'I needed to clear my mind': Man in exploding Cybertruck suffered from 'post-traumatic stress'

Les enquêteurs ont notamment retrouvé une pièce d’identité de l’homme présent dans le Cybertruck Tesla qui a explosé. MAXPPP – LVMPD

The soldier, Matthew Livelsberger, who was in the Cybertruck that exploded in front of the Trump Hotel in Las Vegas, left messages, explaining that he did not want to attack the new President-elect. The latter suffered in particular from “post-traumatic stress”. According to the FBI, “no links to any terrorist organization”.

The soldier found dead from a bullet in the head, in the Tesla Cybertruck, which exploded this Wednesday in front of the Trump hotel in Las Vegas, suffered from “post-traumatic stress”, and “had no animosity towards the president”newly elected, assured the American authorities on Friday.

“This appears to be a tragic case of suicide involving a decorated veteran […] who is battling post-traumatic stress disorder and other issues,”, explained the FBI agent in charge of the investigation, Spencer Evans, during a press conference.

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Matthew Livelsberger, was a member of the American army's special forces, and more precisely the Green Berets, a unit specialized in guerrilla warfare. He had notably been deployed in Afghanistan or Ukraine, according to Le Monde.

“No animosity towards the president”

The attack, which came just hours after a car-ramming attack in New Orleans by a former military man inspired by the Islamic State group (IS) killed 14 people, has raised multiple questions about the suspect's motivations. These two former soldiers rented the two cars online, on the same carpooling application.

Read also: Explosion of a Tesla Cybertruck in Las Vegas: the suspect injured by a bullet in the head, a possible suicide mentioned by the city sheriff

The investigators have not yet established “any link” between this 37-year-old soldier and any terrorist organization, recalled this FBI official. Similarly, there is no evidence to suggest a link between the Las Vegas explosion and the New Orleans attack, according to the US federal police.

“National issues, societal issues”

The suspect's phone is still being examined and is beginning to reveal unclear motives. Investigators found two letters in which he mentioned “political grievances”, said Las Vegas Sheriff's Deputy Dori Koren.

Matthew Livelsberger mentioned “questions about conflicts elsewhere” in the world and “national issues, societal issues”, as well as “personal challenges”, he said. Excerpts from these letters were revealed at the press conference. “We are the United States of America, the greatest country that has ever existed”, the soldier wrote in one of the letters. “But right now, we are fatally ill and heading towards collapse. This was not a terrorist attack, but a wake-up call.”

The suspect also explains that he organized an explosion because “Americans only pay attention to spectacles and violence”. To explain his actions, he cites trauma suffered during his military career. “I needed to clear my mind of the brothers I lost and to relieve myself of the burden of the lives I took,”, he wrote.