Early on Wednesday, a Tesla Cybertruck loaded with camp gasoline canisters and firework mortars detonated in Las Vegas. The car was parked outside the hotel in Las Vegas where US President-elect Donald Trump is staying.
The Associated Press informed that seven people were minorly injured and one person died inside the futuristic pickup truck, citing officials from the Clark County Fire Department and Las Vegas Metropolitan Police.
The Las Vegas explosion happened the same day that a man killed 15 people and injured dozens more in a horrific attack near the famous Bourbon Street by crashing a pickup truck into crowds of partygoers.
A thorough inquiry that includes a terrorism component and a potential connection to the New Orleans attack was spurred by the alarming discovery. Sheriff McMahill stated, “We are definitely looking into any connections to what happened in New Orleans as well as other attacks that have been happening all over the world and Nothing is being ruled out.”
“Our number one goal is to ensure that we have the proper identification of the subject involved in this incident,” said Jeremy Schwartz, acting special agent in charge of the FBI’s Las Vegas office, in reference to the ongoing investigation. “Our second objective was to probe the terror angle.”
According to Police Department Sheriff Kevin McMahill, officials in Colorado are aware of the person who hired the truck using the Turo app, but they are holding off on disclosing their identity until they have confirmed whether the deceased person is the same person. An email request for comment was not immediately answered by a Turo representative.
Detectives discovered big fireworks, mortars and gasoline canisters in the truck’s bed. According to McMahill, the Cybertruck’s structure “limited the damage” that happened inside the valet area close to the hotel door.
The car drew up outside and suddenly “blew up,” according to an eyewitness who recorded the fire from inside the hotel lobby and uploaded it to X. On X, the video and similar ones immediately gained popularity.
According to McMahill, law enforcement is still looking into a number of leads. According to Governor Joe Lombardo, his administration was working with partner agencies including the LVMPD to coordinate.
