Person of interest in Palm Springs IVF clinic explosion confirmed dead: FBI

PALM SPRINGS, Calif. (KTLA) — The person of interest in the “act of terrorism” that severely damaged a reproductive health facility in Palm Springs, California, is confirmed to be dead, according to authorities.

An FBI spokesperson had initially confirmed the information to Nexstar’s KTLA early Sunday morning.

The facility, the American Reproductive Centers (ARC), is a fertility clinic and in vitro fertilization (IVF) lab.

Palm Springs Mayor Ron deHarte was one of the first officials to deem the incident “an intentional act of violence,” and the FBI later called it a “terrorism” act.

At a press conference on Sunday morning, FBI Assistant Director for Los Angeles’s FBI field office Akil Davis identified the suspect, who is deceased, as 25-year-old Guy Edward Bartkus.

During Sunday’s press conference, Davis revealed more details surrounding Bartkus, indicating that he was a resident of Twentynine Palms and that the evacuations issued for a neighborhood within that city on Saturday evening were connected to a search warrant related to the explosion.

The vehicle Bartkus was in was a 2010 Ford Fusion sedan with the California license plate #8HWS848.

This information has been released because authorities are asking the public’s help for tracking Bartkus’ movements in the hours leading up to the alleged attack. Authorities said they are confident he is the individual whose remains were found near the car.

“We know where Bartkus was at about 6 a.m. [Saturday] and we know the timeline of when he entered the city; however, we need the public’s help in identifying where he traversed within the city before the explosion,” Davis said.

Davis said that this is one of the largest bombing investigations that they’ve had in Southern California.

Palm Springs Police Department Chief Andy Mills said that the investigation into the incident is still very active and requested the public stay away from the area, although some roads near the blast site have been reopened.

Chief Mills also said he was “absolutely confident” there is no further threat to the community, which he believes will come back stronger.

“I am absolutely confident that this city is safe…there is no continuing threat to our community as a result of this incident,” he said. “Yesterday, a man intent on harming our city failed. Palm Springs survived and we are stronger and more resilient as a result.”

The Associated Press reported that the person believed responsible for the alleged attack posted “rambling online writings” before the explosion.

“The suspect, who died in the explosion…also attempted to record video or stream the attack,” the AP reported, citing an anonymous official who was not authorized to discuss details of the incident.

The car explosion also left at least four people injured, but ARC stated in the hours after the alleged attack that no members of their team were harmed and that all eggs, embryos and other materials remained intact. 

Doctor Maher Abdallah of ARC said the company’s mission is to help build families, including members of the LGBTQ community, which has since sparked questions about a possible motive behind this act.

KTLA’s Chris Wolfe spoke with a retired Marine Corps intelligence officer, now terrorism expert, Hal Kempfer, who said this investigation must consider every possible motive.

“There are violent extremists out there who have very strong views about IVF and surrogacy, which is something that they do at that clinic,” said Kempfer. “And that particular reproductive clinic is in the Palm Springs area, and Palm Springs is known as a center for LGBTQ residents.”

Kempfer added that oftentimes, terrorist groups or movements have a list of targets.

One witness told KTLA that after the explosion, he found a smartphone set up on a tripod pointing at where the bomb went off.

“I didn’t touch it,” said witness Rhino Williams. “I didn’t notice that the screen was on, I just thought it was really strange.”