Local and federal authorities said back-to-back attacks in Las Vegas and New Orleans were not connected. The attacks, which occurred on New Year’s Day, saw a Tesla Cybertruck blow up outside the Trump International Hotel in Las Vegas and a shooting on Bourbon Street in New Orleans.
Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department Sheriff Kevin McMahill revealed in a press conference that authorities did not find any evidence linking the two attacks. “The simple answer to that is we don’t find anything to actually point us in that direction,” he said.
In a manifesto, the suspect, Matthew Alan Livelsberger, 37, wrote that he wanted to “wake up” the American people and described the attacks as a “stunt” to get attention. He stated that Americans only pay attention to “spectacles and violence” and that he needed to “cleanse his mind of the brothers he had lost” and “relieve himself of the burden of the lives he had taken.”
Livelsberger, an active-duty U.S. Army soldier, had previously served at the large military base formerly called Fort Bragg in North Carolina, the same base where Shamsud-Din Jabbar, the suspect in the New Orleans attack, had also spent time.
During the press conference, McMahill emphasized the importance of prioritizing mental health, particularly among law enforcement officers and veterans. “This is the reason why we started our wellness bureau here at Metro and taking care of the heart, mind, body, and soul of the people that are out there doing this work,” he said.
Livelsberger’s motives were not political, and he did not appear to dislike President-elect Trump. The suspect wrote in his manifesto that he was trying to get the attention of the American people because he was upset about various issues.
Authorities reported that Livelsberger’s actions were a result of his struggles with PTSD and ongoing family problems. The investigation into the attacks is ongoing, and more information is expected to be released in the coming days.
