They drove far from home with murder on their minds to places people usually travel to from around the country—and the world—to let their hair down and have a good time.
Both had reportedly served in the U.S. military, possibly at the same base, and packed their vehicles with explosives before driving separately to New Orleans and Las Vegas.
Both rented from the same Turo app that allows private owners to lend out their vehicles.
And both Americans succeeded in bringing terror to the very people they once swore to protect.
Now authorities are investigating a possible military connection between the two suspects, law enforcement sources told NBC News.
Shamsud-Din Jabbar plowed his Ford electric pick-up through a crowd of revelers in New Orleans’ popular French Quarter, killing 15 people and injuring dozens more on New Year’s Eve, while Matthew Livelsberger blew up a Tesla Cybertruck in front of the Trump International Hotel in Las Vegas a few hours later at 8.40 a.m. on New Year’s Day, killing himself and injuring seven others.
Authorities have not publicly named Livelsberger as the Las Vegas suspect, but his identity was confirmed to multiple media outlets. He was reportedly 37 and associated with several addresses in Colorado Springs, according to Las Vegas’ KTNV-TV.
Investigators believed within minutes of the New Orleans attack that Jabbar wasn’t working alone. It was only after the Cybertruck explosion that they began trying to connect the dots.
Both men died in the attacks—Jabbar was shot dead by police after he opened fire at them amid the carnage he caused on Bourbon Street and Livelsberger died in his blown-up Tesla.
President Joe Biden said that “law enforcement, the intelligence community are investigating” the Cybertruck explosion, “including whether there is any possible connection to the attack in New Orleans.”
“I directed my team to make sure every resource is made available to the federal, state, and local law enforcement, to complete the investigation in New Orleans quickly, and make sure there’s no remaining threat to the American people,” he told reporters at Camp David.
Sheriff Kevin McMahill of the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department said investigators have not ruled out a connection between the two attacks.
“Do I think it’s a coincidence? I don’t know,” said Sheriff Kevin McMahill. “We’re absolutely looking into any connections to New Orleans.”
While Jabbar appears to have supported the ISIS terror group, there is no indication that Livelsberger had any known terrorist links and there is no evidence that the two men were friends.
Federal agents were combing addresses in Colorado Springs linked to Livelsberger on Thursday as it became clear that was where he lived and rented the futuristic vehicle.
In Texas, where Jabbar was from, the FBI was already building a picture of a twice-married veteran, who had two daughters, as a man with problems, but not so different from many of his countrymen and women. He had brushes with the law, misdemeanor charges for theft and driving offenses, and issues with debts and relationships.
Jabbar, who was 42, worked in real estate after the military, where he saw service in Afghanistan. He enlisted in the U.S. Army in March 2007 and specialized in human resources and IT work. He was deployed to Afghanistan from February 2009 to January 2010 and switched to the U.S. Army Reserve in 2015, serving until 2020 and leaving with the rank of staff sergeant, according to the Associated Press.
His 24-year-old brother, Abdur, told the New York Times that Jabbar had long ago converted to Islam and had been radicalized.
The Daily Mail is reporting that Livelsberger served in the Special Forces based on a LinkedIn profile, although this information has not been verified.
Although law enforcement sources have told multiple outlets that the two men served at the same military base, further details have not yet been disclosed. It’s not clear if they served at the base at the same time.
Both rented vehicles were EVs, fueling speculation that they were linked.
A spokesperson for Turo said: “We are actively partnering with law enforcement authorities as they investigate both incidents. We do not believe that either renter involved in the Las Vegas and New Orleans attacks had a criminal background that would have identified them as a security threat.
“We remain committed to maintaining the highest standards in risk management, thanks to our world-class trust and safety technologies and teams that include experienced former law enforcement professionals.”
