Federal authorities have discovered that two suspects in separate New Year's Day attacks that killed at least 16 people served at the same military installation, sources told Denver7 Investigates, potentially linking the two incidents that shocked the nation.
Sources familiar with the investigation revealed to Denver7 Chief Investigator Tony Kovaleski that Matthew Livelsberger, suspected in the Las Vegas Tesla explosion, and Shamsud-Din Jabbar, accused in the New Orleans vehicle attack, shared a military service connection.
Livelsberger is accused of detonating a rented Tesla Cybertruck packed with firework mortars and gas cans outside the Trump International Hotel in Las Vegas, killing himself and injuring seven others. The vehicle was rented in Colorado Springs, according to the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department.
Hours earlier in New Orleans, Jabbar allegedly drove a pickup truck into crowds celebrating New Year's on Bourbon Street in the French Quarter, killing 15 people and injuring dozens more. The attack occurred near the site of a scheduled College Football Playoff game.
Both suspects obtained their vehicles through the Turo car rental marketplace. A company spokesperson stated that neither suspect "had a criminal background that would have identified them as a security threat."
Military records show Jabbar enlisted in the Army in March 2007, serving in human resources and information technology roles. He deployed to Afghanistan from February 2009 to January 2010 before transferring to the US Army Reserve in 2015. He reached the rank of staff sergeant before leaving the service in July 2020, according to Army statements reported by the Associated Press.
Investigators believe Jabbar, who was killed by law enforcement, did not act alone in the New Orleans attack.
Both incidents are being investigated as possible acts of terrorism, and authorities are examining the military service connection as a potential link between the attacks, sources told Denver7.
