Green Beret who exploded Cybertruck in Las Vegas struggled with injuries and said he was depressed, ex-girlfriend says

By Andi Babineau, Jason Hanna and Dakin Andone, CNN

(CNN) — The active-duty US Army Green Beret who authorities say exploded a Tesla Cybertruck outside the Trump International Hotel in Las Vegas this week struggled with injuries relating to his military service and said he was depressed while they were together a few years ago, according to an ex-girlfriend and text messages she provided CNN.

The soldier, Matthew Alan Livelsberger, who authorities said fatally shot himself shortly before the truck exploded, texted Alicia Arritt in late December after more than two years of silence between the two, she told CNN. That exchange included photos of the Cybertruck authorities said he rented.

“It’s the sh*t,” Livelsberger wrote before sending Arritt several photos of the truck in a parking lot. “I feel like Batman or halo,” he added in another message –– the latter a reference to a series of military science fiction video games.

“how fast is it,” Arritt asked.

“Ungodly,” Livelsberger said.

But Arritt had no impression he was planning anything like Wednesday’s incident, she said.

Livelsberger, 37, of Colorado, was on leave from his base in Germany at the time of Wednesday’s blast, sources told CNN. The explosion was caused by a combination of fireworks, gas tanks and camping fuel in the bed of the vehicle detonated by a device controlled by the driver. Seven other people were injured in the blast, officials said.

The incident appeared to be “a tragic case of suicide involving a heavily decorated combat veteran who was struggling with PTSD and other issues,” Spencer Evans, the special agent in charge of the FBI’s Las Vegas Division, said Friday.

Texts describe injuries and depression

Arritt dated Livelsberger from 2018 to 2019 and from 2020 to about 2022 after they met through a dating app while both were living in Colorado, she told CNN on Saturday. She had been an Army nurse, The Associated Press reported.

Livelsberger suffered concussions, but it’s not clear how many, Arritt told CNN. Arritt, who said she had worked at a traumatic brain injury unit at the Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in 2008 and 2009, was not involved in his treatment.

He spoke of injuries, pain and exhaustion in texts to Arritt while they were dating, according to text messages Arritt provided to CNN.

“Just some concussions,” reads one text about a deployment in Afghanistan.

Livelsberger also had back surgeries in 2018 and 2019 relating to injuries he suffered during his military service, Arritt said.

“He just says he landed bad (after parachuting) too many times. It was … cumulative,” she told CNN.

In one text sent not long after they started dating, Livelsberger wrote: “My life has been a personal hell for the last year. It’s refreshing to have such a nice person come along.”

While they dated, he also said he was depressed, Arritt said. “Like, ‘We can’t hang out today; I’m too depressed today,’” Arritt told CNN. “He had a lot of inner strength, and he would just push through it.”

US officials familiar with Livelsberger’s military records told CNN he had been diagnosed with depression last year but had not been assessed to be a risk of violence or suicide.

In one exchange, Livelsberger wrote, “I’m depressed I’m (not) going anywhere tonight.”

When Arritt responded that she’d downloaded a documentary, Livelsberger said, “I just need to get my head straight.” Asked if there’s anything Arritt can do to help, he said: “Nah just understand.”

Arritt stopped hearing from Livelsberger in July 2022, she said. But he texted her on December 28 and they exchanged messages between then and December 31 – including those about the Cybertruck.

“We had worked on my Tesla together back in 2019, so it was kind of … he thought I would be excited about the Tesla,” she told CNN.

Evans of the FBI said “other family issues or personal grievances in his own life … may have been contributing factors” in the man’s actions in Las Vegas.

Livelsberger wrote of “political grievances,” armed conflicts elsewhere and domestic issues in the days leading up to his suicide, officials said Friday, citing two letters they say they found on a cell phone in the truck.

In one letter, the driver of the Cybertruck said the incident was intended as “a wake-up call,” according to police. He wrote in the letter recovered by investigators that “Americans only pay attention to spectacles and violence” and “fireworks and explosives” were best to get his point across. But a second letter called for action to remove Democrats from the government and military and the possibility of occupying roads and federal buildings, not ruling out the use of force.

“I had no idea (he was planning anything),” Arritt told CNN, “and I have so much guilt because I feel like I could have done something.”

“All he wanted to do was be there for his teammates,” she told CNN about his military service. “He wanted to help them and protect them and be the first one to rush into battle to help his teammates.”

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