Newly published military documents regarding New Year’s Eve attackers Matthew Livelsberger and Shamsud-Din Jabbar show that although both were stationed at then-Fort Bragg and deployed to Afghanistan, the two never served together.
On New Year’s Day, both Livelsberger and Jabbar carried out attacks in two major American cities.
Jabbar, a 42-year-old American citizen from Texas, drove a rented pickup truck with an ISIS flag attached to its trailer hitch into a crowd on Bourbon Street in New Orleans during the early hours of the morning, killing more than a dozen people and injuring dozens more. Livelsberger exploded a Tesla Cybertruck outside the Trump International Hotel in Las Vegas later that morning.
Investigators said at the beginning of the investigation that both men served in the military and were stationed at Fort Bragg, the military base in North Carolina now known as Fort Liberty. They were deployed to Afghanistan at the same time, leading some to speculate that the two incidents were linked and that the two were working together.
WHO IS MATTHEW LIVELSBERGER? WHAT WE KNOW ABOUT THE SUSPECT FOR THE TESLA CYBERTRUCK EXPLOSION
The driver of the Tesla Cybertruck that exploded outside the Trump International Hotel in Las Vegas on New Year’s Day has been identified as Army Private Matthew Livelsberger, right. Livelsberger’s attack came hours after Shamsud-Din Jabbar, left, drove a pickup truck into a crowd in New Orleans. (Fox News)
But on Sunday, Army spokeswoman Lt. Col. Ruth Castro said Livelsberger and Jabbar did not serve together, despite the overlap.
The Army also provided assignments for Livelsberger and Jabbar to show where the two were stationed and what role they played.
While on active duty, Jabbar worked as a human resources specialist and was stationed at Fort Richardson, Arkansas from January 2008 to September 2010. During that time, he also deployed to Afghanistan from February 2009 to January 2010. .
Shamsud-Din Jabbar is seen in this social media image, released in November 2013, at Fort Johnson (formerly Fort Polk) in Louisiana. (1st Brigade Combat Team, 82nd Airborne Division via Facebook via REUTERS)
From February 2008 to October 2010, Livelsberger was stationed with the 10th Special Forces Group in Germany. Between May and December 2009 and June and September 2010, Livelsberger was deployed in Afghanistan.
Although both were deployed to Afghanistan at the same time, the military said they were among as many as 100,000 US troops deployed in the country.
Jabbar was stationed with the 1st 82nd Infantry Interim Unit at Fort Bragg from June 2011 to January 2015, and Livelsberger was stationed there with the Cadet Support Battalion from December 2012 to October 2013.
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Matthew Livelsberger poses in an undated photo. (Fox News)
The military said that while both were stationed at Fort Bragg in 2012, 50,000 other US troops were also stationed there.
The FBI said last week that it had found no potential terrorist connections to Livelsberger.
At a news conference Friday afternoon, Las Vegas Metro Police Sheriff Kevin McMahill spoke about Livelsberger’s struggle with PTSD and his possible motive for the New Year’s Eve attack.
A Cybertruck on fire, left, and investigators inspecting the damage, right. (Alcides Antunes/via REUTERS | Las Vegas Police Department via AP)
“While this incident is more public and sensational than usual, ultimately it appears to be a tragic case of suicide involving a highly decorated combat veteran who struggles with PTSD and other issues,” McMahill said.
Police officials also released parts of Livelsberger’s “manifesto” on Friday.
“This was not a terrorist attack, it was a wake-up call,” Livelsberger wrote, according to redacted notes he shared Las Vegas Police. “Americans only pay attention to spectacle and violence. What better way to get my point across than with fireworks and explosive stunts?”
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The New Orleans attack, on the other hand, was clearly terror-inspired, authorities said. Jabbar, who had pledged allegiance to ISIS, killed 14 people and wounded dozens, according to authorities, who said Jabbar then opened fire on responding officers. They returned fire and killed him.
Fox News Digital’s Sarah Rumpf-Whitten contributed to this report.
