Law enforcement authorities are asking for help to piece together the timeline of their primary suspect in the explosion at a Palm Springs fertility clinic over the weekend. Authorities identified a 25 year old Twentynine Palms man in connection with the bombing and say there’s no threat to the public.
Authorities say the person of interest is Guy Edward Bartkus and he was likely killed in the blast.
Akil Davis, with the FBI, says the suspect had nihilistic ideations and targeted the American Reproductive Center’s IVF facility.
The blast blew off part of the front of the building and started a fire…but Davis says the damage was not as bad as it could have been.
“Due to the speed and professionalism of the Palm Springs Fire Department, station one the Palm Springs police department as well as the FBI bomb technicians, we are able to save all of the embryos at this facility," said Davis.
About 50 miles away in Twentynine Palms, FBI investigators and local law enforcement converged on a house where they believe the suspect lived. They evacuated the neighbors on Saturday, including Thomas Bickel.
"I was watching a movie,... all of a sudden the sheriffs were pounding on my door. So I opened the door. There was about, I think, like five sheriffs there, and they told me I needed to evacuate," said Bickel.
On Sunday evening, Bickel says he still hadn’t been allowed to go home.
Saturday’s blast in Palm Springs was so strong that it blew debris blocks away. Authorities are asking people not to touch anything and to call the police. They’ve also released a photo of their primary suspect . They’re asking anyone who saw him before the blast around 11 am on Saturday to contact the FBI.