At least one person is dead and four others injured in a Palm Springs, California, explosion outside a fertility clinic, Akil Davis, the FBI’s assistant director in charge of Los Angeles’ field office, said Saturday.
The FBI is still working to confirm the identity of the person who died, Davis said at a Saturday news conference. He described the incident as “one of the largest bombing investigations we’ve had in Southern California.”
“Make no mistake, this is an intentional act of terrorism,” he added, saying the FBI believes the clinic was targeted. The agency’s Joint Terrorism Task Force is working alongside the Palm Springs Police Department and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, Davis said.
The FBI said they “have a person of interest in this investigation, but we are not actively out searching for a suspect.”
Law enforcement investigating the Palm Springs explosion currently believe the deceased individual was likely responsible for the explosion, a law enforcement source told CNN. The source stressed investigators are still working to positively identify the person.
Palm Springs Chief Andy Mills said it was an “isolated” incident and the “community is no longer at risk.”
“Terrorism came knocking on the door of Palm Springs. We survived, and I can tell you … this city will rise,” Mills said.
The blast took place outside American Reproductive Centers in Palm Springs, an upscale city around 100 miles from Los Angeles. Videos from the scene show plumes of smoke, blown out windows on nearby buildings, and sirens sounding off.
State and federal authorities are currently investigating whether a residence in the Twentynine Palms neighborhood near Palm Springs may be associated with the explosion, a law enforcement source briefed on the investigation told CNN. Evacuations in that area could occur soon out of an abundance of caution as officials investigate the residence.
The blast took place around 11 a.m. local time, the ATF told CNN in an email. The agency said it is “assisting our state, local, and federal counterparts with the active investigation by providing our unique capabilities and technical expertise.”
Although Davis said the attack appeared to be “targeted,” he didn’t specify whether authorities had identified a motive.
The motivation behind the attack is still unclear, Palm Springs Mayor Ron deHarte told CNN Saturday.
“We don’t have the why or who yet,” he said.
In a statement, American Reproductive Centers said no members of their team were harmed and their Palm Springs lab, “including all eggs, embryos, and reproductive materials” was undamaged.
“Our mission has always been to help build families, and in times like these, we are reminded of just how fragile and precious life is,” reads the clinic’s statement. “In the face of this tragedy, we remain committed to creating hope—because we believe that healing begins with community, compassion, and care.”
American Reproductive Centers provides fertility services including in vitro fertilization, surrogacy and egg freezing, according to their website. The clinic describes itself as “Coachella Valley’s first and only full-service fertility center and IVF lab.”
The American Society for Reproductive Medicine said in a post on X they were “deeply concerned” about news of the explosion.
Attorney General Pam Bondi said, “We are working to learn more, but let me be clear: the Trump administration understands that women and mothers are the heartbeat of America.”
“Violence against a fertility clinic is unforgivable,” she said in a post on X.
In vitro fertilization (IVF) is a common fertility treatment that can help families experiencing infertility: Around 2% of births in the US are the result of IVF. The technique involves removing eggs from ovaries and combining them with sperm inside a laboratory, before the fertilized egg is implanted in the uterus in the hopes of producing a successful pregnancy.
The technique often involves freezing embryos for genetic testing or future use. Unused embryos may also be discarded or donated.
IVF and the practice of discarding embryos has been the subject of some conservative and religious criticism; IVF procedures in Alabama stopped last year after the state Supreme Court ruled frozen embryos were legally children before later resuming. But a number of Republican lawmakers have also voiced their support for IVF, with President Donald Trump calling himself a “leader on IVF” and signing legislation to expand access to the procedure.
‘Just fire and disaster’
Witnesses to the disaster described a loud bang followed by smoke, with debris scattered across the scene. The debrief field spans over 250 yards, Davis said.
“It looked like a movie,” Nima Tabrizi, who witnessed the explosion while shopping at a nearby cannabis dispensary Saturday morning, told CNN’s Jessica Dean.
He heard a “boom” and then “everyone was just pointing, getting their cameras out, and we saw this large smoke,” he recalled.
Tabrizi said that he saw what he thought were human remains in the street before first responders rushed to the scene.
The windows of a nearby liquor store were completely blown out, he added.
“I can’t imagine if you were within the immediate vicinity of that blast, for you not to get hurt,” he said.
“It was pretty wild,” he said. “Never seen something like that before in my life.”
The blast created a “massive crime scene,” police chief Mills said Saturday. “This is going to take a great deal of time for us to process the scene.”
He urged residents to leave any pieces of debris from the explosion where it is and call law enforcement to collect it as evidence.
One building was on fire before being impacted by “structural collapse,” Palm Springs Fire Department Paul Alvarado said Friday.
Another eyewitness told CNN affiliate KABC that he was making a delivery for UberEats when he heard a “big bang.”
“All you see is just fire and disaster,” Leon Bazilion said of the scene. He said he saw fragments of a car broken apart and on fire and “debris everywhere.”
“How is this possible here in Palm Springs, you know?” he said. “It’s just a very scary situation right here.”
Gov. Gavin Newsom said he had been briefed on the explosion and he and his wife “are keeping everyone affected in our hearts” in a post on X.
“The state is working closely with local and federal authorities as the investigation unfolds,” he wrote. “Please avoid the area.”
CNN has reached out to the Palm Springs Fire Department for more information.
CNN’s Josh Campbell contributed to this report.
