The suspect in the bombing of a Palm Springs fertility clinic was tentatively identified by the FBI as Guy Edwards Bartkus, 25.
Palm Springs — The suspect in the bombing of a Palm Springs fertility clinic that injured four people was tentatively identified Sunday by the FBI as Guy Edwards Bartkus, 25.
The bombing suspect appears to have been killed in the Saturday morning explosion at American Reproductive Centers, according to Akil Davis, assistant director in charge of the FBI’s Los Angeles Field Office. FBI officials said they were investigating the incident as an “act of intentional terrorism.”
Law enforcement sources told The Times they believed the suspect was “anti-life” and reacting to the recent death of a friend.
An online website that contained no name, but appeared connected to the bombing, laid out the case for “a war against pro-lifers” and said a fertilization clinic would be targeted.
“Here you can download the recorded stream of my suicide & bombing of an IVF clinic,” the site began, but no such file existed. It extolled a hodge-podge of philosophies, from “abolitionist veganism,” the opposition to all animal use by humans, and “negative utilitarianism,” the idea that we should act to minimize suffering rather than maximize pleasure in the world.
“Basically, I’m a pro-mortalist,” the author wrote, referring to a fringe philosophical position that it is best for sentient beings to die as soon as possible to prevent future suffering.
The Times could not independently confirm that Bartkus created the website. Domain data show the site was created in February.
FBI assistant director Akil Davis said Sunday the suspect “had nihilistic ideations, and this was a targeted attack against the IVF facility.” He declined to verify whether the manifesto was written by the suspect, adding his team was “tracking a possible manifesto out there, and it’s part of our ongoing investigation.”
Accompanying the website was a 30-minute audio file, labeled “pre,” that began with the speaker saying he would explain “why I’ve decided to bomb an IVF building or clinic.”
“Basically, it just comes down to I’m angry that I exist and that, you know, nobody got my consent to bring me here,” the speaker said.
