UPDATE: Destructive Vehicle Fire, Deadly Explosion Outside of Trump International Hotel in Las Vegas — Video

Posted on: January 1, 2025, 02:09h. 

Last updated on: January 1, 2025, 05:07h.

Ed Silverstein @casinoorgedsilv Read More

Expertise: Legal, Tribal Gaming.

UPDATE: One person inside a vehicle that exploded and caught fire died outside of the Trump International Hotel on Wednesday, according to local news reports. Seven other people in the area suffered minor injuries. Two required treatment at local hospitals. It appears many guests at the hotel were evacuated to Resorts World Las Vegas. The FBI has joined the investigation. An unnamed official told ABC News the explosion is being investigated as a possible act of terror.

EARLIER: A vehicle located outside of the entrance to Trump International Hotel in Las Vegas apparently exploded on New Year’s Day — prompting an investigation by local officials.

The vehicle, possibly a Tesla Cybertruck, also caught fire while in the hotel’s valet area. It was fully engulfed with flames.

Police and fire officials initially were alerted at 8:41 a.m. PT, according to Las Vegas TV station KSNV.

The smoke and flames triggered the hotel’s alarm system, according to the U.S. Sun. Billows of dark smoke could be seen along the Las Vegas Strip, the report added.

The blaze was brought under control and flames were extinguished relatively quickly.

There were no immediate reports of injuries. But at least two ambulances reportedly went to the hotel following the explosion.

The U.S. Sun also reported that some guests at the Trump Hotel had left the property and were seen standing in a nearby parking lot after the explosion. It’s unclear if the hotel was ever partially or fully evacuated.

Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department (LVMPD) officers and local fire officials were still investigating the cause of the explosion and fire as of late Wednesday morning.

Elon Musk Says Likely Act of Terrorism

In a statement released on X, formerly known as Twitter, Tesla CEO Elon Musk said on Wednesday that the Trump Hotel explosion “Appears likely to be an act of terrorism. Both this Cybertruck and the F-150 suicide bomb in New Orleans were rented from Turo. Perhaps they are linked in some way.”

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,” he added. “All vehicle telemetry was positive at the time of the explosion.”

“The whole Tesla senior team is investigating this matter…We’ve never seen anything like this.”

Witness Graphic Accounts

Several witnesses, some of whom had been in the hotel’s lobby waiting to check out, reported hearing what sounded like an “explosion.”

“Cybertruck blew up in front of Trump hotel in Las Vegas. Those are our luggage by the door and that’s where we were when it happened,” one guest, using the online name of “ayackle,” posted on X.

I and my husband were literally standing where the luggage is in the footage,” she added after posting a video. “I just saw it pulled up, and it lowered itself like a bus, and boom it goes. It first looked like fireworks or something but then I immediately feared our life thinking it could be a bomb and ran.”

She immediately went for cover.

“I literally fell down on my knees as I hid behind the counter,” the poster additionally recalled.

She initially noticed how the vehicle had “quietly pulled up and next thing you know there’s a huge explosion.”

Another person posted on X that they “heard what sounded like a dumpster being dropped on the ground and dragged across the ground for 10 seconds.”

Still another social media poster, Stephen Felando, who was a guest at the Trump hotel, reported on X there was a “massive explosion.”

Something major just exploded here. Something just went off in the valet section…I don’t know what just did, but something just blew,” he revealed.

The impact from the fire and explosion caused windows to shake, he added.

The hotel is located on Fashion Show Drive. The typically busy roadway was closed as authorities investigated the incident. Traffic remained detoured as of late Wednesday morning.

Link to X video:

https://x.com/kaaaassuu/status/1874506594425381133

New Orleans Mass Killing

The Las Vegas fire and explosion came hours after a mass killing on Bourbon Street in New Orleans at about 3:15 a.m. ET on Wednesday. A truck plowed into pedestrians causing the casualties. There’s no immediate reason to believe the two incidents were in anyway connected.

According to local news reports, some 15 people were killed and an estimated 35 were injured in the New Orleans mass killing.

Two of those injured are New Orleans police officers. The suspect who drove the truck died.

The suspect was identified as Shamsud Din Jabbar, 42, of Texas. Inside the truck were an ISIS flag, guns, and explosives, according to New Orleans TV station WDSU.

There were news reports that the suspect didn’t act alone in carrying out the attack, based on initial information. It’s being investigated as an act of terrorism.

The Sugar Bowl, which was supposed to be played in New Orleans on Wednesday, was postponed to Thursday.