A Tesla Cybertruck drove up in front of a Trump hotel in Las Vegas on New Year's morning and exploded. One person in the vehicle died and seven were slightly injured. Now there is also an investigation into possible terrorism.
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- A Tesla Cybertruck exploded in front of the Trump International Hotel in Las Vegas on New Year's morning.
- One person in the car was killed.
- The police are also investigating a possible act of terrorism.
Outside the Trump International Hotel in Las Vegas at 8.40 a.m. local time, a smoking Tesla Cybetruck drives up to the glass entrance and explodes. At the press conference, Sheriff Kevin McMahill from the Las Vegas police department showed footage from a surveillance camera of the Cybertruck exploding and a later drone flight over its loading area - showing the charred remains of several gas cans and fireworks. The electric car, which was difficult to extinguish, burned out completely. The hotel was evacuated after the incident.
What caused the explosion?
Why the Tesla pickup exploded and what triggered the explosion is unknown according to the investigators and is the subject of the investigation.
Elon Musk announced a few hours after the incident that the fireworks in the Cybertruck had triggered the detonation and that the telemetry data indicated that there was no technical defect.
Were people killed or injured?
One person was at the wheel of the Tesla when it exploded. The person died in the detonation. According to the security authorities, they are trying to identify the person they refer to as the "suspect". The body in the completely destroyed wreckage of the car in front of the Trump Hotel has not yet been recovered, McMahill said. It is still unclear whether it is a man or a woman. He would not comment on circulating names until the relatives had been informed, the sheriff said.
Sheriff Kevin McMahill of the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department says there were also seven minor injuries.
Was the explosion an act of terrorism or an attack on Donald Trump?
Anti-terrorism investigators are in charge of the investigation, said lead FBI agent Jeremy Schwartz at a press conference. They were investigating a possible terrorist motive.
Is there a connection to the attack in New Orleans?
There are at least parallels: According to McMahill, the vehicle had been rented in Colorado - via the same brokerage website from which the New Orleans attacker had rented his pick-up truck, which he drove into a celebrating crowd there on New Year's morning, killing 15 people.
A possible connection with the explosion in Las Vegas, which occurred just a few hours later, is being investigated. So far, there is no evidence of a connection to the Islamic State (IS) terrorist organization, as there appears to be in New Orleans. "We believe that this is an isolated incident," says McMahill.
Outgoing President Joe Biden confirmed the sheriff's statement that a possible connection between the events in Las Vegas and New Orleans was being investigated, but that there was no evidence so far that the two incidents were related.