The soldier who died in a Cybertruck explosion outside the Trump Hotel left a note describing it as a “wake-up call” for the United States

The soldier who died in a Tesla Cybertruck explosion at the Trump Hotel in Las Vegas left a message he says was a “wake-up call” for the country’s ills, investigators said Friday.

Matthew Livelsperger, 37, a Green Beret from Colorado Springs, Colorado, did not appear to harbor any grudge against President-elect Donald Trump, Clark County sheriff’s officials said.

Livelsperger wrote in the note that he needed to “clear my mind” of the lives lost by people he knew and “the burden of the lives I took.”

“Although this incident is more public and more dramatic than usual, it ultimately appears to be a tragic suicide involving a former combat soldier who was suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder,” FBI Special Agent in Charge Spencer Evans said in a press statement. And other issues.” conference.

The explosion caused minor injuries to seven people, but did not cause any damage to the hotel.

“This was not a terrorist attack, but rather a wake-up call. Americans only care about spectacle and violence. What better way to get my point across than with fireworks and explosives,” Livelsberger wrote in a letter found by authorities. From which only excerpts were published.

Investigators have identified the Tesla driver — who was burned beyond recognition — with the Clark County coroner’s office saying his death was a suicide due to a self-inflicted gunshot wound.

Pentagon officials declined to say whether Livelsperger had mental health issues, but said they had turned over his medical records to police.

The new details came as investigators sought to determine Livelsberger’s motives, including whether he was seeking to make a political point with the Tesla car and hotel named after the president-elect.

Tesla CEO Elon Musk recently became a member of Trump’s inner circle. Neither Trump nor Musk were in Las Vegas early Wednesday, the day of the explosion. They both attended Trump’s New Year’s Eve party at his home in South Florida.

Musk spent an estimated US$250 million during the presidential campaign to support Trump, who appointed Musk, the world’s richest man, to co-lead a new effort to find ways to reduce the size and spending of government.

Investigators suspect that Levelsberger may have been planning a more damaging attack, but the steel-sided car absorbed too much of the force from the improvised explosives.

Investigators previously said Livelsberger shot himself in the head inside a Tesla Cybertruck filled with fireworks before it exploded outside the Trump International Hotel in Las Vegas on New Year’s Day.

“It was not lost on us that it was in front of the Trump building, and that it was a Tesla, but we have no information at this point that tells us conclusively or indicates that it was because of this specific ideology,” Evans said. The FBI said Thursday at a news conference.

Asked Friday whether Livelsperger had any mental health issues that may have prompted his suicide, Pentagon spokeswoman Sabrina Singh told reporters that “the department has turned over all medical records to local law enforcement.”

A law enforcement official said investigators learned through interviews that Livelsberger may have gotten into a fight with his wife over relationship problems shortly before renting a Tesla on Saturday and purchasing the weapons. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to discuss the ongoing investigation.

Authorities are still working to determine the motive. Among the charred items found inside the truck were a handgun at Livelsperger’s feet, another firearm, fireworks, a passport, military ID, credit cards, an iPhone and a smart watch, McMahill said. Authorities said both weapons were purchased legally.

The veteran is decorated

Livelsberger served in the Green Berets, highly trained special forces that work to combat terrorism abroad and train partners. He has served in the Army since 2006, rising through the ranks thanks to a long career of overseas assignments, deploying twice to Afghanistan and serving in Ukraine, Tajikistan, Georgia and Congo, the Army said. He had recently returned from an overseas assignment in Germany and was on approved leave when he died, according to a US official.

He earned a total of five Bronze Stars, including one with the Valor Instrument for gallantry under fire, the Combat Infantryman Badge, and the Army Commendation Medal for Valor.

Authorities searched a townhome in Livelsperger’s hometown on Thursday as part of the investigation. Neighbors said the man who lived there had a wife and child.

Cindy Hellwig, who lives diagonally across a narrow street separating the homes, said she last saw the man she knows as Matthew about two weeks ago when he asked her if he could borrow a tool he needed to fix the SUV he was working on.

“He was a normal guy,” said Helwig, who said she last saw the wife and child earlier this week.

The explosion of the truck loaded with fireworks mortars and camp fuel bombs came hours after 42-year-old Shams al-Din Bahr Jabbar rammed a truck into a crowd of people in New Orleans’ famous French Quarter early on New Year’s Day, killing 14. At least one person. People before the police shot them dead. The FBI says they believe Jabbar acted alone and that it is being investigated as a terrorist attack.

Officials have found “no specific connection” between the New Orleans attack and the truck explosion in Las Vegas, FBI Deputy Assistant Director Chris Rea said Thursday.