FBI Says Palm Springs Fertility Clinic Blast An 'Act Of Terrorism'

“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. He declined to say how authorities reached that conclusion.

A law enforcement official said investigators recovered an AK-47-style rifle from the scene. The official was not authorized to discuss details of the investigation publicly and spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity.

Authorities were still working to confirm the identity of the person killed, Davis said. Four people were hurt, but authorities provided no details on the severity of those injuries, how they occurred or where. Davis said law enforcement was also looking into the possibility that the explosion was livestreamed.

The act was being investigated as a possible car explosion, according to two other law enforcement officials briefed on the matter who insisted on anonymity to discuss preliminary information from an ongoing investigation.

One of the officials told AP that investigators believe the person who died was likely the person who set off the explosion, but they cautioned that the investigation was still in its early stages.

The blast gutted the American Reproductive Centers fertility clinic, in a single-story building along a five-lane street lined with palm trees. Dr. Maher Abdallah, who leads the clinic, told AP in a phone interview that the explosion damaged the practice’s office space, where it conducts consultations with patients. The clinic’s IVF lab and stored embryos are offsite and were not damaged.

https://www.huffpost.com/entry/palm-springs-explosion-fertility-clinic-fbi_n_6829524be4b0bccd40f50103