Cybertruck that exploded in front of Trump Hotel in Las Vegas was rented in Colorado, police say
The Tesla Cybertruck that exploded outside the Trump International Hotel in Las Vegas on Wednesday, killing at least one person, was rented in Colorado, police officials said Wednesday.
The explosion is being investigated as a possible act of terrorism, CBS News reported.
"We do know the truck was rented in Colorado. We were able to trace that truck through the Tesla charging stations and it arrived here in Las Vegas this morning at about 7:30 and went up and down Las Vegas Boulevard before immediately pulling into the Trump Towers," Las Vegas Sheriff Kevin McMahill said in a Wednesday evening news conference.
The truck then sat in the valet area for about 15 to 20 seconds before exploding, according to McMahill.
A spokesperson for the Colorado Information Analysis Center, part of the state's Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Management, said the Las Vegas Police Department contacted the CIAC on Wednesday and was helping their investigators, but couldn't otherwise comment.
A person inside the vehicle died and seven others suffered minor injuries, police said.
What caused the explosion is under investigation and McMahill said he's not yet ready to identify the person who died, but they do know who rented the Cybertruck.
"We do know who rented the truck. We are looking at that individual," McMahill said.
After the explosion, investigators found "large firework mortars" and gas canisters in the back of the Cybertruck, according to McMahill, who also said that the Cybertruck's structure helped direct the blast in a way that may have helped save lives.
"The fact that this was a Cybertruck really limited that damage that occurred inside of the valet because it had most of the blast go up through the truck and out," he said.
McMahill went on to say that law enforcement officials in Las Vegas are "very well aware" of the deadly New Orleans attack on Wednesday, when a man intentionally drove a pickup truck into a crowd of revelers on Bourbon Street, killing at least 15 people. The FBI said "weapons and a potential IED," or improvised explosive device, were found in his vehicle.
The pickup truck in New Orleans and the Cybertruck in Las Vegas were rented through the car rental site Turo, according to McMahill, which he called "a coincidence" that "we have to continue to look into."
Authorities later released that they found gasoline and fireworks inside the Cybertruck.
