Local authorities say the explosion at a fertility clinic in Palm Springs, Tony, California city, appeared to be intentional. A person was found dead, the FBI said it was sending investigators, including bomb technicians, to the scene.
Palm Springs Police Chief Andy Mills said in a statement Saturday that the explosion “seemed to be a deliberate act of violence” and several buildings were seriously damaged.
“There was one death and the identity of the person is not yet known,” Mills' statement said.
Two law enforcement officials said the bill is being investigated as a possible car explosion and introduced the matter, insisting anonymously discussing preliminary information in the ongoing investigation. Authorities did not disclose the motive.
“The assets deployed include investigators, bomb technicians and evidence response teams,” the FBI Los Angeles said in a social media post about X. Investigators in alcohol, tobacco, guns and explosives were also assisting.
The city of Palm Springs said Saturday that the explosion occurred at 11 a.m. local time and asked residents to avoid the area near East Tachewa Avenue near the North Indian Canyon Drive.
Dr. Maher Abdallah, who runs the U.S. Reproductive Center Fertility Clinic, confirmed that his clinic was damaged. He told the Associated Press in a telephone interview that all his employees are safe and responsible. The explosion damaged the office space of the practice, where the patient was consulted, but left the IVF laboratory and all stored embryos without injury.
“I really don't know what happened,” Abdullah said. “Thank God today is our day without a patient.”
Antenna video shows a burned car burning down a parking lot behind the building that houses office space for the fertility clinic. The explosion enveloped the roofs of the building and blew a wide field of debris and four lanes of streets on the other side of the structure.
Rhino Williams, 47, chats with customers at a restaurant and helps manage the inside of a hillside hotel just one block from the scene when he hears the huge boom. Everything rattles, he said, and Williams (the background with an aviation background) rushed to the scene immediately to see if anyone needed help, thinking the helicopter might have collapsed.
Williams saw a large grey smoke, and his shirt covered his nose when he smelled burning plastic and rubber. He said he saw a building “blasted” into the street, with bricks and debris scattered everywhere and found a front axle of a car in the building's parking lot.
He said it was the only car he had seen. He ran into the building, called out, staring behind the counter to see if anyone was inside. He heard no response, nor saw anyone behind the counter.
Williams said he ran to inspect other nearby buildings. He said several windows at nearby liquor stores were also blown up. After seeing the authorities arrive, he returns to the hotel.
Nima Tabrizi, 37, of Santa Monica, said he was in a nearby marijuana dispensary when he felt a massive explosion.
“The building just shook and we walked outside and there was a huge cloud of smoke,” Tabrizi said. “Crazy explosion. It felt like a bomb exploded. …We came on the scene and we saw the remains of humans.”
Palm Springs is a Tony neighborhood in the desert, about two hours east of Los Angeles. It is known for its upscale resorts and history of celebrity residents.
