Authorities said Thursday that the man who died in the Tesla Cybertruck outside of Trump International Hotel in Las Vegas, Nevada, had a gunshot wound to his head prior to the explosion.
Clark County Sheriff Kevin McMahill said at a news conference Thursday that the suspected individual who died, Matthew Alan Livelsberger, had a gunshot wound to the head and a handgun located near his feet inside the Tesla Cybertruck that exploded on Wednesday morning. Police have not definitively confirmed that Livelsberger is the individual who died in the incident.
“As I mentioned to you already, his body is burnt beyond recognition and I [still do] not have confirmation 100% that that is the individual that was inside of our vehicle,” McMahill said. “And so, as I’m calling it now, the subject or person of interest, I would not come back until I have the confirmation through DNA or medical records that this indeed, in fact is the individual inside that vehicle. Now further complicating this confirmation of this individual, we also discovered through the coroner’s office that this individual had sustained a gunshot wound to the head prior to the detonation of the vehicle. One of the handguns was found at his feet inside of the vehicle.”
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Officials believe the gunshot wound was self-inflicted, authorities said at the press conference. Surveillance footage showed the vehicle pulling into the valet area of Trump International Hotel, where it then exploded within 17 seconds of its arrival, McMahill said.
Footage released Wednesday showed the vehicle exploding and debris spreading across the area at about 8:40 a.m. pacific time (PT). The Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department (LVMPD), Clark County Fire Department and Las Vegas Fire & Rescue were at the scene within minutes.
Authorities found firework mortars and camp fuel canisters inside the vehicle, leading investigators to believe the incident was a criminal or terrorist attack. McMahill said at the press conference that police are currently unsure about the motive of the attack.
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