Army vets in Vegas explosion, New Orleans attack served at same military base: Reports
A U.S. government official said their assignments there didn't overlap.
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The man killed in the fiery explosion of a Tesla Cybertruck outside a Trump hotel in Las Vegas on New Year’s Day was a U.S. Army veteran who reportedly served at the same military base as the New Orleans attacker.
NBC affiliate KOAA identified the man Wednesday evening as 37-year-old Matthew Livelsberger of Colorado Springs, Colorado, citing senior law enforcement sources.
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His name was linked to several addresses in the city.
The Colorado Springs Police Department said the FBI launched an investigation at a townhouse complex in the east side of the city. Armoured vehicles and agents in tactical gear were seen in the area.
Law enforcement also escorted nearby residents away from the area, but police said there was no immediate threat to the community.
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A source told Denver ABC affiliate KMGH that Livelsberger and 42-year-old Shamsud-Din Jabbar, the Texas man accused of ramming a pickup truck into a Bourbon St. crowd in New Orleans in the early hours of New Year’s Day that has killed 15 people and injured dozens more, both served at the same military base.
On Thursday, the Associated Press reported the base as Fort Bragg in North Carolina, but a U.S. government official said their assignments there didn’t overlap.
Officials said Livelsberger was an active duty Green Beret who was on an approved leave when he was killed in the explosion.
Investigators in Las Vegas said the Cybertruck was packed with explosives, fireworks and camp fuel canisters. The explosion also injured seven people nearby.
Both Livelsberger and Jabbar, who used to work for the U.S. Army before getting into the real estate business, rented their vehicles using the Turo app, officials said.
Officials in New Orleans are investigating the incident as an act of terrorism, adding an ISIS flag was found on the vehicle’s trailer hitch.
Jabbar was killed at the scene when he exchanged gunfire with police. Two officers were injured, New Orleans Police Superintendent Anne Kirkpatrick said at a Wednesday news conference.
Police in Las Vegas said they are investigating potential links between both incidents.
“Do I think it’s a coincidence? I don’t know,” Sheriff Kevin McMahill said. “We’re absolutely looking into any connections to New Orleans.”
According to past newspaper clippings shared to social media by journalist Timothy Burke, Livelsberger enlisted in the U.S. military in 2006 and was a Special Forces soldier with the U.S. Army who served in Afghanistan.
He was awarded a Bronze Star (without valour) for his humanitarian work aiding children in Afghanistan.
The Associated Press reported Jabbar joined the U.S. Army in 2007 and worked in human resources and information technology. He did two tours in Afghanistan in 2009 and 2010 before moving to the U.S. Army Reserve in 2015.
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