Four United States officials have confirmed that the man linked to the rental of the Tesla Cybertruck that exploded outside a Trump Hotel in Las Vegas on Wednesday is a US Special Forces soldier assigned to the 10th Special Forces Group.
Tribune Online reports on Wednesday that the fire broke out around 8:40 a.m. near the intersection of Las Vegas Boulevard and Sammy Davis Jr. Drive.
In an update on the incident, four US officials who spoke with CNN identified the driver as a US Army special forces operations sergeant who holds the rank of master sergeant; a senior enlisted position.
Three of the officials noted that while he was on active duty, he was on leave from Germany, where he had been serving with the 10th Group, at the time of the incident.
On New Year’s Day, the driver of the Cybertruck was killed, and seven others nearby were injured when fireworks, gas tanks, and camping fuel in the vehicle’s bed were detonated using a device controlled by the driver, police reported.
Police added that the vehicle’s body construction helped contain the blast, preventing it from being significantly worse.
The FBI is investigating whether the explosion has links to terrorism, with officials highlighting the significance of the Tesla vehicle and the hotel’s namesake.
“It’s a Tesla truck, and we know that Elon Musk is working with President-elect Trump, and it’s the Trump Tower,” Kevin McMahill, sheriff of the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department, said Wednesday. “So, there are obviously things to be concerned about there, and that’s something we continue to look at.”
The FBI in Denver, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, and the Colorado Springs Police Department are conducting “law enforcement activity” at a home in Colorado Springs connected to the explosion, according to the FBI.
The explosion shared some general similarities with the vehicle attack in New Orleans earlier on Wednesday. Both involved symbolic targets on New Year’s Day, trucks rented through the website Turo, and suspects with military backgrounds.
Authorities are investigating possible connections between the two attacks but have repeatedly described the Vegas explosion as an “isolated incident.”
“At this point, there is no definitive link between the attack here in New Orleans and the one in Las Vegas,” FBI Deputy Assistant Director Christopher Raia said Thursday.
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