Green Beret in Tesla Explosion Suffered From PTSD, Authorities Say

Investigators have recovered a message from a damaged phone pulled from the burnt remnants of the Tesla Cybertruck, with notes detailing political grievances.

Matthew Alan Livelsberger fatally shot himself inside a Tesla before it exploded outside the Trump International Hotel in Las Vegas.

Before blowing up a Tesla Cybertruck in Las Vegas, a decorated US Army servicemember wrote, “This was not a terrorist attack, this was a wake up call,” in notes that aired political and personal grievances, law-enforcement officials said Friday.

Matthew Alan Livelsberger, a 37-year-old Army Green Beret who fatally shot himself inside the Tesla before it exploded, was likely suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder, authorities said at a news briefing.

Though Livelsberger chose the Trump International Hotel in Las Vegas as the location for the blast, investigators have found from interviews with friends, family members and military servicemembers that he “held no animosity” toward President-elect Donald Trump, said Spencer Evans, special agent in charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Las Vegas division.

“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,” Evans said.

The explosion stirred national alarm, coming on New Year’s Day hours after a US Army veteran drove a pick-up truck flying an Islamic State flag into a New Orleans crowd, a terrorist attack that killed 14 people. Shamsud-Din Jabbar, 42, was shot dead in a firefight with New Orleans police. Investigators believe Jabbar acted alone.

President Biden is set to travel to New Orleans on Monday to meet with families of victims who were killed or injured in the attack.

On Friday, federal officials said Jabbar set fire to the short-term rental home where he was staying in New Orleans and strategically placed accelerants throughout the residence in an effort to destroy evidence. When New Orleans firefighters responded that morning, the fire was only smouldering, allowing for the recovery of evidence including precursors for bomb-making material and a device suspected of being a silencer for a rifle.

Law-enforcement officials have said they don’t believe there is any connection between the Tesla explosion and the attack in the tourist-heavy French Quarter in New Orleans. Authorities said Livelsberger, who was based in Germany and was in the U.S. for the holiday season, also acted alone. Several people were injured in the blast.

Investigators at the Friday briefing shared notes from a damaged phone recovered from the burned wreckage, in which Livelsberger raised alarm at the direction of the country and referenced his military service. He also addressed foreign conflicts and domestic issues, along with challenges in his personal life.

“Americans only pay attention to spectacles and violence. What better way to get my point across than a stunt with fireworks and explosives?” he wrote, in one excerpt provided by law enforcement.

“Why did I personally do it now? I needed to cleanse my mind of the brothers I’ve lost and relieve myself of the burden of the lives I took,” he wrote in another excerpt.

Livelsberger was a member of 10th Special Forces Group and had recently deployed in Europe, according to his service record. He served in Afghanistan, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Tajikistan. The Army said Livelsberger had earned a Bronze Star with valour. He had served for 19 years in either active duty, the National Guard or Army Reserve.

Law-enforcement officials said that, while Livelsberger’s body was burned beyond recognition in the explosion, they had been able to confirm he was the driver.

The Wall Street Journal