
A Bronze Star recipient who blew up a Tesla Cybertruck outside the Trump International Hotel in Las Vegas wrote about "political grievances," armed conflicts elsewhere and domestic issues in the days before his suicide, officials said Friday.
The texts were found on the cellphone of Matthew Alan Livelsberger, the truck driver, said Sheriff Dori Koren of the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department at a press conference.
In his writings, the Cybertruck driver said the incident was not intended as a “terrorist attack” but rather “a wake-up call,” according to police. He wrote in a letter found by investigators that “Americans only pay attention to spectacle and violence” and “fireworks and explosives” were the best way to get his point across.
Livelsberger wrote that he needed to “clear” his mind of “the brothers I have lost” and free himself from “the burden of the lives I have taken.” He said the U.S. was “terminally ill and headed for collapse.” He also expressed support for President-elect Donald Trump, Elon Musk and Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
The Cybertruck exploded outside a Trump International Hotel in Las Vegas on Wednesday. Livelsberger, 37, of Colorado, died in the incident and seven others were injured. Authorities said Friday that his identity had been confirmed through tattoos and DNA from relatives.
Spencer Evans, special agent in charge of the FBI's Las Vegas Division, said the incident appeared to be "a tragic case of suicide involving a highly decorated combat veteran who was struggling with PTSD and other issues."
Evans said that “other family issues or personal grievances in his life … may have been contributing factors” in the man’s actions in Las Vegas. “It is clear that the subject considered, planned and prepared for this act alone,” he added.
Investigators said they were still reviewing "a lot of material" related to the case, including two cell phones and other evidence.