Las Vegas Metropolitan Police and Clark County Fire Department officials said that a person died inside the futuristic-looking pickup truck and seven people nearby suffered minor injuries. By late Wednesday afternoon, authorities were still working to get the body out of the vehicle and start processing the evidence inside. President Joe Biden was briefed on the explosion.
“Our number one goal is to ensure that we have the proper identification of the subject involved in this incident,” said Jeremy Schwartz, acting special agent in charge for the FBI’s Las Vegas office. “Following that, our second objective is to determine whether this was an act of terrorism or not.” Police Department sheriff Kevin McMahill said authorities know who rented the truck with the Turo app in Colorado, but are not releasing the name until investigators determine if it is the same person who died.
Mr McMahill said video captured at Telsa charging stations provided by chief executive Elon Musk helped authorities track the vehicle’s journey, arriving in Las Vegas about 7.30am local time, then driving about an hour later into the valet area of the Trump International Hotel, where it sat 15 to 20 seconds before the explosion occurred. Video presented at an afternoon news conference showed a tumble of charred fireworks mortars, canisters and other explosive devices crowded into the back of the pickup.
The truck bed walls were still intact because the blast shot straight up rather than to the.
