By Alexandra E. Petri, Emmett Lindner and Pashtana Usufzy
One individual was killed and at least seven sustained injuries after a Tesla Cybertruck detonated outside the Trump International Hotel in Las Vegas on Wednesday morning, according to officials, and they were probing any potential connections to a previous attack on a gathering in New Orleans.
Sheriff Kevin McMahill of the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department stated during a press briefing that authorities “consider this an isolated event” but had not eliminated a possibility of a link to the Wednesday morning incident in New Orleans that claimed at least 15 lives.
McMahill mentioned that investigators discovered gas canisters, camping fuel canisters, and large firework mortars in the truck’s cargo area. The method of ignition remained unclear, he noted.
“There is no additional risk to the community,” McMahill asserted. As of Wednesday afternoon, there were no indications linking the explosion to the Islamic State group, which President Joe Biden said influenced the New Orleans incident, but he confirmed that the investigation is still in progress.
During a press briefing on Wednesday, Jeremy Schwartz, the acting FBI special agent overseeing the Las Vegas field office, stated that the agency was examining whether the explosion “constituted an act of terrorism.”
“I understand that everyone is keen to know if we can label this as a terrorist attack,” Schwartz expressed. “That is our objective, and we are working towards that.”
The Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department received an explosion report at approximately 8:40 a.m. involving the Trump hotel.
Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla, mentioned in a statement on his social media platform, X, that “the explosion resulted from very large fireworks and/or a bomb placed in the bed of the rented Cybertruck” and indicated that the vehicle was operating correctly.
Police reported that a 2024 Cybertruck “arrived at the last entrance doors of the hotel,” McMahill stated earlier in a news briefing.
According to McMahill, the driver was the sole occupant of the truck and perished inside the vehicle. At least seven other individuals were noted to have incurred minor injuries.
The deceased individual remained in the truck on Wednesday afternoon, McMahill added, and authorities were working on identifying them.
Officials revealed that the truck had been rented in Colorado through Turo, the same car rental service utilized in the New Orleans attack. They managed to trace the vehicle back to Colorado utilizing video footage captured at charging stations, McMahill stated.
McMahill confirmed that authorities have identified the person who rented the truck but are withholding their name.
The truck arrived in Las Vegas around 7:30 a.m., McMahill reported, and traversed Las Vegas Boulevard before swiftly entering the Trump Towers.
In a statement, a Turo representative confirmed the company is cooperating with authorities as they investigate both cases.
“We do not believe that either renter associated with the Las Vegas and New Orleans attacks had a criminal history that would classify them as a security risk,” the representative stated in their announcement.
