Trace to military base

Death drive/explosion: drivers could know each other

The US security authorities are currently investigating whether there is a connection between the explosion in Las Vegas and the death drive in New Orleans.(Bild: AFP/Ethan Miller)

There could be a connection between the death drive in New Orleans and the explosion of a Tesla Cybertruck in Las Vegas (see video above). Both drivers worked at the same US military base and the incidents occurred within a few hours of each other.

So far, however, it is unclear whether the times when the two men were working in a military area overlapped at all, US media reported. Sheriff Kevin McMahill of the Las Vegas police said that the Cybertruck had been hired via the same Turo brokerage website from which the New Orleans attacker had hired his pick-up truck. A possible connection between the crimes is currently being investigated.

In New Orleans, there are indications of a connection to the Islamic State (IS), while the crime in Las Vegas is said to be an "isolated incident". 

Operation outside the Trump Hotel(Bild: AFP/Ethan Miller)

The investigators in Las Vegas(Bild: AFP/Ethan Miller)

The police operation in New Orleans(Bild: APA/AFP)

Fireworks on the loading area
As reported, one person was killed in the explosion outside a hotel owned by future US President Donald Trump in Las Vegas. Seven others were slightly injured. Footage from a surveillance camera has since been analyzed. Several petrol cans and fireworks could be seen on the loading area. The electric car, which was difficult to extinguish, burned out completely. The hotel had to be evacuated after the incident.

Here you can see a photo of the explosion.

The explosion had nothing to do with the vehicle itself, but was caused by a very large firework or bomb. McMahill thanked Tesla CEO Elon Musk for his cooperation in the investigation. He had, for example, passed on videos of Tesla charging stations where the car had been charged to the police. The car arrived in Las Vegas about an hour before the explosion and drove up and down in front of the hotel for a while, the sheriff said.

Probably lone perpetrator in New Orleans
The identity of the dead person in the car has not yet been determined. In New Orleans, Shamsud-Din Jabbar drove a pick-up truck into a celebrating crowd on New Year's Eve and shot out of the vehicle. 14 people (not including the perpetrator) were killed and others were injured. The perpetrator himself was killed in an exchange of fire with the police. He had an IS flag with him.

Contrary to initial assumptions, the FBI assumes that he acted alone. The 42-year-old was a US citizen and former soldier. After leaving the military, he is said to have had difficulties adjusting to civilian life. In the meantime, there have been several house searches in New Orleans and other US states.