Overview
- Authorities identified the driver as Dawson Noah Maloney, 23, of Albany, New York, who died of an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound after crashing a rented Nissan Sentra through the LADWP substation gate.
- Police say the rental car contained two shotguns, an AR‑style pistol, loaded magazines, two flamethrower devices with thermite, a hatchet, a crowbar and a cellphone now undergoing forensic analysis.
- A search of Maloney’s motel room uncovered thermite, ammonium nitrate, magnesium ribbon, metal pipes, gasoline and books tied to right‑ and left‑wing, environmental, white supremacist and anti‑government ideologies.
- License‑plate readers traced Maloney’s cross‑country drive after he rented a car in Albany on February 12 and departed around February 14; he had been reported missing and messaged family about self‑harm and being “on the news.”
- Officials report no major damage or service disruptions at the facility, no ongoing public threat, and an active investigation into motive and any potential accomplices, including searches in Albany that found a 3D printer and firearm components.