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Las Vegas police say Cybertruck explosion and New Orleans attack aren’t connected

By and January 3, 2025 | updated 10 months ago

Authorities have ruled out a connection between the Las Vegas Tesla Cybertruck explosion and the New Orleans pick up truck attack on New Year’s Eve, which killed at least 15. 

The Las Vegas Cybertruck explosion outside of a Trump International Hotel occurred just hours after the attack in New Orleans.

“Why don’t we consider what happened in New Orleans and what happened in Las Vegas?” Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department Sheriff Kevin McMahill said. “The simple answer to that is we don’t find anything to actually point us in that direction. There are those coincidences that we have spoken very openly about, but we have not found throughout this entire investigation anything that ties the two attacks directly together.”

Authorities began investigating a possible link between the man behind the Cybertruck explosion — 37-year-old active Army service member Matthew Livelsberger — and the driver of the pickup truck in New Orleans — Shamsud-Din Jabbar – as they both were stationed in Fort Bragg, North Carolina, and they were both deployed to Afghanistan in 2009. However, there is no evidence that the men knew each other. 

McMahill shared during a Friday press conference that Livelsberger suffered from PTSD and that he did not give any indication that he disliked President-elect Donald Trump.  

“Although this incident is more public and more sensational than usual, it ultimately appears to be a tragic case of suicide involving a heavily decorated combat veteran who is struggling with PTSD and other issues,” McMahill said.

Authorities have two phones and one laptop belonging to Livelsberger, and they gained access to one phone but only began to scratch the surface. 

Dori Koren, an assistant sheriff with the Clark County Las Vegas Metropolitan Police, shared that they uncovered two different letters on one of the phones addressing the attack.

One of the notes told “fellow service members, veterans, and all Americans” that it is time to “wake up” because the country’s leadership is “weak” and “only serves to enrich themselves.”

In another note, Livelsberger shared that it was not a terrorist attack but an opportunity to “cleanse” his mind. 

“We are the United States of America, the best country … to ever exist, but right now, we are terminally ill and headed towards collapse,” the letter said. “This was not a terrorist attack. It was a wake-up call. Americans only pay attention to spectacles and violence. What better way to get my point across than a stunt with fireworks and explosives. … I need to cleanse my mind of the brothers I’ve lost, and relieve myself of the burden of the lives I took.”

Meanwhile, federal and New Orleans authorities have identified Din Jabbar’s attack to be “100%” inspired by ISIS.

 CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER

“This was an act of terrorism,” said Christopher Raia, the deputy assistant director of the FBI’s counterterrorism division. “It was premeditated and an evil act.” 

Din-Jabbar flew a black Islamic flag from the rented pickup truck, and he posted five videos to Facebook in which he pledged his allegiance to ISIS. He even shared that he originally thought about injuring and killing his friends and family but didn’t think the news would focus on the “war between the believers and the disbelievers.” He shared he joined the terrorist group last summer, however, authorities have declared that Jabbar was working alone.

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Elaine Mallon

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