Attacks in New Orleans and Las Vegas New Orleans attacker was a lone gunman +++ Man in cybertruck shot himself in the head
The search for the background to the New Orleans death spree that left at least ten people dead is ongoing. US media report from police circles that the man had an IS flag in his vehicle.
03.01.2025, 15:40
03.01.2025, 15:50
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- A man drove his car into a crowd of people in New Orleans on New Year's Eve, killing at least 14 people. He was shot dead by police.
- The investigating authorities give his name as Shamsud-Din Bahar J.. He was a soldier and most recently a reservist in the US Army.
- According to the FBI, investigators found an IS flag in his car.
- The alleged perpetrator Shamsud-Din Bahar J. is said to have previously served in the US Army. The FBI assumes he is a lone perpetrator.
- In Las Vegas, a Tesla Cybertruck exploded in front of the entrance to the Trump Hotel.
- The man at the wheel was killed in the explosion. Investigators report that he had previously shot himself in the vehicle. They identified him as Matthew Livelsberger.
- The man probably wanted to carry out an assassination attempt, as indicated by the firearms and explosive devices in his car.
- Livelsberger was a soldier in the US Green Berets special forces unit.
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12 o'clock
Man in the cybertruck was a Trump supporter
Matthew Livelsberger, the 37-year-old who, according to the investigation, shot himself in the Cybertruck in front of the Trump International Hotel, was a supporter of President-elect Trump, as Reuters has learned from an unnamed close relative.
By joining a special unit of the US armed forces, Livelsberger had fulfilled a dream, the relative added.
At the time of his death, Livelsberger was on a regular leave before he was due to return to his unit.
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January 3, 8 a.m.
New Orleans attacker had remote detonator for explosive devices in car
According to US President Joe Biden, the New Orleans attacker had a remote detonator for explosive devices in his car. Biden said on Thursday (local time) that the FBI had informed him that the attacker had acted alone. He had also placed explosive devices in freezers in other locations in the French Quarter a few hours before the terrorist attack.
US Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas warned against seeing a connection between the two incidents due to some similarities between the attack in New Orleans and the explosion of an electric car in Las Vegas. The New Orleans attacker served in the US Army and continued to be listed as a reservist for years afterwards. Investigators in Las Vegas suspect that the person who burned to death in the exploded car was also a soldier - still on active duty. Another parallel: both vehicles involved were rented via the same brokerage platform.
"That doesn't necessarily connect the two events," Mayorkas said in a CNN interview when asked about the parallels. "I don't think we know enough yet."
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11:30 p.m.
Investigators: Las Vegas perpetrator wanted to cause great damage but was clumsy
According to investigators, the man found dead after the explosion of an electric car loaded with fireworks and petrol canisters in front of US President-elect Donald Trump's hotel in Las Vegas was a soldier in the US special forces Green Berets. He had served in the army since 2006 and was on authorized leave at the time of the explosion, two officials told the AP news agency on Thursday. Sheriff Kevin McMahill said the 37-year-old apparently shot himself in the head before the explosion occurred.
Two guns, a passport, a military ID and credit cards were found in the car, according to McMahill. The detonation was apparently intended to cause major damage, but the steel body of the Tesla Cybertruck absorbed a large part of the shock wave.
There were only six minor injuries outside the vehicle. A video showed that the side walls and loading area of the pick-up were still intact and that the blast pressure had apparently spread upwards. Special Investigator Kenny Cooper said, "This level of sophistication is not what we would expect from a person with this kind of military experience."
One of the firearms in the Cybertruck where an explosion occurred outside the Trump International Hotel in Las Vegas.
Image: KEYSTONE
Investigators examine the Cybertruck, which remained in one piece despite the explosion.
Image: KEYSTONE
Inside the Tesla pickup, investigators recovered weapons, explosive devices and gas cans.
Image: KEYSTONE
Another firearm in the Las Vegas attacker's Cybertruck.
Image: KEYSTONE
Weapons in the Las Vegas Cybertruck
One of the firearms in the Cybertruck where an explosion occurred outside the Trump International Hotel in Las Vegas.
Image: KEYSTONE
Investigators examine the Cybertruck, which remained in one piece despite the explosion.
Image: KEYSTONE
Inside the Tesla pickup, investigators recovered weapons, explosive devices and gas cans.
Image: KEYSTONE
Another firearm in the Las Vegas attacker's Cybertruck.
Image: KEYSTONE
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11 p.m.
This is what investigators say is certain about the attack in New Orleans
The deadly drive through crowd began a few hours into the new year, around 3:15 a.m. local time, in the popular nightlife district of the French Quarter.
According to the authorities, the perpetrator shot at police officers after his drive and then died in an exchange of gunfire with the officers.
Investigators are now talking about 14 fatalities and 35 injured. The FBI had previously put the death toll at 15. Two police officers were taken to hospital injured but are in a stable condition.
According to the FBI, the perpetrator is a 42-year-old US citizen born in Texas named Shamsud-Din J. He served in the US Army and was subsequently listed as a reservist for years.
The US authorities assume that this was a targeted terrorist attack. A flag of the terrorist organization Islamic State (IS) was found in the perpetrator's car. According to the police, he was inspired by IS and identified himself as a supporter of the terrorist militia in videos posted shortly before the attack. In one of the videos, police say the man explained that he had originally intended to harm his family and friends, but was concerned that the headlines would not then have focused on the "war between the believers and the infidels".
According to the FBI, there were weapons and two functioning explosive devices discovered in the vehicle. Both were recovered safely.
The police initially searched for possible accomplices. FBI investigators now believe that the perpetrator acted alone.
The perpetrator apparently exploited a security vulnerability in his attack: Bollards that could have stopped the pick-up truck were missing, according to a media report. The bollards were to be replaced in preparation for the Super Bowl, which New Orleans is hosting on February 9.
The FBI currently sees no connection between the attack and the explosion of a Tesla Cybertruck outside the Trump International Hotel in Las Vegas on New Year's morning.
![A rolled-up flag lies on the ground behind the assassin's pickup truck. Investigators have recovered an IS flag in the vehicle.]()
A rolled-up flag lies on the ground behind the assassin's pickup truck. Investigators have recovered an IS flag in the vehicle. KEYSTONE -
7 p.m.
Man in cybertruck was an active US soldier
The man killed in the explosion of an electric car loaded with fireworks and petrol canisters outside US President-elect Donald Trump's hotel in Las Vegas was a US soldier, according to investigators. The man had been on active duty in the US Army, three officials told the AP news agency on Thursday. He had served for some time at the Fort Bragg base, which is now called Fort Liberty.
This is the same base where the 42-year-old man served who drove a pick-up truck into a crowd of people in New Orleans' famous French Quarter early on New Year's Day, killing at least 15 people. The police shot and killed the perpetrator. They are calling it a terrorist attack and assume that the attacker did not act alone. A representative of the authorities said, however, that so far there was no overlap between the two men's duties at Fort Bragg.
The explosion in Las Vegas occurred a few hours after the attack in New Orleans.
![ID of the man killed in the cybertruck. His name: Matthew Livelsberger.]()
ID of the man killed in the cybertruck. His name: Matthew Livelsberger. KEYSTONE -
9:28 a.m.
Suspects served at the same military base
Investigators are currently looking into possible links between the attack in New Orleans and the explosion of a cybertruck outside a hotel in Las Vegas. Now the authorities have found a first possible link, reports ABC Denver.
According to the report, the suspect in the Tesla explosion and the alleged attacker in New Orleans served at the same military base. This connection is now being investigated in more detail, but no further details have yet been released.
