The man reported to be the driver of a Tesla Cybertruck that exploded in front of a Trump hotel in Las Vegas on New Year’s Day was a Green Beret soldier, Army officials confirmed Thursday.
The Army said in a release that Master Sgt. Matthew Alan Livelsberger joined the service in 2006. His personal LinkedIn page indicates that Livelsberger qualified as a Special Forces communications sergeant and, later, as an intelligence operations specialist. As a Green Beret, Army officials said he spent a handful of years of his career in both the Army Reserve and National Guard, but returned to active duty in 2012 with an assignment within the Army’s Special Operations Command.
The Army did not disclose any deployments, awards or combat experience Livelsberger may have had, or which specific units within Special Forces he was assigned to.
The Army also did not confirm that Livelsberger was the Las Vegas driver killed in the explosion but several outlets including Colorado TV station KOAA and CNN reported that Livelsberger was at the wheel of the electric truck when it exploded. Las Vegas police did not confirm his identity as the driver to Task & Purpose as of Thursday morning.
Army officials said in a statement that Livelsberger was assigned to the command and “was on approved leave at the time of his death.” CNN reported that Livelsberger was assigned to the 10th Special Forces Group which is based at Fort Carson, Colorado and was on leave from an assignment in Germany.
The explosion was the second of two episodes of deadly and so far unexplained violence on U.S. soil within six hours on Jan. 1. The first came in the overnight hours of New Year’s Eve when Shamsud-Din Bahar Jabbar, a former active duty and Reservist soldier drove a rented pick-up truck through a crowd on Bourbon Street in New Orleans, Louisiana killing at least 15.
Later in the morning of New Year’s Day, Las Vegas police received a report that a Tesla Cybertruck was “fully engulfed in flames,” in the valet area in front of the Trump International Hotel Las Vegas located just off the Las Vegas Strip, according to a local police press release. According to Las Vegas police, the driver rented the Cybertruck in Colorado, drove to Nevada and arrived at the hotel at 8:38 a.m. An explosion engulfed the truck in flames just two minutes later. After the fire was extinguished, officials found a body inside the vehicle along with gasoline canisters and large firework mortars in the truck bed. Seven others were injured during the explosion.
Authorities have confirmed that the New Orleans attack was a deliberate terrorist plot, but have not said the same about the Las Vegas explosion.
According to the Army, Livelsberger enlisted as an 18X, the designation for a Special Forces candidate when they enter the Green Beret training pipeline. He served in the active duty Army from January 2006 to March 2011. Livelsberger then joined the National Guard from March 2011 to July 2012. During this time, according to Livelsberger’s LinkedIn profile, he worked as a hyperspectral imaging integrator for General Dynamics where he engineered and deployed with the company’s “Lightguard Minotaur” system.
Livelsberger returned to active duty in December 2012 as a special operations soldier, according to the Army.
According to LinkedIn, as a Green Beret Livelsberger worked as a Special Forces communications specialist for roughly 10 years and as an intelligence and operations specialist for nearly seven. Then, as a senior non-commissioned officer, he became an operations manager and team sergeant for almost two years. His most recent position was a remote and autonomous systems manager which he began in November, according to his Linkedin profile.
“USASOC is in full cooperation with federal and state law enforcement agencies, but as a matter of policy, will not comment on ongoing investigations,” officials said in a statement.
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