The soldier who died in the explosion of a Tesla Cybertruck truck at the Trump International Hotel in Las Vegas left a note saying that it was an action that was intended to serve as a “wake up call” for the ills that afflict the United States.
Matthew Livelsberger, a 37-year-old Green Beret from Colorado Springs, Colorado, apparently held no ill will toward President-elect Donald Trump, Clark County Police Department officers reported.
Livelsberger wrote in the note that he needed to “clear my mind” of the lost lives of people he knew and “the burden of the lives I took.”
“Although this incident is more public and more sensational than usual, it appears to ultimately be a tragic suicide case involving a highly decorated combat veteran who was struggling with post-traumatic stress disorder and other issues,” FBI Special Agent in Charge Spencer Evans said at a news conference.
The explosion caused minor injuries to seven people, but virtually no damage to the hotel.
“This was not a terrorist attack, it was a wake-up call. Americans only pay attention to spectacle and violence. What better way to get my point across than a stunt with fireworks and explosives”Livelsberger wrote in a letter found by authorities, who only published excerpts of it.
Investigators identified the driver of the Tesla — who was left unrecognizable due to burns he suffered — while the Clark County Medical Examiner’s Office said his death was a suicide caused by the gunshot wound.
Pentagon officials declined to say whether Livelsberger had suffered mental health problems, but said they turned over his medical records to police.
The new details emerged as investigators sought to determine Livelsberger’s motive, including whether he was seeking to make a political statement with the Tesla and the hotel named after the president-elect.
Tesla CEO Elon Musk recently became a member of President-elect Donald Trump’s inner circle. Neither Trump nor Musk were in Las Vegas early Wednesday, the day of the explosion. Both had attended Trump’s New Year’s Eve party at his South Florida residence.
Musk spent about $250 million during the presidential campaign to support Trump, who tapped the businessman, the world’s richest man, to co-lead a new effort to find ways to reduce the size and spending of the government.
Investigators suspect Livelsberger may have been planning a more damaging attack, but the steel-sided vehicle absorbed much of the force of the crudely constructed explosive.