Home / Crime
Young man dies after driving explosives-filled car into Nevada power substation
Maloney had told his mother he wanted to be “on the news” before the attack
Dawson Maloney had told his family he wanted to be “on the news” before the suspected act of terrorism.
A 23-year-old man has driven a car loaded with explosives into a Nevada power substation, killing himself in an apparent suicide after telling his family he wanted to be “on the news,” authorities said.
The Boulder City Police Department (BCPD) received a 911 call around 10 a.m. local time on Thursday, Feb. 19, reporting that a vehicle had crashed through a secured gate at a Department of Water and Power substation.
The caller also reported hearing gunshots from inside the vehicle, according to a news release from the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department (LVMPD).
Responding officers found the deceased male inside a silver Nissan Sentra wearing soft body armor.
He was later identified as Dawson Noah Maloney, of Albany, New York. Police said he died from an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound.
Authorities discovered two shotguns, an AR-style pistol, loaded magazines, ammunition, and two thermite-based incendiary devices inside the vehicle.
Additional materials suggested planning for a larger attack, prompting investigators to treat the incident as terrorism-related “out of an abundance of caution,” the LVMPD said. They added that there is no ongoing threat to the public.
Investigators confirmed that Maloney had recently been reported missing in New York and had driven across the country to Nevada in a rental car.
In a message sent to his mother before the attack, he referred to himself as her “dead terrorist son,” Sheriff Kevin McMahill said during a Feb. 20 press conference.
Officials also found books related to extremist ideologies in a Nevada hotel room where Maloney had been staying, including material on white supremacy and anti-government beliefs. The FBI is assisting with the ongoing investigation.