Shamsud-Din Jabbar, Matthew Livelsberger shared more than the same rental app in attacks on EV trucks

The Texas man who rammed a rented pickup truck into New Year’s revelers on Bourbon Street in New Orleans on Wednesday, Shamsud-Din Jabbarand the man seen exploding a Tesla Cybertruck outside the Trump International Hotel in Las Vegas hours later, Matthew Livelsberger, were both soldiers who served at Fort Liberty and deployed to Afghanistan in 2009, according to authorities.

A defense official, however, told Fox News there was no evidence based on their military service that the attacks were linked. While both served at Fort Liberty, formerly known as Fort Bragg, they were there at different times. The base in North Carolina is currently home to more than 50,000 military personnel.

Authorities continued to release new information at separate press briefings Thursday, with FBI Deputy Assistant Director Christopher Raia telling reporters in New Orleans that “there is no definitive link” between the attack and the explosion.

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In Las Vegas, Clark County Sheriff Kevin McMahill said that although both men went to Afghanistan in 2009, any potential ties there are still being investigated. Between 2007 and 2015, Jabbar was an HR and IT specialist. Livelsberger was a Green Beret in the 10th Special Forces Group.

“We don’t have any evidence that they were in the same province in Afghanistan, in the same location or in the same unit,” McMahill said. – Something else that remains under investigation.

The military did not immediately respond to a request for more details about their time in Afghanistan.

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Both used the Turo app to rent the electric pickup trucks used in the incidents, he said.

“We are heartbroken by the violence in New Orleans and Las Vegas, and our prayers are with the victims and families,” Turo said in the statement. “We are actively cooperating with law enforcement as they investigate both incidents. We do not believe that any of the landlords involved in the Las Vegas and New Orleans attacks had a criminal background that would identify them as a security threat.”

Livelsberger, 37, was an active duty soldier at the time of his death.

Livelsberger was the only fatality in the Cybertruck explosion, McMahill said. Investigators believe he shot himself in the head before the truck exploded – sending flames, fireworks and shrapnel flying just feet from the hotel’s glass doors, which were undamaged.

FBI Special Agent Spencer Evans added that investigators were looking for potential terrorist ties to Livelsberger, but had found none as of Thursday afternoon.

“The question of whether it’s being investigated globally, absolutely — as I said, we have investigative leads around the world,” he told reporters. “There is no information that we know of at this time that links this individual to any terrorist organization worldwide, but that is clearly the thrust of the investigation … to rule out any connection to terrorism.”

The New Orleans attack, on the other hand, was clearly terror-inspired, authorities said. He killed at least 15 people and wounded dozens more, according to authorities, who said Jabbar then opened fire on responding officers. They returned fire and neutralized the threat.

“Let me clarify this point – this was an act of terrorism,” Raia told reporters at a press briefing on Thursday. “It was a premeditated and evil act.”

Jabbar, 42, crashed the truck and died in a shootout with police, who said they found an Islamic State flag in the rented Ford F-150 EV Jabbar used in the attack. He posted videos on social media before the attack pledging allegiance to Islamic State, authorities said.

“He was 100% inspired by ISIS,” Raia said, adding that investigators believe he still acted alone. On Thursday, they were no longer looking for additional persons of interest.

The video shows Jabbar planting two improvised explosive devices (IEDs) hidden in refrigerators along Bourbon Street, Raia said. One was at the intersection of Bourbon and Orleans, the other was about two blocks away.

Suspect identified as FBI INVESTIGATES ACT OF TERRORISM AFTER BOURBON STREET ATTACK

Security cameras showed multiple people stopping and looking at the coolers before leaving, he added. Those people were asked to contact the FBI.

“We want to talk to anyone who was in the French Quarter on New Year’s Eve or early New Year’s Day,” he said. “That includes people spotted near one of the two IEDs on Bourbon Street. The IED was inside a refrigerator and maybe the people stopped and looked at the refrigerator and then continued on their way.”

He said they were “in no way” considered suspects.

“We want to talk to them as witnesses and we want to know what they saw and when,” he added.

Jabbar was an Army veteran as an HR specialist and IT specialist from March 2007 to 2015. He then continued as an IT specialist in the Army Reserve until July 2020.

Most recently, he worked for Deloitte, a large international accounting firm, where he earned about $10,000 a month, according to FOX Business.

Raia said it is still “very early” in the investigation, but the FBI has not found any links between the New Orleans attack and the explosion of a rented Tesla Cybertruck outside the Trump International Hotel in Las Vegas.

David Katz, a former federal agent and firearms trainer now CEO of Global Security Group, told Fox News Digital that a potential military link would be a red flag reminiscent of the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing. Bomber Timothy McVeigh and accomplice Terry Nichols met while he was in the army.

“It’s just worth noting that sometimes military service brings like-minded people together,” he said. “And of course, these people can be very dangerous because of their military training.”

Both investigations are still ongoing.

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Louisiana Governor Jeff Landry condemned the ideology that fueled the Bourbon Street attack and praised law enforcement.

“In order to protect Americans from evil, you have to break it,” he said.

Fox News’ Liz Friden and Anders Hagstrom contributed to this report.