on December 31; and in Holbrook, Flagstaff, and Kingman, Arizona, on January 1. It was located in Kingman at 5:33 a.m. Wednesday morning.
- The vehicle was first spotted in Las Vegas at 7:29 a.m. on January 1. At 7:34 a.m., it was observed pulling into the Trump International valet area. It then departed there and went to several locations along Las Vegas Boulevard, parked for a time in a parking lot of a business near Flamingo and Las Vegas Boulevard. It then departed the Sands, headed north on Las Vegas Boulevard at 8:39 a.m., and returned to the valet area at Trump International, where it then exploded within 17 seconds of its arrival.
- The suspect suffered a gunshot wound to the head immediately prior to the detonation of the vehicle. One of the handguns was found at his feet inside of the vehicle. It is believed to be self-inflicted, as he was the sole occupant of the vehicle and because the detonation occurred within seconds of the vehicle pulling up to the valet area at the hotel.
- Items recovered from inside the Cybertruck included a Desert Eagle 50 caliber semi-automatic pistol and an SLR model B-30 semi-automatic firearm. (Both weapons had been lawfully purchased by Livelsberger on December 30, 2024.)
- An iPhone and a smartwatch were also recovered.
- The fireworks found in the vehicle were primarily consumer fireworks (i.e., not commercial grade). They have identified some fuel enhancers like the Coleman fuel and VP racing fuel, and some explosive targets (available at most sporting goods stores). They have not yet determined how the device was initiated.
McMahill acknowledged that there were “very strange similarities” between the Las Vegas and New Orleans incidents and that they were not prepared at this juncture to rule out or rule in anything in terms of a connection.
RedState will continue to monitor the story and provide additional information as it becomes available.
