New Orleans terrorist, man in Las Vegas Cybertruck explosion shared more links in attacks just hours apart
The Texas man who plowed a rented pickup truck into New Year's revelers on New Orleans' Bourbon Street Wednesday, Shamsud-Din Jabbar, and the man eyed in the explosion of a Tesla Cybertruck outside the Trump International Hotel in Las Vegas hours later, Matthew Livelsberger, were both Army soldiers who served at Fort Liberty and deployed to Aghanistan in 2009, according to authorities.
A defense official, however, told Fox News that there was no evidence based on their military service that the attacks were related. While both men served at Fort Liberty, formerly known as Fort Bragg, they were there at different times. The North Carolina base is currently home to more than 50,000 service members.
Authorities continued to release new information at separate news briefings Thursday, with FBI Deputy Assistant Director Christopher Raia telling reporters in New Orleans that there was "no definitive link" uncovered between the attack and the explosion.
In Las Vegas, Clark County Sheriff Kevin McMahill said that while both men went to Afghanistan in 2009, any potential ties there were still under investigation. Between 2007 and 2015, Jabbar was a human resources specialist and an IT specialist. Livelsberger was an Army Green Beret in the 10th Special Forces group.
"We don't have any evidence that they were in the same province in Afghanistan, the same location or the same unit," McMahill said. "Again, something else that remains under investigation."
The Army did not immediately respond to a request for more details on their time in Afghanistan.
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Both men used the Turo app to rent electric pickup trucks used in the incidents, he said.
"We are heartbroken by the violence perpetrated in New Orleans and Las Vegas, and our prayers are with the victims and families," Turo said in a statement. "We are actively partnering with law enforcement authorities as they investigate both incidents. We do not believe that either renter involved in the Las Vegas and New Orleans attacks had a criminal background that would have identified them as a security threat."
Livelsberger, 37, was an active duty soldier at the time of his death.
Livelsberger was the only fatality in the Cybertruck explosion, McMahill said. Investigators believe he shot himself in the head before the truck blew up – sending flames, fireworks and shrapnel upward just steps away from the hotel's glass doors, which were not damaged.
FBI Special Agent Spencer Evans added that investigators were looking for potential terror ties to Livelsberger but had not found any as of Thursday afternoon.
"The question about whether it's being investigated globally, absolutely – like I said, we're running down investigative leads around the world," he told reporters. "No information that we're aware of right now that connects this individual to any terrorist organization around the world, but that's obviously the thrust of the investigation…ruling out that there's any sort of terrorism nexus."
The New Orleans attack, on the other hand, was clearly terror-inspired, authorities said. It killed at least 15 people and injured dozens more, according to authorities, who said Jabbar then opened fire on responding officers. They returned fire and neutralized the threat.
"Let me be clear about this point – this was an act of terrorism," Raia told reporters at a news briefing Thursday. "It was premeditated and an evil act."
Jabbar, 42, crashed the truck and died in a gun battle with police, who said they found an Islamic State group flag in the rented Ford F-150 EV Jabbar used in the attack. He posted videos to social media prior to his attack vowing allegiance to the Islamic State, according to authorities.
"He was 100% inspired by ISIS," Raia said, adding that investigators believe he acted alone, however. They were no longer looking for additional persons of interest on Thursday.
Video shows Jabbar planting two improvised explosive devices (IEDs) hidden in coolers along Bourbon Street, Raia said. One was at the intersection of Bourbon and Orleans, the other was about two blocks away.
SUSPECT IDENTIFIED AS FBI INVESTIGATES ACT OF TERRORISM AFTER BOURBON STREET ATTACK
Security cameras showed multiple people stopping and looking at the coolers before walking away, he added. Those people are asked to contact the FBI.
"We want to talk to anyone who was in the French quarter on New Year's Eve or early on New Year's Day," he said. "That includes people spotted near one of the two IEDs on Bourbon Street. The IED was inside a cooler and maybe people stopped and looked at the cooler and then continued on their way."
He said they are not considered suspects "in any way."
"We want to speak to them as witnesses and want to know what they saw and when," he added.
Jabbar was an Army veteran as a human resource specialist and IT specialist from March 2007 until 2015. He then continued as an IT specialist in the Army Reserve until July 2020.
More recently, he worked for Deloitte, a major international accounting firm where he made about $10,000 a month, according to FOX Business.
Raia said it was still "very early" in the investigation, but the FBI had not uncovered any ties between the New Orleans attack and an explosion of a rented Tesla Cybertruck outside the Trump International Hotel in Las Vegas.
David Katz, a former federal agent and firearms trainer and now the CEO of Global Security Group, told Fox News Digital that a potential military connection would be a red flag reminiscent of the Oklahoma City bombing in 1995. The bomber Timothy McVeigh and accomplice Terry Nichols met while in the Army.
"It's just worth noting that sometimes military service brings people who are like-minded together," he said. "And of course, those people can be very dangerous because of their military training."
Both investigations remain ongoing.
Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry condemned the ideology that spurred the Bourbon Street attack and praised law enforcement.
"In order to protect Americans from evil, you have to crush it," he said.
Fox News' Liz Friden and Anders Hagstrom contributed to this report.