At least 10 dead after record-breaking snowstorm swept across the South
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(NEW YORK) — The Gulf Coast is digging out from a once-in-a-lifetime snowstorm that struck from Texas to Florida, closing airports, crippling roadways and leaving freezing temperatures in its wake.
At least 10 deaths have been attributed to the storm and accompanying cold blast.
In Dale County, Alabama, one person was killed in a house fire after leaving their stove on to keep them warm and a second person was killed in a car accident, according to the local corner.
One person died from hypothermia in Georgia and two people died in the cold in Austin, Texas, officials said.
Southwest of San Antonio, five people died when a tractor-trailer collided with other vehicles on an icy road, the Texas Department of Safety said.
This storm brought more snow to some cities than any other storm in at least the last 130 years.
Florida saw its most snow on record, with 9.8 inches of snow recorded in Milton, northeast of Pensacola.
Pensacola also saw an all-time record for the city with 8.9 inches.
Texas experienced its first-ever blizzard warning. Beaumont, Texas, recorded 5.2 inches of snow — an all-time record. Mobile, Alabama, saw an all-time record high of 7.5 inches.
In Louisiana, Baton Rouge saw 7.6 inches.
New Orleans recorded 8 inches, marking the most snow in the city since 1895.
And the danger isn’t over. An extreme cold warning is in effect Thursday morning from Mississippi to the Florida Panhandle, with temperatures dropping as low as 12 degrees in parts of the Gulf Coast.
For Louisiana, this is the coldest it’s been in over 100 years, state climatologist Jay Grymes said.
While snow has melted in many areas, the freeze remains a serious threat. Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development Secretary Joe Donahue is urging “everyone to avoid unnecessary travel.”
Many of the areas hit hard by the storm will thaw soon; temperatures are expected to climb to the 50s and 60s by Sunday.
Police investigate a shooting spree near I-40 in Raleigh, North Carolina, Nov. 7, 2024. Via WTVD
(RALEIGH, N.C.) — Two people have been detained in connection with a spate of shootings that occurred in Raleigh this week, authorities said Thursday.
Since Monday, police have received 12 reports of shots being fired at vehicles and buildings in the vicinity of I-40 and I-440, according to Raleigh Police Chief Estella Patterson. Among the incidents, eight vehicles were fired into, resulting in one person being injured, she said.
“At this time, we do believe that the 12 incidents are related,” Patterson said at a press briefing Thursday. “I can also confirm that we have identified a person of interest, and this person has been detained. However, we will continue to pursue all leads.”
The investigation led authorities to a residence in Raleigh on Thursday, where they detained the person of interest, police said. A second person who was also in the residence at the time was additionally detained, police said.
Police have urged drivers in the Raleigh area to remain vigilant following reports of vehicles being fired into during the early morning hours on I-40.
In one incident, on Monday, a woman was shot in the leg, suffering a non-life-threatening injury, police said.
Patterson said it is unclear at this time if shots were being fired from a vehicle or on foot.
Police previously said they believe a handgun was used in the shootings.
The shootings remain under investigation. Patterson urged anyone with surveillance or dashcam footage to come forward.
A reward of up to $10,000 is being offered for information leading to the arrest of the person or persons responsible, she said.
Authorities are investigating a Tesla Cybertruck explosion outside the Trump Las Vegas hotel in Nevada, Jan. 1, 2025. Obtained by ABC News.
(LAS VEGAS) — The suspected driver of the Tesla Cybertruck that exploded Wednesday outside the Trump International Las Vegas Hotel has been identified as active duty Army soldier Matthew Livelsberger, according to an official briefed on the probe.
The FBI, with the assistance of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, are searching his Colorado Springs home on Thursday morning, officials said.
Livelsberger had already been identified as the person who rented the vehicle via the Turo app, though officials previously said they had still been working through forensics to determine the identity of the person behind the wheel at the time of the incident. The fire and explosion made the identification process difficult because of the physical injuries sustained by the driver, the official said.
Livelsberger served in the Army and was on approved leave at the time of his death, a U.S. Army spokesperson said Thursday.
The incident is not believed to have any direct connection to the New Year’s Day truck attack in New Orleans that killed 15 people and injured dozens more, according to the official briefed on the probe. The military is looking into whether the two drivers may have overlapped at Fort Liberty or in Afghanistan, though no evidence suggests the two ever were assigned together or knew each other, according to the official.
“At this point, there is no definitive link between the attack here in New Orleans and the one in Las Vegas,” the FBI’s Christopher Raia said Thursday morning at a press conference on the New Orleans attack.
Livelsberger was a supporter of President-elect Donald Trump, the official briefed on the probe told ABC News. His wife, who investigators spoke to in Colorado Springs, said he had been out of the house since around Christmas after a dispute over allegations of infidelity, the official said.
His wife told officials she did not believe Livelsberger would want to hurt anyone, the official told ABC News.
Two firearms — one handgun and one rifle — were found badly burned inside the vehicle. Livelsberger is believed to have told the person he rented the truck from that he was going camping at the Grand Canyon, the official told ABC News.
Investigators are still looking to determine how the items in the truck was detonated, but with the contents of the vehicle so badly burned, it may be a slow process, according to the official.
The vehicle was picked up by license plate readers traveling from Colorado to Las Vegas on Wednesday morning.
The investigation into the incident spans at least four states, and law enforcement officials are probing it as a possible act of terror.
The motive behind the incident remains under investigation, even as investigators tell ABC News that they believe it was “intentional.”
The driver of the Cybertruck pulled into the valet area of the hotel and the vehicle exploded, according to an official. The driver was the only fatality from the incident. Seven bystanders had minor injuries, authorities said.
Sheriff Kevin McMahill of the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department told reporters the truck was in front of the hotel for 15 to 20 seconds before it exploded.
The sheriff said Tesla CEO Elon Musk helped the investigation by having the truck unlocked after it auto-locked in the blast and by giving investigators video of the suspect at charging stations along its route from Colorado to Las Vegas.
McMahill said investigators were looking into any possible connections to the deadly attack in New Orleans earlier Wednesday but had not yet discovered any. The truck used in the New Orleans attack was also rented via the Turo app, sources said.
Video played at the Las Vegas news conference showed a load of fireworks-style mortars, gasoline cans and camping fuel canisters in the back of the truck.
McMahill said police believe the explosion was an “isolated incident” and that “there is no further threat to the community.” He also said police do not believe anyone was helping the Las Vegas suspect.
“We believe everything is safe now,” McMahill said.
The property is the subject of frequent threats and heightened security given its connection to Trump.
Musk, a close ally of Trump, said on Wednesday afternoon that the “whole Tesla senior team is investigating this matter right now.”
“Will post more information as soon as we learn anything,” Musk wrote on X, which he also owns. “We’ve never seen anything like this.”
Musk later posted on X: “We have now confirmed that the explosion was caused by very large fireworks and/or a bomb carried in the bed of the rented Cybertruck and is unrelated to the vehicle itself.” It’s not known if Musk’s claim has been independently verified.
An official briefed on the investigation told ABC News “this was not a lithium battery” blast, as some have speculated online. There have been instances in the past of battery compartments in Tesla vehicles spontaneously catching fire.
Trump’s son Eric Trump, the executive vice president of the Trump Organization, posted on social media about the incident.
“Earlier today, a reported electric vehicle fire occurred in the porte cochère of Trump Las Vegas,” he wrote. “The safety and well-being of our guests and staff remain our top priority. We extend our heartfelt gratitude to the Las Vegas Fire Department and local law enforcement for their swift response and professionalism.”
The hotel also issued a statement on X suggesting the car involved was electric.
“Earlier today a reported electric vehicle fire occurred in the porte cochère of Trump Las Vegas,” the hotel wrote. “The safety & well-being of our guests and staff remain our top priority. We extend our gratitude to the Las Vegas Fire Department and local law enforcement for their swift response.”
President Joe Biden has been briefed on the fire and explosion near the Trump International Hotel Las Vegas and has directed his team to offer any federal assistance needed, the White House said.
(LAS VEGAS) — Matthew Livelsberger — the driver of the Tesla Cybertruck that exploded on New Year’s Day outside the Trump International Las Vegas Hotel — shared personal and political “grievances” in two letters found on a phone in the vehicle and called the attack a “wake up call,” authorities said Friday.
Livelsberger, an active-duty Army soldier, said the country was being led by the “weak” and those out to “enrich themselves,” while also claiming the incident was not meant as a terrorist attack, according to excerpts of the two letters shared by the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department.
“I know everyone is very eager to try to understand and be able to explain what happened,” Las Vegas Assistant Sheriff Dori Koren said during a press briefing on Friday. “We still have a large volume of data to go through, a lot of content to go through.”
The department said they would release the two letters to the public.
“You’ll see that he actually calls it a stunt, in one of these documents that we’re going to release to you, that he was trying to get the attention of the American people because he was upset about a number of different things,” Sheriff Kevin McMahill of the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department said during Friday’s briefing. “But I’ll let those writings speak for themselves.”
Livelsberger died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound prior to the blast, the Clark County coroner confirmed Thursday evening. No one else was seriously hurt, though seven bystanders sustained minor injuries, officials said.
The evidence shows Livelsberger “thoughtfully prepared” and acted alone in the incident, Spencer Evans, special agent in charge for the FBI’s Las Vegas division, said during Friday’s press briefing. Livelsberger was not on the FBI’s radar prior to the incident, Evans said.
“Although this incident is more public and more sensational than usual, it ultimately appears to be a tragic case of suicide involving a heavily decorated combat veteran who was struggling with PTSD and other issues,” Evans said.
Authorities are also looking into a letter purportedly sent by Livelsberger and shared by the military-themed “Shawn Ryan Show” podcast on Friday. That information was sent to the FBI following the attack, Evans confirmed.
“We still have not conclusively determined that that’s from the subject, but feel confident, based on evidence that we’re uncovering on his devices, that that was, in fact, from Livelsberger,” Evans said.
In the Cybertruck, officials found credit and identification cards in Livelsberger’s name, evidence he owned the weapons found in the destroyed vehicle and identified tattoos that appeared to match Livelsberger’s body, however, severe physical injuries slowed the identification process.
The Clark County coroner ultimately identified Livelsberger — of Colorado Springs, Colorado — as the driver on Thursday. His cause of death was a self-inflicted intraoral gunshot wound.
Livelsberger was found with a gun at his feet. Two firearms — one handgun and one rifle — were found in the vehicle “burnt beyond recognition,” McMahill said.
Both weapons were purchased legally on Monday, he added.
Two phones were recovered from the vehicle, including one containing the two letters, Koren said. Investigators have been unable to access the other phone at this time, he said.
It is unclear why Livelsberger chose a Tesla or the route he took, authorities said Friday.
Livelsberger rented the Tesla vehicle on Saturday in Denver via the Turo app, before driving to Las Vegas through cities in Colorado, New Mexico and Arizona. His progress was tracked through Tesla charging stations, officials said.
The vehicle first pulled into the Trump International Las Vegas Hotel valet area just after 7:30 a.m. Wednesday, officials said. It then left the area, driving along Las Vegas Boulevard, before returning to the valet area at about 8:39 a.m., exploding 17 seconds after its arrival.
Livelsberger served as a Green Beret in the Army and was on approved leave from serving in Germany at the time of his death, a U.S. Army spokesperson said Thursday.
He received extensive decorations in combat, including the Bronze Star with a “V” device for valor, indicating heroism under fire. Livelsberger received four more standard Bronze Star medals, according to Army records. He also earned the Afghanistan Campaign Medal with three stars. Each star represents service in a separate campaign in Afghanistan.
Livelsberger had been receiving mental health assistance over the last year, a U.S. official confirmed Friday.
Another U.S. official confirmed that officials thought Livelsberger was stable enough to go home for Christmas and his leave was approved.
The Department of Defense has turned over Livelsberger’s medical records to local law enforcement, Pentagon press secretary Sabrina Singh told reporters during a briefing on Friday.
“I just don’t have more details to share,” she added, when asked about reporting from CNN that the suspect had been diagnosed with depression last year.
Singh noted that service members are encouraged to seek help with any mental health issues.
The Las Vegas incident is not believed to have any direct connection to the New Year’s Day truck attack in New Orleans that killed 14 people — as well as the suspect — and injured 35 others, according to the FBI. The truck used in the New Orleans attack was also rented using the Turo app, officials said.
Evans reiterated Friday that there is no evidence that the two events are connected, saying there are “coincidental similarities” between them — including that both drivers were in the military, rented vehicles through the same service and stayed in an Airbnb.
There is no evidence at this time that the two drivers had any overlap even though both served in Afghanistan, Singh also said Friday.
Livelsberger was a supporter of President-elect Donald Trump, an official briefed on the probe told ABC News. His wife, who investigators spoke to in Colorado Springs, said he had been out of the house since around Christmas after a dispute over allegations of infidelity, the official said.
His wife told officials she did not believe Livelsberger would want to hurt anyone, the official told ABC News.
Livelsberger is believed to have told the person he rented the truck from that he was going camping at the Grand Canyon, the official told ABC News.
Investigators are still looking to determine how the items in the truck were detonated, but with the contents of the vehicle so badly burned, it may be a slow process, according to the official.
The sheriff said Tesla CEO Elon Musk helped the investigation by having the truck unlocked after it auto-locked in the blast and by giving investigators video of the suspect at charging stations along its route from Colorado to Las Vegas.
McMahill said police believe the explosion was an “isolated incident” and that “there is no further threat to the community.”
Video played at Thursday’s Las Vegas news conference showed a load of fireworks-style mortars, gasoline cans and camping fuel canisters in the back of the truck.
If you are struggling with thoughts of suicide or worried about a friend or loved one, call or text the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline at 988 for free, confidential emotional support 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
