Man who died in Tesla in Las Vegas ‘suffered gunshot wound’ before explosion
The man who authorities believe died in the Tesla Cybertruck that exploded outside one of Donald Trump’s hotels was an active-duty army soldier who served in the special forces, US officials have said.
Speaking at a news conference, Las Vegas sheriffs and FBI officials said the identity of the driver had not yet been officially confirmed through DNA, but evidence pointed towards it being Matthew Livelsberger, 37, of Colorado Springs in Colorado.
The man who died had suffered a gunshot wound to the head prior to the rented Tesla vehicle bursting into flames outside the Trump International Hotel on New Year’s Day, said Clark County Sheriff Kevin McMahill.
Officials believe the wound was self-inflicted and said a firearm was found at the driver’s feet.
A second gun was also discovered inside the truck, along with a passport, military identification, an iPhone and a smartwatch, Mr McMahill said. The identification and two tattoos on the driver’s body “give a strong indication” that Livelsberger was driving, he added.
Damage from the blast was mostly limited to the interior of the truck, the officials told reporters.
The level of sophistication of the explosive “is not what we would expect from an individual with this type of military experience”, said Kenny Cooper, a special agent in charge for the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.
The vehicle was first rented in Denver, Colorado, on 28 December and was driven through New Mexico and Arizona before reaching Las Vegas, in Nevada, the officials said.
After tracking the vehicle’s journey, Livelsberger is the only person officers have seen in the vehicle, the news conference was told.
Who is Matthew Livelsberger?
Livelsberger was a decorated officer who served in the Green Berets, highly trained special forces who work to counter terrorism abroad and train partners, the US army said in a statement.
He had served in the army since 2006 and spent some time at a base formerly known as Fort Bragg, a centre in North Carolina that is home to special forces command. He also had a long career of overseas assignments, deploying twice to Afghanistan and serving in Ukraine, Tajikistan, Georgia and the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
He was awarded two Bronze Stars, including one with a valour device for courage under fire, a combat infantry badge and an Army Commendation Medal with valour.
He was still on active duty and on approved leave at the time of the explosion. Seven other people suffered minor injuries when the vehicle caught fire.
The explosion is being looked at as a possible terror attack, officers previously said. As yet, no cause for the blast has been given, but fireworks mortars, cannisters and other explosive devices were found in the back of the truck.
A possible motive is yet to be uncovered.
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Fireworks and gas cannisters found in exploded Tesla
Possible links with New Orleans attack
The incident occurred just hours after a man drove a truck into crowds celebrating the New Year in New Orleans, Louisiana, killing 14 people before he was shot dead by police.
The suspect in that attack has been identified as Shamsud-Din Jabbar, 42, who was a US army veteran. An Islamic State flag was flown from the truck.
Officials are investigating a possible connection between the attacks.
During the Las Vegas news conference, Mr McMahill said his force was not ruling anything out – despite the FBI earlier appearing to play down a potential connection, saying there was “no definitive link” at this stage during a separate news conference in New Orleans.
“It’s an interesting thing in these kind of investigations that, if these turn out to be simply similarities, (they are) very strange similarities to have,” Mr McMahill said.
Like Livelsberger, Jabbar also spent time at Fort Bragg. However, no overlap in their assignments there has been found so far.
Law enforcement officers are also looking into the fact both men used the Turo car app to rent the vehicles involved in both incidents.
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Shamsud-Din Jabbar has been identified as the suspect in the New Orleans attack. Pic: FBI
The truck involved in the explosion in Vegas arrived in the city at 7.30am local time (3.30pm UK time).
“It went immediately up and down Las Vegas Boulevard before immediately pulling into the Trump Towers,” Mr McMahill said at an earlier news conference.
The 64-storey hotel is just behind the famous Las Vegas Strip and opposite the Fashion Show Las Vegas shopping mall.
Tesla video helped track journey
Tesla is owned by tech billionaire Elon Musk who has been a close ally of Mr Trump – donating millions to his successful 2024 US election campaign. He has also been tasked with leading Mr Trump’s Department of Government Efficiency.
Video captured at Telsa charging stations provided by Mr Musk helped authorities track the vehicle’s journey prior to the explosion.
Earlier, Mr Musk wrote on X: “We have now confirmed that the explosion was caused by very large fireworks and/or a bomb carried in the bed of the rented Cybertruck and is unrelated to the vehicle itself.
“All vehicle telemetry was positive at the time of the explosion.”
Eric Trump, one of Mr Trump’s sons, who is also executive vice president of the Trump Organisation, posted about the fire on X, praising the fire department and local law enforcement “for their swift response and professionalism”.
Venezuela’s President Nicolas Maduro has accused the US of a coup attempt after Donald Trump approved CIA operations in the country to tackle alleged drug trafficking.
Mr Trump confirmed his decision, first revealed by The New York Times, as he said large amounts of drugs were entering the US from Venezuela – much of it trafficked by sea.
“We are looking at land now, because we’ve got the sea very well under control,” he said.
When asked why the coastguard wasn’t asked to intercept suspected drug trafficking boats, which has been a longstanding US practice, Mr Trump said the approach had been ineffective.
“I think Venezuela is feeling heat,” he said.
Donald Trump at the White House on Wednesday evening. Pic: Reuters
Maduro hits back
He declined to answer whether the CIA has the authority to execute Mr Maduro, who denies accusations from Washington that he has connections to drug trafficking and organised crime.
The US has offered a $50m (£37m) reward for information leading to his arrest.
“How long will the CIA continue to carry on with its coups?” he asked after Mr Trump’s comments on Wednesday evening, saying calls for regime change harkened back to “failed eternal wars” in Afghanistan and Iraq.
In a message to the American people, he said in English: “Not war, yes peace. The people of the US, please.”
President Nicolas Maduro. Pic: Reuters
US targets ‘drug boats’
Mr Trump also alleged Venezuela had sent a significant number of prisoners, including individuals from mental health facilities, into the US, though he did not specify the border through which they reportedly entered.
On Tuesday, he announced America had targeted a small boat suspected of drug trafficking in waters off the Venezuelan coast, resulting in the deaths of six people.
According to the president’s post on social media, all those killed were aboard the vessel.
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Footage of the strike was released by Donald Trump on social media. Pic: Truth Social
The incident marked the fifth such fatal strike in the Caribbean, as the Trump administration continues to classify suspected drug traffickers as unlawful combatants to be confronted with military force.
War secretary Pete Hegseth authorised the strike, according to Mr Trump, who released a video of the operation.
The black-and-white footage showed a small boat seemingly stationary on the water. It is struck by a projectile from above and explodes, then drifts while burning for several seconds.
Mr Trump said the “lethal kinetic strike” was in international waters and targeted a boat travelling along a well-known smuggling route.
There has also been a significant increase in US military presence in the southern Caribbean, with at least eight warships, a submarine, and F-35 jets stationed in Puerto Rico.
A 39-year-old man died in hospital alone, miles from his family, after being detained by US immigration officials.
Ismael Ayala-Uribe, who had lived in the US since he was four, fell ill while in an immigration detention centre in California.
Ismael Ayala-Uribe was well known in the local Latino community
He complained of a fever and had a persistent cough in the weeks before he died, according to his mother Lucia.
She said he was initially treated by medical staff inside the detention centre but was returned to his cell.
He was eventually taken to hospital for a scheduled surgery to remove an abscess on his buttocks, but died before he was able to have the operation.
His family were never told he was in hospital, learning of his death via a knock on the door from police.
“They’re the ones that notified us that he had passed,” his brother, Jose Ayala, told Sky News.
“We were not even aware that he was in the hospital or even had a scheduled surgery. Then we got a knock on our door a little after 5.30 one morning.
“I believe he would still be alive today if he was never detained. He got sick while in detention, and they did not seem to take care of him.”
Ismael’s brother Jose speaks to Sky News
Why was he detained?
Mr Ayala-Uribe’s death raises questions about the conditions inside the centre he was held in, and if a sudden surge of immigrants being detained by this administration has left the system stretched beyond breaking point.
He had moved to the US from Mexico with his family as a child.
He did have DACA – deferred action for childhood arrivals – status, granted to those who have arrived while under the age of 18. But this was removed in 2016, after he was convicted of drink-driving.
In August, he was arrested by immigration agents at a car wash in California where he had worked for 15 years.
He was held for five weeks at Adelanto, a privately owned, run-for-profit, immigrant detention centre. A lawyer for his family said he was, as far as they are aware, a healthy man before he was detained and had no medical need.
But Mr Ayala-Uribe’s mother, who was visiting him every eight days and speaking to him on the phone a couple of times a day, said she noticed him getting progressively unwell.
Ismael’s brother and mother, Lucia
“He started with lots of fever,” Ms Ayala said. “He said they weren’t listening to him. The last time I saw him his face was drained, he told me he was not OK, he told me he couldn’t take it any more.”
Beginning to cry, wiping away tears, she added: “I feel powerless that I couldn’t do anything to help my son.
“I never imagined I was going to bury one of my sons. It feels terrible, they took a piece of my heart away.
“I would like something to change. If we cannot save him, at least we can save others that are still inside.”
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Inside Trump’s immigration raids
ICE defends detention treatment
The cause of Mr Ayala-Uribe’s death is still under investigation.
Sky News requested comment from the company which owns the detention centre where he was held, and they deferred to ICE, the US immigration and customs enforcement agency.
In a statement, ICE said: “Comprehensive medical care is provided from the moment individuals arrive and throughout the entirety of their stay.
“At no time during detention is a detained illegal alien denied emergency care.”
The Trump administration says it’s targeting criminals and people in the US illegally. But campaigners say Mr Ayala-Uribe’s death should not be viewed in isolation.
Images from Ismael’s funeral service
Since Donald Trump took office, at least 15 people have died in immigration detention.
Democrat senators Jon Ossoff and Raphael Warnock wrote a letter to the homeland security secretary, Kristi Noem, asking for more information about these deaths.
The senators claimed 10 people had died between January and June, and that it was the highest rate in the first six months of any year publicly available.
Sarah Houston, a lawyer for the Immigrant Defenders Law Centre, claims immigrants are being mistreated in custody.
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ICE raids: ‘This is like Vietnam’
“This administration’s main goal is to harm, to torture individuals and to try to force them out,” she said.
“The great increase we see in human rights abuses, in deaths, is a direct result of the administration’s decision to pack these detention centres as much as they can.”
Mr Ayala-Uribe’s funeral was held this week. Dozens of extended family and friends wore t-shirts bearing his face. A mariachi band played as his casket was lowered into the ground and his mother heaved with sobs.
As they absorb their loss, the effort to carry out the biggest mass deportation operation in US history continues.
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