Deadly Blasts Rocking New Orleans And Trump Hotel Involved Same Rental Firm (Worthy News Focus)
By Stefan J. Bos, Chief International Correspondent Worthy News
NEW ORLEANS/LAS VEGAS (Worthy News) – Two deadly incidents on New Year’s Day in the United States, including suspected Islamic terrorism in New Orleans and an explosion of a Tesla Cybertruck at President-elect Donald J. Trump’s hotel in Las Vegas, involved vehicles of the online car-sharing firm Turo.
Early Wednesday, 42-year-old Army veteran Shamsud-Din Bahar Jabbar rammed a pickup truck into a crowd in New Orleans’ famed French Quarter – killing 14 people and injuring some 30 others celebrating the New Year.
And police fatally shot Jabbar in a firefight that followed the crash.
Just hours after, outside of President-elect Trump’s hotel in Las Vegas, a Tesla Cybertruck packed with explosives also burst into flames, killing the driver and injuring seven people.
The person inside, identified as active-duty U.S. Army Green Beret Matthew Livelsberger, suffered a gunshot wound to the head before the explosion, investigators said.
Livelsberger, 37, had recently returned from an overseas assignment in Germany and was on approved leave when he died, according to investigators.
Officials reportedly learned through interviews that he may have gotten into a fight with his wife about relationship issues shortly before he rented the Tesla and bought the guns.
TRUMP NOT INSIDE
Trump, who survived two assassination attempts, was not inside the building at the time of the explosion, Worthy News established.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) stressed there was no indication of a connection between the New Orleans attack and the explosion Wednesday of a Tesla Cybertruck filled with explosives outside Trump’s Las Vegas hotel.
The FBI continued to hunt for clues about Jabbar but said its investigation so far showed he was not aided by anyone else in the attack, which killed an 18-year-old aspiring nurse, a single mother, a father of two, and a former Princeton University football star, among others.
Investigators were also trying to understand more about Jabbar’s path to radicalization, which they suggested culminated with him picking up a rented truck in Houston on December 30 and driving it to New Orleans the following night.
The FBI recovered a black Islamic State group flag from his rented pickup. Investigators reviewed five videos posted to the social media platform Facebook, including one in which he said he originally planned to harm his family and friends but “was concerned that news headlines would not focus on the “war between the believers and the disbelievers.”
Additionally, Jabbar claimed that he joined the Islamic State group, also known as ISIS, before last summer, and he provided a previous will, the FBI said.
Turo said it is “shocked and saddened” about
FIRM OUTRAGED
Wednesday’s events and that “our hearts are with the victims and their families.”
The company added that it is “outraged by the misuse of our marketplace by the two individuals who perpetrated these acts.”
While both incidents involved vehicles rented through Turo, the FBI has said it found “no definitive link” between the New Orleans attack and the Las Vegas explosion.
Still, the incidents have spotlighted the car-sharing platform, allowing car owners to rent their vehicles directly to other nearby drivers or “guests.”
“Hosts” set their prices, availability, and delivery options for renters to choose from and book via Turo’s website or mobile application, an app.
Today, Turo bills itself as “the world’s largest car-sharing marketplace.” It says it operates through a network of hosts in the U.S., U.K., Canada, Australia, and France.
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