Who is Matthew Livelsberger? Driver in Cybertruck blast was Green Beret

LAS VEGAS - The driver who died in a possible terror attack outside a Las Vegas hotel has been identified as Matthew Alan Livelsberger, a 37-year-old active duty U.S. Army servicemember.

According to the Associated Press, Livelsberger was behind the wheel of a rented Tesla Cybertruck that exploded at the Trump International Hotel on Wednesday. Seven bystanders were injured but Livelsberger was the only person dead at the scene.

The pickup truck’s bed was filled with fireworks and gas canisters, leading officials to investigate the blast as possible terrorism.

RELATED: Here’s what was inside the Cybertruck that exploded in Las Vegas

(LVMPD image)

Who is Matthew Livelsberger?

What we know: Livelsberger was a 37-year-old most recently from Colorado Springs, Colorado. According to KTNV-TV in Las Vegas, Livelsberger had multiple addresses in Colorado Springs, and FBI agents were searching at least one townhome connected to him there.

Livelsberger, a U.S. Army master sergeant, served in the Green Berets, highly trained special forces who work to counter terrorism abroad and train partners, the Army said in a statement. He had served in the Army since 2006, rising through the ranks with a long career of overseas assignments, deploying twice to Afghanistan and serving in Ukraine, Tajikistan, Georgia and Congo, the Army said. 

Matthew Livelsberger (via LVMPD)

He was awarded two Bronze Stars, including one with a valor device for courage under fire, a combat infantry badge and an Army Commendation Medal with valor. 

Livelsberger was on approved leave when he died, according to the statement.

Investigators say Livelsberger had suffered a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head before the explosion. They recovered multiple firearms from the Cybertruck, along with his military ID, credit cards, and passport.

What we don’t know: What would drive a longtime Army veteran to apparently end his life in an explosion at the Trump hotel.

Investigators said Thursday that they were unsure of any motive for the act, but they were hoping Livelsberger's phone and internet records would reveal clues.

The FBI was also investigating any possible connection between him and the apparent terror attack in New Orleans, where an allegedly radicalized Army veteran drove into New Year’s revelers, killing 14. Both suspects were military servicemembers that had served in Afghanistan – though at different locations and times – and both used the Turo app to rent their vehicles, but beyond that, agents did not immediately believe there was any connection.

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What they're saying: "We know we have the bombing. Absolutely. And it's a bombing that certainly has factors that raised concern. It's not lost on us that it's in front of, you know, of the Trump building, that it's a Tesla vehicle, but we don't have information at this point that definitively tells us or suggests it was because of this particular ideology or that, you know, any of the reasoning behind it. That's the purpose of the investigation that we're conducting, to get to the bottom of exactly what happened, why, and how." – Spencer Evans, FBI special agent in charge, Las Vegas Division.

What’s next: The FBI is continuing to investigate Livelsberger’s background, both here in the U.S. and around the globe. 

Meanwhile, officials are awaiting DNA and medical records to confirm that Livelsberger's body was indeed the one inside the Cybertruck.

What is a Green Beret?

"Green Beret" is a term that refers to the U.S. Army’s elite special operations branch. Soldiers are highly trained in the use of "guerrilla warfare and unconventional tactics," according to the Army, and are often experts on a particular culture or country.

The name comes from their unique headgear. The U.S. Army Special Forces adopted the green beret unofficially in 1954 after searching for something that would set them visually apart.