Trump International Hotel in Las Vegas, Nevada
Andrew Harrer | Bloomberg | Getty Images
A Tesla Cybertruck burst into flames Wednesday morning just outside the entrance of Trump International Hotel in Las Vegas, killing one person and injuring several other people, local officials said.
The explosion is now being investigated as a possible terrorist attack, three senior members of law enforcement briefed on the matter told NBC News. A motive has yet to be established.
Clark County/Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Sheriff Kevin McMahill said at a news conference that at about 8:40 a.m. local time the department received a report of an explosion at the Trump International Hotel.
“We were told that a 2024 Cybertruck pulled up to the front of the hotel, and, in fact, I can tell you it pulled right up to the glass entrance doors of the hotel,” McMahill said. “We saw smoke start showing from the vehicle, and then an explosion from the truck occurs.”
McMahill said it was unclear whether the dead person in the Cybertruck was a man or woman.
Clark County Deputy Fire Chief Thomas Touchstone said that as first responders began to extinguish the fire, they “realized at the same time that there were multiple persons with injuries located around the vehicle.”
Touchstone said seven people were injured, two of whom were taken to University Medical Center of Southern Nevada in Las Vegas. McMahill said all seven people’s injuries are considered minor.
Touchstone said officials are working to recover the body of the dead person from the Cybertruck. Officials asked the public to stay away from the scene for now.
The cause of the fire was not immediately clear.
McMahill said law enforcement in Las Vegas is aware of the attack in New Orleans, where 10 people were killed and more than 30 others were injured early Wednesday when a man rammed his pickup truck into a crowd during New Year’s celebrations and then shot at police officers when he crashed. That attack is being investigated as a potential act of terrorism.