COLORADO SPRINGS — Investigators say Matthew Livelsberger, an Army Veteran suffering from PTSD, shot himself before he blew up the Tesla Cybertruck outside a Trump Hotel on New Year's Day.
Now, the Army encourages soldiers to get the mental health treatment they need.
"Bald patches," said Marcus Amos Jr.
Before Amos became a barber, he was a service member with the Air Force Security Forces.
Amos says he was deployed three times. During his second deployment, he says he noticed something unusual happening to his body.
"Being young, you don't really know what that is," said Amos Jr.
For six years, his mind was filled with constant thoughts of,
"Maybe, I won't come back home or I may lose fellow airmen," said Amos Jr.
Dr. Rashawnda Walker is a local mental health counselor at D&W Psychological Services.
"You are in survival mode. Right now, I'm being traumatized," said Dr. Walker.
Dr. Walker knows how challenging it can be to deal with mental health issues while being deployed because she experienced it.
"If you don't know how to deal with those thoughts and keep on coming back, you are constantly in the state of Fight of Flight as you were deployed today," said Dr. Walker.
According to the U.S. Veterans Affairs Department, the report in 2022 shows more than 6,400 veterans died by suicide.
Amos says walking on a difficult path alone is not worth it.
"We are not trained, and we don't know how to deal with those things on our own, so seek help and professional(s) and use resources that you are given," said Amos Jr.
If you or someone you know is in crisis, you can text or call the 988 Colorado Mental Health Line, or you can use the chat function at 988colorado.com.
You can also reach the Colorado Crisis Lifeline by texting “TALK” to 38255 or dialing 1-844-493-8255. For more mental health resources, click here.
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Matthew Livelsberger: The Colorado Springs Man Found Inside The Las Vegas Cybertruck
Residents living in an east Colorado Springs townhome complex shared their disbelief after learning one of their neighbors was suspected of detonating explosives inside a Cybertruck in Las Vegas on New Year's Day.
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