Police identify links between New Orleans attack and Trump Tower Tesla explosion
Las Vegas, Nevada - Investigators are looking into a possible connection between the deadly car-ramming attack in New Orleans and the explosion of a Tesla Cybertruck outside the Trump International Hotel in Las Vegas on New Year's morning.
There are indications of a possible connection between the two drivers through their work for the US military, according to media reports. It remains unclear whether the times when the men were working in a military area – or any other location – overlapped.
The Denver7 channel reported, citing official sources, that the two drivers worked at the same US military base. According to the authorities, this is a potentially important line of inquiry, NBC News reported.
Federal investigators are treating the New Orleans incident, in which 15 people died, as an act of terrorism. Emergency services found possible explosives and a flag from the extremist group Islamic State in the vehicle.
Investigators found charred remains of gas canisters and fireworks in the loading area of the burnt Tesla in Las Vegas. Seven people suffered minor injuries in the explosion outside the hotel, and the male driver of the Tesla Cybertruck was burnt to death.
The incidents occurred a few hours apart. Both the pickup truck that drove into the crowd in New Orleans and the Tesla Cybertruck had been hired through the major US car hire company Turo, police said.
Investigations are ongoing for both incidents.
Cover photo: Collage: Chris Graythen / GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA / Getty Images via AFP & Alcides Antunes via REUTERS