PALM SPRINGS, Calif. — The individual who perished in a car explosion outside a fertility clinic in Palm Springs had left “anti-pro-life” writings before committing the act, which authorities have described as terrorism, officials stated on Sunday.
The FBI identified the suspect as Guy Edward Bartkus from Twentynine Palms, California, who apparently set off a car bomb on Saturday that caused damage to the clinic.
His writings seemed to indicate anti-natalist views, which hold that people should not continue to procreate, authorities said.
The blast gutted the American Reproductive Centers fertility clinic and shattered the windows of nearby buildings along a palm tree-lined street.
Witnesses described a loud boom followed by a chaotic scene, with people screaming in terror and glass strewn along the sidewalk and street.
“It was a pretty crazy explosive. You could definitely feel it,” Nima Tabrizi said. “It was pretty wild.”
According to investigators, Bartkus died in the explosion, which a senior FBI official described as potentially the “largest bombing scene we’ve had in Southern California.”
A body was found near a charred vehicle outside the clinic.
Bartkus attempted to livestream the explosion and left behind writings that communicated “nihilistic ideations” that were still being examined to determine his state of mind, said Akil Davis, the assistant director in charge of the FBI’s Los Angeles field office.
Two firearms were found near the exploded vehicle, and officials are investigating whether the firearms belong to the shooter, according to two sources familiar with the investigation.
A source says the two firearms found are an AK47 and an AR style rifle.
U.S. Attorney Bilal “Bill” Essayli, the top federal prosecutor in the area, called the message “anti-pro-life.”
“This was a targeted attack against the IVF facility,” Davis said Sunday. “Make no mistake: we are treating this, as I said yesterday, as an intentional act of terrorism.”
The bombing injured four other people; though, Davis said all embryos at the facility were saved. Police said FBI Agent Chris Meltzer and Palm Springs Assistant Fire Chief Greg Lyle helped protect the embryos inside the clinic.
“The building was at a point where they didn’t know if it was going to collapse,” Palm Springs Police Chief Andy Mills said. “They went in anyway to make sure that the embryos were safe, that the electricity was still on, and they hooked it back up to make sure.”
Authorities were executing a search warrant in Twentynine Palms as part of the investigation.
“Thank God today happened to be a day that we have no patients,” Dr. Maher Abdallah, who leads the clinic, told The Associated Press in a phone interview Saturday.
Associated Press writer Christopher Weber contributed from Los Angeles.
Copyright © 2025 KABC Television, LLC. All rights reserved.
