Fertility Clinic Bomber Wrote 'Anti Pro-Life' Manifesto: U.S. Attorney

PALM SPRINGS, CA — Authorities have identified the person responsible for the fatal explosion that injured four and heavily damaged a fertility clinic Saturday in Palm Springs. The man, 25-year-old Guy Edward Bartkus of Twentynine Palms, was found dead at the scene, they said.

Bartkus' online activity indicated he was against in vitro fertilization, according to Akil Davis, assistant director in charge with the FBI Los Angeles, who said during a press conference Sunday morning live-streamed by multiple news outlets that Bartkus had "nihilistic ideations" and had attempted to livestream the attack.

"An anti pro-life manifesto believed to be authored by the suspect has been located and is being examined by the FBI," U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli of the Central District of California said Sunday in a social media post. "This case is being treated as an intentional act of domestic terrorism. The investigation is ongoing."

The Associated Press reported Saturday night that Bartkus' writings communicated a belief that the world should not be populated.

Davis said authorities believe the clinic was targeted and that the blast was one of the largest bombings in Southern California history. All the embryos were saved, he said.

"Good guys one, bad guys zero," he said.

Emergency personnel and police first responded to the explosion just before 11 a.m. Saturday on North Indian Canyon Drive near East Tachevah Drive, according to city of Palm Springs officials. The blast occurred in a parking lot near the American Reproductive Centers fertility clinic at 1199 North Indian Canyon Drive in Palm Springs.

"This explosion was significant, covering several blocks north, south, and east and west from the 1300 block of Indian Canyon," Davis said.

The clinic was not open at the time of the blast. Dr. Maher Abdallah, who runs the clinic, said no one from his staff was injured and although the building sustained damage, said the lab — where eggs, embryos and reproductive materials are stored — was not damaged.

Video from the scene of the blast Saturday morning showed damage to buildings and smoke in the area of the reported explosion. City Manager Scott Stiles said at the press conference Sunday that numerous homes and buildings were damaged. Residents also reported online feeling the shaking from the blast throughout the city.

Davis said officials were receiving hundreds of tips per day and instructed people who found evidence from the explosion to turn it in to authorities.

A search warrant was executed over the weekend in Twentynine Palms as a result of the explosion, with some Twentynine Palms residents evacuated for their safety, Davis said.

By Sunday morning, authorities had started to open streets around the blast site, although Indian Canyon and Palm Canyon drives were expected to be closed for some time, according to Palm Springs Chief of Police Andrew Mills.

“I am absolutely confident that this city is safe," he said. "There is no continuing threat to our community as a result of this incident."

The San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department said Sunday morning on social media that "out of an abundance of caution" deputies would be conducting extra patrols at local fertility centers.

Bartkus was driving a 2010 silver Ford Fusion with the license plate HWS848, according to Davis, who said authorities are investigating where in the city Bartkus was before the explosion. Anyone with tips or information about his whereabouts leading up to the incident is asked to submit what they know at fbi.gov/palmspringsvehicleexplosion.

The Associated Press contributed to this story.