"It was a wake-up call", says soldier who blew up Cybertruck outside Trump Hotel

An Army soldier who fatally shot himself in a Tesla Cybertruck moments before it blew up outside the Trump hotel in Las Vegas left notes saying the New Years Day explosion was a stunt serving as a wakeup call for the countrys ills said investigators on Friday Associated Press AP reportedMatthew Livelsberger a 37yearold Green Beret from Colorado Springs Colorado further wrote in notes he left on his cellphone that he needed to cleanse his mind of the brothers Ive lost and relieve myself of the burden of the lives I took Livelsberger served in the Army since 2006 and was deployed twice to Afghanistan AP reportedThis was not a terrorist attack it was a wakeup call Americans only pay attention to spectacles and violence What better way to get my point across than a stunt with fireworks and explosives Livelsberger said in one letter found by authorities which was released on FridaySeven individuals sustained minor injuries due to the explosion but virtually no damage to the Trump International Hotel Authorities claimed that Livelsberger acted alone AP citedThe army mans letters covered a range of topics which included political grievances societal problems and both domestic and international issues including the ongoing war in Ukraine He said in one letter that the US was terminally ill and headed toward collapseMeanwhile Teslas engineers helped investigators extract data from the Cybertruck including Livelsbergers path between charging stations from Colorado through New Mexico and Arizona and on to Las Vegas according to Assistant Sheriff Dori Koren AP reportedWe still have a large volume of data to go through Koren said on Friday Theres thousands if not millions of videos and photos and documents and web history and all of those things that need to be analyzedThe new details came up as investigators were still trying to figure out whether Livelsberger sought to make a political point with the Tesla and the hotel bearing the presidentelects nameLaw enforcement sources stated that Livelsberger had no animosity towards Presidentelect Donald Trump He wrote in one of his notes that the nation needed to rally around Trump and Elon Musk the CEO of Tesla AP reportedTesla CEO Elon Musk has recently become a member of Trumps inner circle Neither Trump nor Musk was in Las Vegas on Wednesday the day of the explosion Both had attended Trumps New Years Eve party at his South Florida estateAlthough this incident is more public and more sensational than usual it ultimately appears to be a tragic case of suicide involving a heavily decorated combat veteran who was struggling with PTSD and other issues Spencer Evans the FBI special agent in charge in Las Vegas said FridayLivelsberger died of a selfinflicted gunshot to the head Investigators have not yet explained how he shot himself inside the Cybertruck while simultaneously igniting fireworks and camp fuel packed inside which caused the explosion AP reportedAmong the charred items found inside the Tesla were a handgun at Livelsbergers feet another firearm fireworks a passport a military ID credit cards an iPhone and a smartwatch Authorities claim that both guns were purchased legallyEarlier Livelsberger had confided to Alicia Arritt his former girlfriend who had served as an Army nurse about facing significant pain and exhaustion which she attributed to traumatic brain injury AP citedHe opened up to Arritt 39 whom he met and began dating in Colorado back in 2018 about exhaustion pain that kept him up at night and reliving violence from his deployment in Afghanistan as per ArrittMy life has been a personal hell for the last year he told Arritt in text messages sent during their early days of dating that she shared with APThe Green Berets are known to be highly trained US Army special forces who specialise in guerrilla warfare and unconventional fighting tacticsAccording to the Army Livelsberger rose through the ranks and was deployed twice to Afghanistan and served in Ukraine Tajikistan Georgia and Congo He recently returned from an overseas assignment in Germany and was on approved leave when he diedHe had received five Bronze Stars including one with a valour device for courage under fire a combat infantry badge and an Army Commendation Medal with valourAuthorities searched a townhouse in Livelsbergers hometown of Colorado Springs on Thursday as part of the investigation Neighbours said the man who lived there had a wife and a babyAs per AP acrossthestreet neighbour Cindy Helwig claimed that she last saw him when he asked to borrow a tool to fix an SUV He was a normal guy she saidThe explosion came hours after 42yearold ShamsudDin Bahar Jabbar rammed a truck into a crowd in New Orleans famed French Quarter early on New Years Day killing at least 14 individuals before being shot to death by police AP reportedThe FBI says they believe that Jabbar acted alone and that it is being investigated as a terrorist attackWith inputs from AP