(NewsNation) — The person who authorities believe died in the explosion of a Tesla Cybertruck packed with firework mortars and camp fuel canisters outside President-elect Donald Trump’s Las Vegas hotel was Matthew Livelsberger, an active-duty U.S. Army soldier, three U.S. officials told The Associated Press on Thursday.
He allegedly served at the same military base as Shamsud-Din Jabbar — a law enforcement source told NewsNation — the man suspected of intentionally driving into a crowd in New Orleans, killing 15.
Officials confirmed to The Associated Press that Livelsberger was an active-duty Army member, who spent time at the base formerly known as Fort Bragg, a massive Army base in North Carolina that is home to Army special forces command. One official told the AP, however, that there was no overlap in assignments between Livelsberger and Jabbar while at Fort Bragg.
Livelsberger was a member of the Army’s elite Green Berets, a special forces unit and guerrilla warfare experts, according to an Army statement. He has served in the Army since 2006, rising through the ranks, and was on approved leave when he died, the statement said. The Green Berets work to counter terrorists abroad using unconventional techniques.
One person died and seven others were injured as a result of the explosion at the entrance of the Las Vegas Trump International Hotel on Wednesday morning.
Police said the act was intentional. Gas canisters, camping fuel, and firework mortars were found in the bed of the truck after the fire was extinguished, Sheriff Kevin McMahill of the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department said.
However, police did not find any devices that would have been used to ignite the explosion, and are unsure at this time how it ignited.
Video footage of the incident shows the truck parked next to the hotel’s front doors as it bursts into flames.
Sources told Nexstar’s KLAS that the cybertruck was rented in Colorado Springs through carsharing company Turo.
“We are heartbroken by the violence perpetrated in New Orleans and Las Vegas, and our prayers are with the victims and families,” a Turo spokesperson said in a statement. “We are actively partnering with law enforcement authorities as they investigate both incidents. We do not believe that either renter involved in the Las Vegas and New Orleans attacks had a criminal background that would have identified them as a security threat.”
Agents with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosive (ATF) and the FBI were seen at a townhome complex in the Stetson Hills area of Colorado Springs late on Wednesday, Nexstar’s KXRM reported.
In a statement Thursday morning, the FBI Denver office confirmed both agencies, as well as the Colorado Springs Police Department, were “conducting law enforcement activity at a residential address in Colorado Springs.” The agency confirmed the investigation is related to the explosion in Las Vegas but “due to the ongoing nature of the investigation, no further information will be provided.”
It’s unclear if the home belonged to Livelsberger or how it may be connected to the incident.
FBI Acting Special Agent-In-Charge Jeremy Schwartz said the car explosion was an isolated incident and that there is no threat to the public.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
