'TIME TO WAKE UP!' Tesla Cybertruck driver left messages before Las Vegas bombing

LAS VEGAS (KLAS) -- “This was not a violent attack, it was a aftermath up call,” a enactment recovered connected a telephone wrong the Tesla Cybertruck that exploded connected New Year’s Day extracurricular the Las Vegas International Trump Hotel said, according to police.  

At a quality league Friday, instrumentality enforcement officials gave further details connected the events that led up to Matthew Livelsberger, 37, driving a Tesla Cybertruck to the edifice and detonating explosive materials wrong it.

Livelsberger died from a gunshot coiled to the caput conscionable earlier the explosion, the coroner's bureau ruled Thursday. LVMPD Sheriff Kevin McMahill said Livelsberger was positively identified by a fig of things, including tattoo comparisons, showing a tiger limb tattoo connected a photograph of Livelsberger that matched 1 recovered connected his body. 

“While the assemblage was inactive successful the vehicle, we were incapable to place those circumstantial tattoos until we were capable to region immoderate of it,” McMahill said.

Additionally, the Department of Defense provided Livelsberger’s dental records to the LVMPD and the Clark County coroner’s bureau utilized those to positively place him. Livelsberger’s household besides provided DNA to the LVMPD which besides positively matched him to the body. 

A surveillance photograph showed Livelsberger successful Colorado wearing a distinctive jacket, which constabulary matched to a surveillance video successful Las Vegas, instrumentality enforcement added.

Matthew Livelsberger is shown is simply a surface seizure from information camera video provided by the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department

Video from nationalist areas, telephone information records, fiscal records, and Tesla charging presumption records were utilized to find the way Livelsberger took arsenic good arsenic find that helium was the lone idiosyncratic successful the Cybertruck.

“It’s evident that [Livelsberger] considered, planned, and thoughtfully prepared for this enactment alone,” FBI Special Agent Spencer Evans said.

Evans added that contempt the nationalist quality of the incident, it “ultimately appears to beryllium a tragic lawsuit of termination involving a heavy decorated combat seasoned who was suffering with PTSD and different issues.”

Livelsberger apt suffered from PTSD and constabulary said they were alert of imaginable household issues oregon idiosyncratic grievances that mightiness person been contributing factors, Evans said.  

Law enforcement recovered 2 compartment phones from the conveyance and the LVMPD was capable to entree the information successful 1 of them.

Police said arsenic of Friday, determination is inactive a batch of information to spell done connected the compartment phones and an further laptop recovered, arsenic good arsenic outstanding hunt warrants, subpoenas, and interviews astir the world, but were capable to stock immoderate of the accusation recovered connected the phone.

A note-taking exertion revealed a enactment titled “surveillance log,” which contained “a diary of activity” started astir 10 days earlier the bombing, Asst. Sheriff Dori Koren, who oversees the LVMPD counter-terrorism unit, said.

In the note, constabulary were capable to place locations connected the way Livelsberger took to Las Vegas arsenic good arsenic enactment constabulary saw connected surveillance video, specified arsenic Livelsberger purchasing firearms and camping equipment.  

In the app, constabulary recovered 2 letters, which contained a assortment of “grievances and issues, immoderate political, immoderate personal,” Koren said.

Police shared the pursuing excerpt from the archetypal letter: “Fellow servicemembers, Veterans, and each Americans. TIME TO WAKE UP! We are being led by anemic and feckless [sic] enactment who lone service to enrich themselves.”

Evans said Livelsberger held nary animosity toward President-elect Donald Trump.

An excerpt from the 2nd missive read: “This was not a violent attack, it was a aftermath up call. Americans lone wage attraction to spectacles and violence. What amended mode to get my constituent crossed than a stunt with fireworks and explosives? Why did I personally bash it now? I needed to cleanse my caput of the brothers I’ve mislaid and relieve myself of the load of the lives I took.”

Late Friday afternoon, Las Vegas Metro constabulary released the afloat letters recovered successful the conveyance which are provided below.

Law enforcement added that they were “very good alert of a podcast that is going astir contiguous and the contents of a missive successful that podcast.”

That podcast successful question is “The Shawn Ryan Show,” 1 hosted by a erstwhile Navy SEAL. The podcast released an interrogation Friday greeting with a erstwhile quality expert who said helium received an email from Livelsberger successful the days earlier the explosion. The expert said Livelsberger’s missive was astir Chinese drones.

Special Agent Evans said they had not verified the validity of the email arsenic of Friday.

The guns recovered successful the Cybertruck were purchased lawfully connected Dec. 27 astatine a weapon store successful Colorado by Livelsberger, ATF Assistant Special Agent successful Charge Kenny Cooper said. Livelsberger picked them up unsocial successful the Cybertruck connected Dec. 30. 

Tesla engineers helped Las Vegas constabulary extract a spot from the motortruck and learned that the conveyance was not successful self-driving mode astatine immoderate clip during the incident.  

There is nary grounds that the bombing successful Las Vegas and the violent onslaught successful New Orleans are connected, Evans said. The lone things connecting the 2 events are “coincidental similarities,” helium added.  

Those similarities see the vehicles being rented from the aforesaid institution and some subjects served successful the military.  

“We’ve identified nary telephonic oregon emails betwixt the subjects,” Evans said. “No accusation that they knew each other, that they were assigned successful the aforesaid unit, that they were ever assigned astatine the aforesaid spot astatine the aforesaid time.” 

He added that determination was nary transportation betwixt Livelsberger and “any different violent organization.” 

Anyone with accusation was asked to interaction the FBI astatine 800-CALL-FBI.