Notes were recovered from a the phone belonging to Master Sgt. Matthew Alan Livelsberger, who fatally shot himself in a vehicle outside the Trump International Hotel
The U.S. soldier found dead in a Tesla Cybertruck that exploded outside the Trump International Hotel in Las Vegas left a note suggesting the incident was a “stunt” meant as a “wakeup call” to the country, investigators said.
During a new briefing on Friday afternoon, police said that they had found a phone belonging to Master Sgt. Matthew Livelsberger, a 37-year-old resident of Colorado Springs, Colorado. The decorated Army solider fatally shot himself inside the Cybertruck on Wednesday before explosives in the vehicle burst into flames. The explosion caused minor injuries to seven victims. According to police, Sergeant Livelsberger had post-traumatic stress disorder.
“We are the United States of America, the best country people to ever exist, but right now we are terminally ill and headed towards collapse. This was not a terrorist attack. It was a wake up call,” read one excerpt. “Americans only pay attention to spectacles and violence. What better way to get my point across than a stunt with fireworks and explosives?” The note continued, “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.”
Assistant Sheriff Dori Koren emphasized that the notes were excerpts taken from the phone, which contained additional information “varying on the spectrum in terms of political grievances, issues about conflicts elsewhere, not here, domestic issues, societal issues, a variety of other things, including personal challenges as well.” Koren added that officials are planing on releasing those “initial letters, so people can understand the best they can what the person’s thought process was at one point in time.”
The Las Vegas explosion occurred hours after a New Year’s Day terror attack that killed 14 people in New Orleans. Special Agent Spencer Evans, who is in charge of the F.B.I. Las Vegas division, said on Friday that “there is no evidence that these two events are connected.” The special agent added, “we have not identified any connection between this subject and any other terrorist organization.”
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