Las Vegas. Firework mortars and gas canisters were found packed into the back of a Tesla Cybertruck that exploded outside President-elect Donald Trump's Las Vegas hotel early Wednesday. The blast killed a suspect inside the vehicle and injured seven others nearby, sparking an intense investigation into the possibility of terrorism.

Las Vegas Metropolitan Police and Clark County Fire Department officials confirmed that a person died inside the truck, while seven others suffered minor injuries. By late Wednesday afternoon, authorities were still working to retrieve the body and process the evidence from the vehicle. President Joe Biden was briefed on the explosion.

"Our top priority is to properly identify the individual involved in this incident," said Jeremy Schwartz, acting special agent in charge of the FBI's Las Vegas office. "After that, our next goal is to determine if this was an act of terrorism."

Sheriff Kevin McMahill stated that authorities know who rented the truck via the Turo app in Colorado but have not released the individual's name pending the identification of the deceased.

Security video from Tesla charging stations, provided by CEO Elon Musk, helped track the vehicle's movements, showing it arrived in Las Vegas around 7:30 a.m. and later drove into the valet area of the Trump International Hotel. It sat for 15 to 20 seconds before the explosion occurred.

Footage released during a news conference showed charred fireworks mortars, gas canisters, and other explosives piled in the truck's bed. The walls of the truck bed remained intact, suggesting the blast shot straight up rather than outward.

Musk confirmed Wednesday afternoon that the explosion was caused by large fireworks and/or a bomb in the truck's bed, unrelated to the vehicle itself. He also stated that the vehicle's telemetry showed no issues at the time of the explosion.

"I've never seen anything like this," Musk said in an earlier post on X, adding that his senior team was investigating the explosion.

Musk, a close ally of Trump, had been with the president-elect at Trump's New Year's Eve party in South Florida and was named to help lead an effort to reduce government size and spending.

When asked about political connections, McMahill acknowledged the potential concerns but stressed the ongoing investigation.

The explosion occurred hours after a truck was driven into a crowd in New Orleans' French Quarter on New Year's Day, killing at least 15 people. Police are investigating that incident as a potential terrorist attack.

"We are investigating any connection between this and what happened in New Orleans, as well as other global incidents," McMahill said. "Nothing is off the table."

Turo, the car rental platform, released a statement confirming cooperation with authorities and noting that neither renter had a criminal background that would have flagged them as security threats.

Witness Ana Bruce, visiting from Brazil, reported hearing three explosions. "The first one where we saw the fire, the second one, I guess, was the battery or something like that, and the third was the big one," Bruce said. "That’s when everyone was told to evacuate."

The explosion took place outside the Trump International Hotel, a 64-story building located just off the Las Vegas Strip. Eric Trump, the president-elect's son, praised the swift response of local law enforcement and the fire department in a post on X.

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