The FBI has identified a 25-year-old California man as the person responsible for the explosion of a Palm Springs fertility clinic.
Authorities say the suspect, Guy Edward Bartkus of Twentynine Palms, was attempting to livestream the bombing attack and had expressed “nihilistic ideations.”
Akil Davis, the head of the FBI’s Los Angeles field office, said during a Sunday news conference that investigators were reviewing writings left behind by Bartkus that could shed light on his state of mind. The Associated Press reported Saturday night that those writings communicated a belief that the world should not be populated.
The bombing injured four other people in addition to killing Bartkus. Davis said all embryos at the facility were saved.
“Good guys one, bad guys zero,” he said.
Investigators called the explosion on Saturday an “intentional act of terrorism.” The suspect posted writings online and attempted to record the explosion, though authorities said the video failed to upload online. An official who was not authorized to discuss details of the attack spoke on condition of anonymity to The Associated Press.
The blast gutted the single-story American Reproductive Centers clinic in upscale Palm Springs, though a doctor told the Associated Press its staff were safe.
“Thank God today happened to be a day that we have no patients,” Dr. Maher Abdallah, who leads the clinic, told the AP in a phone interview.
The person believed responsible for an attack posted rambling online writings before the explosion, according to a law enforcement official.
“Make no mistake: This is an intentional act of terrorism,” Akil Davis, the head of the FBI’s Los Angeles field office, told an evening news conference.
