What is Turo? Car rental app used in New Orleans and Las Vegas
(NewsNation) — Two deadly attacks on New Year's Day involved vehicles rented through Turo, a peer-to-peer car rental app.
In New Orleans, suspect Shamsud-Din Jabbar, 42, allegedly used a rented Ford pickup truck to drive through crowds on Bourbon Street, killing 15 people and injuring 30 others.
Later that day in Las Vegas, an unidentified driver allegedly detonated an explosive-laden Tesla Cybertruck outside Trump International Hotel, killing one and injuring seven others.
Turo, a San Francisco-based company founded in 2010, operates differently from traditional car rental services. The platform allows private vehicle owners, called "hosts," to rent their cars directly to users, called "guests," without requiring in-person meetings, per Newsweek.
Steve Webb, Turo's vice president of communications, said the company is cooperating with FBI investigations.
"We are heartbroken to learn that one of our host's vehicles was involved in this awful incident," Webb said, referring to the New Orleans attack. "We are not currently aware of anything in this guest's background that would have identified him as a trust and safety threat."
Law enforcement officials say the Las Vegas Cybertruck contained fireworks and gasoline cans.
The platform, which operates in the United States, Canada, Australia and France, markets itself as an alternative to traditional car rental services, allowing users to "skip the rental car counter" and choose from various vehicles, including luxury and exotic cars, per Newsweek.
President Joe Biden said federal agents are investigating whether the truck attack in New Orleans was linked to the explosion of the Telsa Cybertruck in Las Vegas.
“There’s nothing to report on that score at this time,” Biden said.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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