Las Vegas explosion not ‘terrorist attack,’ but a ‘wake-up call,’ driver wrote in notes

Matthew Alan Livelsberger, a former U.S. Army special operations soldier, detonated a Tesla Cybertruck outside a Las Vegas hotel owned by President-elect Donald Trump, leaving notes on his phone calling the attack a “wake-up call” rather than a terrorist act, investigators said Friday.

Livelsberger, who died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound after the explosion, wrote that Americans “only pay attention to spectacles and violence” and explained that he used fireworks and explosives to make a point, according to investigators.

“Why did I personally do it now?” Livelsberger wrote in his notes. “I need to cleanse my mind of the brothers I’ve lost and relieve myself of the burden of the lives I took.”

Livelsberger, who had served in the U.S. Army, criticized what he described as “weak and feckless leadership” and called on fellow veterans and Americans to “wake up.”

The exact motive behind Livelsberger’s decision to target the Trump hotel and a Tesla Cybertruck remains unclear, according to authorities.

Las Vegas FBI agent Spencer Evans said Livelsberger was believed to have been suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and may have been dealing with personal or family issues that contributed to his actions.