LAS VEGAS — A 23-year-old man from Albany, New York, is dead after crashing a vehicle into a power substation outside Boulder City in what authorities are investigating as a possible act of domestic terrorism.
According to the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department, the incident occurred around 10 a.m. Thursday when officers with the Boulder City Police Department responded to a 911 call reporting a vehicle had rammed through a gate at a substation on Eldorado Valley Drive. Gunshots were reportedly heard shortly after the crash.
Clark County Sheriff Kevin McMahill said officers arrived to find the driver dead from an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound after crashing into industrial wire spools inside the facility. The substation is owned by the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power and is used to transmit energy from the Hoover Dam to Southern California.
The driver was identified as Dawson Noah Maloney, 23, of Albany. Authorities said he rented the vehicle in New York on Feb. 12 and began driving west on Feb. 14, with license plate readers tracking the car across several states. Maloney was a student at Albany Law School, which released a statement expressing heartbreak over his death.
Sheriff McMahill said Maloney was found holding a shotgun and wearing soft body armor. Investigators recovered multiple firearms, magazines, shotgun shells and two devices described as flamethrowers from the vehicle. A search of a Boulder City hotel room uncovered bomb-making materials and writings referencing extremist ideologies.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation is assisting in the investigation. Authorities say there is no indication of any ongoing threat. The incident caused no major damage and did not disrupt electrical service. The motive remains under investigation.
