Sources: Person behind explosion at Trump hotel in Las Vegas sent suicide note

Noble Brigham, Las Vegas Review-Journal on Jan 3, 2025

By clicking submit, I authorize Arcamax and its affiliates to: (1) use, sell, and share my information for marketing purposes, including cross-context behavioral advertising, as described in our Privacy Policy , (2) add to information that I provide with other information like interests inferred from web page views, or data lawfully obtained from data brokers, such as past purchase or location data, or publicly available data, (3) contact me or enable others to contact me by email or other means with offers for different types of goods and services, and (4) retain my information while I am engaging with marketing messages that I receive and for a reasonable amount of time thereafter. I understand I can opt out at any time through an email that I receive, or by clicking here

LAS VEGAS — The man behind an explosion in a Tesla Cybertruck in Las Vegas likely suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder and had other “personal grievances,” but held “no animosity” toward President-elect Donald Trump, authorities said Friday.

Officials said they had no evidence indicating why Matthew Livelsberger chose Trump International as the location for the New Year’s Day blast.

Spencer Evans, special agent in charge of the FBI’s Las Vegas division, said an investigation into 37-year-old’s writings hinted at a possible motive.

“Investigative steps have discovered and information from the Army indicates that he likely suffered from PTSD and we are also aware that there were potential other family issues or personal grievances in his own life that may have been contributing factors,” he said.

Authorities have said Livelsberger shot himself in the head, and that seven people suffered minor injuries in the explosion.

Metropolitan Police Department Sheriff Kevin McMahill previously said Livelsberger was a military operations sergeant who served in the U.S. Army as a Green Beret.

Livelsberger complained about “weak and feckless leadership” and wrote in a diary on his phone that while the U.S. was “the best country,” it was “terminally ill and headed toward collapse,” according to notes shared by police at a news conference Friday.

According to authorities, Livelsberger also wrote: “This was not a terrorist attack, it was a wake up call. Americans only pay attention to spectacles and violence. What better way to get my point across than a stunt with fireworks and explosives? Why did I personally do it now? I needed to cleanse my mind of the brothers I’ve lost and relieve myself of the burden of the lives I took.”

Livelsberger sent a note that is now in possession of a former Navy Seal and CIA contractor who has a podcast about the problems encountered by military personnel, according to two law enforcement sources.

The note, which is still in podcast host Shawn Ryan’s possession, has not been released but the FBI is working with him to determine the contents.

_____