1 month ago
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A large explosion destroyed a fertility clinic in Palm Springs, California, on Saturday and killed one person in what police are calling an “intentional act of violence.”
Firefighters responded to the scene at American Reproductive Centers at around 11 a.m. The explosion could be heard by people in at least a 2-mile radius, The Desert Sun reported.
Palm Springs Police Chief Andy Mills said in a statement that the explosion “appears to be an intentional act of violence.”
“There has been one fatality, the person’s identity is not known,” Mills added.
Palm Springs Mayor Ron DeHarte told the Los Angeles Times that he could “confirm it was a bomb in or near a vehicle parked at the building.”
ABC7 Los Angeles via AP
Photos and video of the scene posted to social media show rubble and debris scattered around and the wall of the building blown out.
The clinic, which opened in 2006, is a full-service fertility center and in vitro fertilization lab, according to its website. Reviews of the clinic on Google are overwhelmingly positive, with several people praising the clinic for helping them start families.
The clinic was closed Saturday.
Dr. Maher Abdallah, who runs the clinic, told the Associated Press that all of his staff were safe.
ABC7 Los Angeles via AP
“I really have no clue what happened,” Abdallah said. “Thank God today happened to be a day that we have no patients.”
U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli for the Central District of California said on X that the FBI was on the scene.
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“We are aware of the explosion that occurred this morning in Palm Springs,” Essayli said. “FBI is on scene and will be investigating whether this was an intentional act. We will release as much information as possible once we are able to confirm details.”
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