‘Unforgivable’: FBI official says California clinic bombing ‘act of terrorism’
The FBI has confirmed the deadly bombing of a California fertility clinic was a terror attack.
The FBI said Saturday the bombing of a California fertility clinic which killed one person was a terror attack, and that the facility was likely targeted deliberately.
Police are now investigating the Saturday morning incident, which occurred not far from downtown Palm Springs, with the blast rocking the neighbourhood including several businesses.
In a recent update, Akil Davis, the head of the FBI’s Los Angeles field office, told reporters, ““This was an intentional act of terrorism. As our investigation will unfold we will determine if it’s international terrorism or domestic terrorism.”
In response to a question on whether the clinic in Palm Springs was purposefully targeted, Akil said: “We believe so, yes.”
The car may have been parked outside American Reproductive Centers, Mayor Ron DeHarte told The New York Post.
“We’re still trying to determine a cause,” Mr DeHarte said. “The police and fire are down there right now. First, we heard it might be a helicopter crash or a gas leak but that’s been ruled out. We should know pretty quickly what it was. There was quite a bit of damage to surrounding buildings as well.”
Palm Springs Fire Chief Paul Alvarado said the “blast appears to be an intentional act of violence”.
“The blast field extends for blocks with several buildings damaged, some severely,” he said.
The fertility clinic confirmed no one from their facility was harmed, but that one person was killed and several were injured.
“I really have no clue what happened,” said Dr Maher Abdallah, who runs the clinic. “Thank God today happened to be a day that we have no patients.”
Embryos stored at the facility were also unharmed, according to the clinic.
“We are heavily conducting a complete safety inspection and have confirmed that our operations and sensitive medical areas were not impacted by the blast,” the fertility clinic told the BBC.
American Reproductive Centers is described as Coachella Valley’s first and only full-service fertility centre and IVF lab, according to its website and has been operating since 2006.
A number of law enforcement bodies have descended on the scene including investigators from the FBI, while the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives would also help assess what happened.
Palm Springs police confirmed the death but the identity of the victim is not yet known, while they are considering all possibilities including whether it was an act of terrorism.
The FBI “will be investigating whether this was an intentional act,” US Attorney Bill Essayli of the Central District of California wrote on X.
President Donald Trump’s Attorney General Pam Bondi described the incident as “unforgivable” and said federal agents were working to determine exactly what had happened.
“But let me be clear: the Trump administration understands that women and mothers are the heartbeat of America. Violence against a fertility clinic is unforgivable,” she said in a statement on social media.
One witness Claudio Chavez, who has a custom upholstery shop nearby told The Post it “felt like an explosion” when the terrifying incident unfolded.
“It was so loud it felt like it shook my entire core,” he said.
“I was inside my business waiting for a client. I was sitting in my chair and it was like suddenly, like a bomb went off.
“Inside I just saw pieces of debris fall from the ceiling. Walked outside and saw my front window had totally shattered.”
He added there was a large amount of smoke too.
“Half of one building seemed to have been blown off,” he noted.
Aerial footage showed a burnt-out car in a parking lot, while the fertility’s clinic’s building roof hqe been caved in, with debris blown out widely across the street and bricks scattered everywhere.
Restaurant manager Rhino Williams, 47, was a block away when he heard the explosion and sprinted to the scene. He was forced to cover his nose with his shirt as he smelled burning plastic and rubber, he told the Associated Press.
Nima Tabrizi, 37, was also nearby inside a cannabis shop when he felt a massive explosion, describing a devastating scene afterwards.
“The building just shook, and we go outside and there’s massive cloud smoke,” Tabrizi said. “Crazy explosion. It felt like a bomb went off. … We went up to the scene, and we saw human remains.”
Originally published as ‘Unforgivable’: FBI official says California clinic bombing ‘act of terrorism’
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