FBI: California Fertility Clinic Bombing 'Act of Terrorism'

A car bomb has exploded outside a fertility clinic near Desert Regional Medical Center in Palm Springs, California, killing 1 person and injuring at least 4 others, according to witnesses and local officials.

The incident happened at 10:50 a.m. on Saturday when a car exploded in the parking lot of American Reproductive Centers, a fertility clinic and IVF lab at 1199 N Indian Canyon Drive in Palm Springs. The blast was heard across the region.

“The blast appears to be an intentional act of violence and the blast field extends for blocks with several buildings damaged, some severely,” Palm Springs Police Chief Andy Mills said in a statement. “There has been one fatality, the person’s identity is not known.”

Footage from the scene showed that the back of building was heavily damaged, with debris scattered across the road in front of the building. Nearby buildings were also damaged, with multiple windows in the area blown out.

In addition to one fatality, at least four people were taken to hospital for treatment.

Dr. Maher Abdallah, who runs the fertility clinic, said all of his staff were safe and accounted for. “I really have no clue what happened,” he told the Associated Press. “Thank God today happened to be a day that we have no patients.”

The IVF lab and all of the stored embryos are safe, he said.

U.S. Attorney General Pamela Bondi said she was being briefed on the explosion. “We are working to learn more, but let me be clear: the Trump administration understands that women and mothers are the heartbeat of America,” she said. “Violence against a fertility clinic is unforgivable.”

US Attorney Bill Essayli posted to X, "We can confirm that the Palm Springs explosion was an intentional attack. My office along with the FBI will be leading the terrorism investigation into this incident."

"Make no mistake. This is an intentional act of terrorism." Akil Davis, the Assistant Director of the FBI’s Los Angeles Field Office told reporters in an updated statement.

Update:

The bomber at a fertility clinic in Palm Springs, California, has been identified as a 25-year-old man who left an online manifesto in which he described himself as a pro-mortalist, saying people didn’t give consent to exist.

The suspect is Guy Edward Bartkus, a 25-year-old man from Twentynine Palms, a small city about 35 miles northeast of Palm Springs. He left a 30-minute audio recording in which he explained his motive for the attack.

“I figured I would just make a recording explaining why I’ve decided to bomb an IVF building, or clinic,” he said at the beginning of the recording. “Basically, it just comes down to I’m angry that I exist and that, you know, nobody got my consent to bring me here.”

Describing himself as anti-life, he adds: “I’m very against [IVF], it’s extremely wrong. These are people who are having kids after they’ve sat there and thought about it. How much more stupid can it get?”

Bartkus also set up a tripod with a camera in an effort to film his attack, but the file failed to upload to his website, according to law enforcement sources.

In a FAQ section of his website, he further explains that his best friend Sophie shared similar views and recently died after convincing her boyfriend to shoot her as she slept. “IIRC we had agreed that if one of us died, the other would probably soon follow,” Bartkus wrote.

His description seemed to match the death of 27-year-old Sophie Tinney in Fox Island, Washington on April 22. Police arrested her boyfriend, 29-year-old Lars Eugene Nelson, and believe Tinney convinced Nelson to shoot her in the head as she slept. Nelson was charged with second-degree murder.