 "Investigators photograph a Tesla Cybertruck that exploded outside the lobby of President-elect Donald Trump's hotel on January 1, 2025, in Las Vegas. AFP")
While giving updates of the Tesla cybertruck explosion that rocked Los Angeles on Wednesday, the FBI said that it was an ‘isolated incident’. FBI agent Jeremy Schwartz maintained that investigators do not believe that there’s any “other danger to the community right now”. In a press conference on Wednesday evening, Schwartz said that the attack is being investigated as a “possible act of terrorism”.
On the first day of the year 2025, a Cybertruck exploded outside the Trump Towers in Las Vegas, killing one person and injuring 7 others. “We do not believe that there’s a bunch of folks out there supporting this or helping this,” Schwartz said at the presser. The sole person who was killed in the accident was the man inside the vehicle.
Sheriff Kevin McMahill of the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department noted that there are no indications that the incident was linked to ISIS. While sharing the preliminary report, McMahill said gasoline canisters, camp fuel canisters and large firework mortars were found at the back of the vehicle, following the explosion.
The officials noted that the blast took place just 15 seconds after the vehicle was pulled in front of the building. However, it is still unclear how the explosion was ignited. The sheriff mentioned that the cybertruck was rented in Colorado and arrived in Las Vegas on Wednesday morning.
Police are yet to find the person who rented the truck.
When asked who rented the cybertruck, McMahill said that the name is yet to be determined. “We do know who rented the truck. We are looking at that individual,” he said. Meanwhile, Las Vegas Mayor Shelley Berkley said that police and city marshals “will remain on extra alert,” and told people to expect “a significant officer presence on the Strip, in the downtown and throughout the valley for the next 2 days.”
“Thanks to our law enforcement and public safety partners, including the city’s @lasvegasfd Bomb Squad, for their swift response this morning,” she added. It is pertinent to note that the explosion took place hours after a deadly New Orleans attack when a man intentionally drove a pickup truck into a crowd of revellers on Bourbon Street. The attack killed 15 people and injured several others.
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More ShortsAt that time, the FBI said that “weapons and a potential IED,” or improvised explosive device, were found in his vehicle, which had an ISIS flag. On Wednesday, US President Joe Biden said that law enforcement and the intelligence community are investigating whether the Las Vegas blast has any possible connection with the New Orleans attack, but “thus far there’s nothing to report.”