The person killed in the Saturday bomb explosion outside a fertility clinic in Palm Springs, California, is a 25-year-old from Twentynine Palms, the FBI said Sunday.
Guy Bartkus was the only person killed in the blast that injured four other people, authorities said. A law enforcement source previously told CNN they believe the person killed was also responsible for the attack.
Due to the condition of the deceased individual’s remains after the explosion, forensic testing would be conducted to help fully identify the suspect, a source said.
“The subject had nihilistic ideas,” Akil Davis, the FBI’s assistant director in charge of the Los Angeles field office, said at a Sunday news conference. “This was a targeted attack against the IVF facility.”
“We are fairly confident that Mr. Bartkus is our primary subject, our primary suspect, a person of interest,” he said, adding that the suspect was not previously known to the FBI. Authorities identified Bartkus’ “nihilistic” beliefs through “some of the posts that he’s made online, some of the comments made in his manifesto that we’re combing through right now,” Davis said.
Authorities believe Bartkus was trying to livestream the attack, according to Davis.
An “anti pro-life manifesto believed to be authored by the suspect has been located and is being examined by the FBI,” according to an X post from US Attorney for the Central District of California Bill Essayli.
Officials are also aware of a rambling audio recording posted online in which a man describes his intention to attack an in vitro fertilization clinic, and they are working to determine whether it is associated with the incident, the law enforcement source told CNN.
In the oftentimes incoherent audio message, the speaker discusses various grievances about his life and criticizes IVF while referring to himself as “anti-life.” He said the government should not restrict an individual’s “right to die.”
