Soldier Who Blew Up Tesla Had PTSD, Said U.S. Headed for ‘Collapse,’ Police Say
The New York Times
The police shared notes recovered from one of the phones of Master Sgt. Matthew Alan Livelsberger, who fatally shot himself inside the vehicle in Las Vegas.
Notes left by the Green Beret who blew up a Tesla Cybertruck outside the Trump International Hotel this week in Las Vegas suggested he had taken his own life as a “wake-up call” to the country, the authorities said on Friday.
A phone belonging to the soldier, Master Sgt. Matthew Alan Livelsberger, contained notes that said the country was “headed toward collapse,” the police said in a news briefing on Friday afternoon.
Sergeant Livelsberger fatally shot himself inside the Tesla on Wednesday as the explosives packed into the vehicle ignited and engulfed it in flames. The police said Sergeant Livelsberger, a veteran of several combat tours, had post-traumatic stress disorder.
“This was not a terrorist attack,” the notes said. “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?”
Assistant Sheriff Dori Koren of the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department said at a news conference on Friday that in the notes, Sergeant Livelsberger went on to “explain a variety of other grievances and issues — some political, some personal.”
Sergeant Livelsberger, 37, had been stationed in Germany and was back in the United States on leave.
