Army Green Beret behind Las Vegas Cybertruck attack wrote New Year's Eve letter signaling mental health crisis
The string of coincidences that initially appeared to link the New Year's Day tragedies in New Orleans and Las Vegas have been overtaken by mounting evidence that the Tesla Cybertruck bombing at the Trump International Hotel was in fact a public display of a private tragedy, new information and interviews show.
Decorated U.S. Army Special Forces Master Sgt. Matthew Livelsberger sent a disjointed email on the morning of New Year's Eve to Samuel Shoemate, a retired Army intelligence officer and military pundit. It outlined a constellation of grievances and dire warnings related to his military service, but gave no hint of, or explanation for, his actions.
In a text made public by local authorities, Livelsberger wrote: "I needed to cleanse my mind of the brothers I've lost and relieve myself of the burden of the lives I took."
And in an interview Friday, a former girlfriend of Livelsberger's said he told her he suffered a traumatic brain injury while serving in the Middle East. Alicia Arritt, who was in a relationship off and on with Livelsberger from 2018 to 2021, told CBS News that she exchanged around 30 texts with Livelsberger in the days leading up to the bombing.
She said he gave no indication that he was planning to take his own life or blow up a Tesla Cybertruck outside the Trump hotel in Las Vegas.
"He loved the Army and he gave his life and his mind for it," Arritt said.
An Army spokesperson confirmed to CBS News in a statement Saturday that Livelsberger had received counseling through its Preservation of the Force and Family program.
"Master Sgt. Matthew Livelsberger had access to and used the POTFF program; he did not display any concerning behaviors at the time, and was granted personal leave. All relevant records were provided to the FBI as the lead investigative agency," the spokesperson said.
Experts told CBS News that Livelsberger may have been the latest illustration of an ongoing concern facing the U.S. military's most elite special operators — the heightened risk of brain injury, traumatic stress and mental health struggles.
According to the National Center for PTSD, research on veterans from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan suggests that 10% to 18% of those troops are likely to have post-traumatic stress disorder and be at risk for other mental health problems. Depression rates among troops returning from overseas range as high as 24%.
The high-risk, high-intensity career has for years raised concerns about the toll that long-running exposure to combat violence can take on special forces soldiers.
Livensberger's father told CBS News he had been at home in Colorado Springs with his wife and 8-month-old child on Christmas, on an approved military leave, before he rented the Cybertruck and began his meandering drive towards Las Vegas.
The Pentagon told CBS News there "were no red flags" prior to Livelsberger's departure from Germany, where he was stationed with 1st Battalion, 10th Special Forces Group. A CNN report Friday said Livensbeger visited military behavioral health services multiple times.
A review of Livensberger's social media posts, interviews with friends who knew him well, and most pointedly, his email to Shoemate, offered indications he may have been struggling with those issues. On Friday, Shoemate discussed the letter on The Shawn Ryan Show, a podcast where Ryan, a former Navy SEAL and CIA contractor, interviews individuals primarily from the national security space.
In the email obtained by CBS News, Livensberger referenced his ongoing concerns about civilian casualties caused by an airstrike in Afghanistan. The incident he mentioned appears to align with reports of U.S. airstrikes in May 2019 targeting alleged drug-processing facilities in Afghanistan, where more than 30 civilians, including children, were reportedly killed.
CBS could not independently verify the letter's authenticity.
Investigators said at a briefing Friday that Livelsberger planned and prepared for the Las Vegas bombing alone.
On Sunday morning, the day after authorities say he rented the Cybertruck, Livelsberger sent Arritt photos of the Tesla and said, "I rented a Tesla Cybertruck. It's the s***." She also told CBS News that Livelsberger sent her playful videos of himself listening to rap on the drive to Las Vegas.
Arritt said the FBI visited her after the explosion. She said they told her he had been in contact with several other women in the days leading up to the bombing.
Arritt said Livelsberger suffered a traumatic brain injury before she met him while deployed in the Middle East and he told her it caused a change in his behavior. He said he didn't want to get treatment for it.
"He felt it would ruin his career if he sought help," she said. "All he wanted to do was deploy and get back to it."
He suffered a lot of memory problems as a result of injuries he sustained during his service, including poor concentration, brain fog and headaches, she said.
Arritt, a registered nurse, said she recognized these as symptoms of a TBI because she had worked on wards for service members with brain injuries and amputations at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center from 2008 to 2009.
"I understood him, even if he didn't know the words for it," she said.
Arritt said he had guilt over some of his actions while deployed, expressing concern that his actions may have contributed to the deaths of innocent civilians.
She said Livelsberger went through periods of isolation while they were together. "He would disappear and just go cold for a couple of weeks. He was depressed but he always wanted to get through the depression. He recognized it and he was working on it. He pushed himself hard to get through it."
Arritt described Livelsberger as kind and said she was shocked at his actions.
"I never saw him angry or act impulsively and he was always thoughtful in the things he did," she said. "He was always the first person to jump into battle and stand up for someone else."
Many former colleagues interviewed by CBS News expressed shock and sadness, including Fardin Fetwat, a former Afghan interpreter who deployed alongside Livelsberger. Fetwat credited Livelsberger with saving his life during combat and later helping him and his family resettle in Colorado, though they had not been in contact for several years. Describing Livelsberger's death, Fetwat said it felt like losing a brother, not just a colleague.
