By ERIC TUCKER and JAKE OFFENHARTZ, Associated Press
NEW YORK (AP) — The FBI has arrested a man on charges linked to last month’s car bombing of a fertility clinic in Palm Springs, California, three law enforcement officials said Wednesday.
The man, Daniel Park, a 32-year-old resident of Kent, Washington, was arrested Tuesday night at the John F. Kennedy Airport in New York, one of the officials said.
It was not immediately clear what Park was charged with or how he was connected to the investigation. Investigators believe the bomber died in the blast.
Federal prosecutors are expected to release details at a news conference in Los Angeles. The arrest was first reported by NBC News.
The law enforcement officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss a criminal case that has not been publicly disclosed.
The FBI has identified Guy Edward Bartkus as the suspect in the apparent car bomb detonation, and investigators say he had nihilistic and “anti-pro-life” writings. A body was found near a charred vehicle outside the clinic.
Officials said at the time they were investigating whether Bartkus had any help. He tried to livestream the explosion, but the attempt failed, the FBI says. He left behind writings that are still being examined to determine his state of mind.
The blast gutted the American Reproductive Centers fertility clinic in Palms Springs and shattered the windows of nearby buildings along a palm tree-lined street. Witnesses described a loud boom followed by a chaotic scene, with people screaming in terror and glass strewn along the sidewalk and street. A body was found near a charred vehicle outside the clinic.
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A senior FBI official called the explosion possibly the “largest bombing scene that we’ve had in Southern California.”
Authorities executed a search warrant in Bartkus’ hometown of Twentynine Palms, a city of 28,000 residents northeast of Palm Springs with a large U.S. Marine Corps base. Authorities haven’t shared specifics about the explosives used to make the bomb and where Bartkus may have obtained them.
Investigators are working to learn more about Bartkus’ motives. They haven’t said if he intended to kill himself in the attack or why he chose the specific facility.
He appeared to hold anti-natalist views, which include a belief that it is morally wrong for people to bring children into the world. The clinic he attacked provides services to help people get pregnant, including in vitro fertilization and fertility evaluations.
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