one Tesla An electric truck exploded and caught fire outside the entrance to the Trump International Hotel in Las Vegas on Wednesday morning, killing one person inside and injuring several people nearby, local officials said.
Three senior law enforcement officials with knowledge of the matter told NBC News that the suspicious explosion is being investigated as a possible terrorist attack. A motive has not yet been determined.
The explosion came hours after the driver of a rental pickup truck flying an ISIS flag was hit. New Year’s Eve revelers on Bourbon Street In New Orleans, he killed at least 15 people and injured more than 30 before being shot dead by police.
Clark County/Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department Sergeant Kevin McMahill said the pickup truck and the Tesla involved in the Las Vegas explosion were purchased from the same company, Turo Rented.
“I don’t know,” McMahill said at a news conference when asked whether the two incidents were related. “But we are investigating whether there is any connection.”
Turo said in a statement that the company is actively assisting investigators.
“We do not believe any of the tenants involved in the Las Vegas and New Orleans attacks have a criminal background and do not view them as a security threat,” the company said.
McMahill said officials knew the Tesla was rented in Colorado but declined to name the people who died in the fire.
“We do know who rented the truck,” he said, adding that they found no connection to ISIS or any other terrorist group.
Acting FBI Special Agent in Charge Jeremy Schwartz added: “We believe this to be an isolated incident.”
McMahill said officials were able to track the Tesla’s route to Las Vegas with the help of Tesla CEO Musk, who provided video of Tesla’s Cybertruck charging station and Unlock the truck after it automatically locks after it explodes.
The Tesla arrived in Las Vegas at 7:30 a.m. and exploded an hour later, about 15 seconds after arriving at the hotel, the sheriff said.
McMahill showed video of the explosion during an evening news conference. “So the people in the truck were obviously dead,” he said.
Previously, Musk, a senior adviser to Trump, insisted to X that the explosion had nothing to do with the vehicle.
Musk declared: “We have now confirmed that the explosion was caused by very large fireworks and/or a bomb carried in the cabin of the rented Cybertruck and had nothing to do with the vehicle itself.” “All vehicle telemetry results at the time of the explosion were Positive.”
McMahill confirmed there were gasoline cans and a large pyrotechnic mortar in the back of the truck.
“I don’t know how they were set on fire,” the sergeant said. “We can’t deal with the car yet.”
McMahill also reiterated that “there does not appear to be any further threat to our community at this time.”
At the same time, a spokesman for the New York City Police Department said that as a precautionary measure, New York City sent additional police officers to Trump Tower and expanded security to keep the public and traffic away from the building.
Chicago police confirmed that security measures at the Trump International Hotel and Tower in Chicago have also been increased.
Police said the explosion occurred outside the Trump International Hotel in Las Vegas around 8:40 a.m. local time.
“We were told that a 2024 Cybertruck was parked in front of the hotel, and in fact, I can tell you, it was parked directly in front of the hotel,” McMahill said at an earlier press conference. “We saw smoke coming from the vehicle and then the truck exploded. “
Clark County Deputy Fire Chief Thomas Touchstone said that as first responders began extinguishing the blaze, they “simultaneously realized there were multiple injuries surrounding the vehicle.”
Of the seven injured, two were taken to the University of Southern Nevada Medical Center in Las Vegas, Touchstone said. But he said all seven injuries were minor.
In videos circulating on the Internet, sirens can be heard in the lobby of the Trump International Hotel, and vehicles outside are engulfed in flames. One person on social media said they were near the front door when the vehicle exploded and were forced to leave their luggage by the door.
The FBI’s Las Vegas field office said in a statement that “personnel were on scene to assist our local partners who were responsible for the initial response.”
The Trump International Hotel has been evacuated and guests have been moved to Resorts World Las Vegas, officials said at a news conference.
President-elect Donald Trump’s son Eric Trump also shared a statement on Fire”.
A porch is a covered entrance large enough for vehicles to pass through.
“The safety and well-being of our guests and employees remains our top priority. We sincerely appreciate the quick response and professionalism of the Las Vegas Fire Department and local law enforcement,” the statement read.
The Trump International Hotel in Las Vegas is owned by the Trump Organization and American businessman Phil Ruffin.
In footage of the lobby, loud explosions can be heard as the fire grows larger at the hotel’s entrance, which is engraved with the letter “T” for Trump.
Mary Lescano Paguada, 43, was vacationing in Las Vegas from San Antonio and celebrating the New Year at the hotel.
Initially, she wasn’t worried until she saw law enforcement respond.
Paguada said when she and her husband arrived in the lobby, they heard screaming and hotel staff telling them to get out and “don’t breathe the smoke. Don’t stay.”
She said they were not allowed to return to their rooms.
Social media posts showed smoke filling the air around the building. Other footage taken from a nearby hotel showed first responders appearing to be rushing to the scene.
Trump has tapped Musk to co-lead an advisory committee, the Department of Government Effectiveness, aimed at cutting federal regulations and government spending during the second administration. Musk, the world’s richest man, donated $277 million to support Trump’s campaign and other Republican candidates, according to campaign finance records.