Matthew Livelsberger’s wife broke up with him just days before he blew up a Tesla Cybertruck outside President-elect Donald Trump‘s Las Vegas hotel on Wednesday, according to a newspaper.
The soldier’s wife, believed to be Jennifer Anne Davis, accused him of cheating, and after an argument, he left his home in Colorado Springs the day after Christmas, said the New York Post, citing unnamed law enforcement contacts.
Newsweek reached out to Las Vegas County Sheriff Kevin McMahill for comment.
Why It Matters
As officials probe whether the explosion could be politically motivated or a terror attack, this development could suggest that there might be a personal reason for the bombing.
What To Know
According to ABC News, court records reportedly show that a marriage application was filed in El Paso County, Colorado on July 8, 2022, for Livelsberger and Davis.
Livelsberger and Davis had a baby daughter together, according to photos found by the Post on a Facebook account believed to be Livelsberger’s despite being under a different name, Matt Berg.
Livelsberger was found dead in the Cybertruck after the explosion, and the police believe that he shot himself in the head before the back of the car erupted in flames. Clark County Sheriff Kevin McMahill said a handgun was found at Livelsberger’s feet.
The bombing is still under FBI investigation to determine whether the incident was an act of terrorism, and if there was a link between the Las Vegas bombing and the New Orleans attack that happened hours earlier.
Livelsberger and Shamsud-Din Jabbar, the U.S. army veteran police believe plowed into crowds and killed 15 in New Orleans on New Year’s Day, both served at the same U.S. Army base. Sheriff McMahill said both were stationed at Fort Bragg in North Carolina and both were stationed in Afghanistan in 2009.
While they were found to have been in the same military bases at the same time, the sheriff said: “We don’t have any evidence that they were in the same province, the same location or the same unit, again something else that remains under investigation.”
Social media posts also suggest that Livelsberger was a Trump supporter. When asked how the bombing might relate to Trump and Tesla CEO Elon Musk, given that it was outside a Trump hotel in a Tesla vehicle, McMahill said on Wednesday: “This is a Tesla truck, and we know that Elon Musk is working with President-elect Trump, and it’s the Trump Tower. There’s obviously things to be concerned about and it’s something we continue to look at.”
What People Are Saying
Cindy Helwig, who lives diagonally across the street from Livelsberger’s house, told The Associated Press: “He [Livelsberger] was a normal guy.”
Las Vegas County Sheriff Kevin McMahill said in a news conference on Wednesday: “At this time, we are investigating a number of leads, and I’m not prepared to release any of that information to you just yet. I can tell you that there are seven victims right now that sustained injuries from the explosion.”
Jeremy Schwartz, acting FBI Special Agent in Charge for the Las Vegas office, at a news conference: “I know you have a lot of questions. We don’t have a lot of answers.”
What’s Next
The Las Vegas Police Department said it is still investigating the incident. Jeremy Schwartz, the acting FBI special agent in charge of the Las Vegas office, also confirmed that the FBI is involved in the investigation.
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