The FBI has named 25-year-old Guy Edward Bartkus as the main suspect in a bombing outside a fertility clinic in Palm Springs, California. The blast occurred just before 11 AM local time on Saturday, killing one person and injuring at least five others. It shook the neighbourhood around the American Reproductive Centre, where couples go for in vitro fertilisation (IVF) treatment.
At a press conference on Sunday, Akil Davis, assistant director of the FBI’s Los Angeles field office, said, “We are fairly confident that Mr. Bartkus is our primary suspect.” He stated that the attack was carefully planned and not random.
Davis added, “The subject had nihilistic ideations, and this was a targeted attack against the IVF (in vitro fertilisation) facility. Make no mistake. We are treating this … as an intentional act of terrorism.”
The explosion happened in or near a car parked close to the clinic.
FBI PROBES POSSIBLE MOTIVE
FBI authorities suspect that Bartkus was killed in the explosion that he might have organised. His body was discovered near the wrecked car, a silver 2010 Ford Fusion. Authorities also suspect that he was attempting to broadcast the attack live on the internet at the moment it occurred.
The FBI is currently conducting a search of Bartkus’ residence with the court’s permission for additional evidence relating to what prompted the attack. “We do not believe that there’s an ongoing threat to the public,” Davis explained in the press conference. Law enforcement is investigating a potential manifesto that the suspect had written, which may provide some explanation of his actions.
US media outlets reported a website contained messages that appeared to be linked to the suspect, in which he laid out a loose argument against human life.
“Basically, I’m a pro-mortalist,” the author wrote, according to a description of the site in the Los Angeles Times.
Video posted online after the attack showed the single-story structure that houses some of the clinic’s operations. The bomb appeared to have ripped a gaping hole in one of its walls and caused damage throughout the building.
Officials said they are receiving hundreds of tips and collecting evidence, including pieces of the vehicle that exploded and were strewn several hundred feet in every direction.
Davis said it is considered the largest bombing crime scene in southern California history. Bartkus was not known to the FBI prior to the incident.