Latest news with #DesertRegionalMedicalCenter
Yahoo
19-05-2025
- Yahoo
As Palm Springs reels in wake of clinic bombing, authorities name suspect and say city is safe
Less than 24 hours after a bomb explosion laid waste to a Palm Springs fertility clinic, the resort town's police chief sought to restore calm while residents and visitors uneasily returned to their weekend routines. As of midday Sunday, several blocks in uptown Palm Springs remained closed, blocked off with barricades and police vehicles. Caution tape brightly punctuated the desert landscape, glowing neon yellow against the low-slung, dun-colored buildings and blue-gray San Jacinto mountains in the background. The area has vintage shops, restaurants and hip hotels, along with medical offices clustered around the local hospital, Desert Regional Medical Center — which sits across the street from American Reproductive Centers, a fertility clinic and in vitro fertilization lab. The bombing shattered the Saturday morning quiet here and caused destruction blocks away. In a section of Southern California just miles from the mighty San Andreas fault, many residents feared the "Big One" was nigh when the bomb detonated. But it was an intentional act of terrorism that caused extensive damage to American Reproductive Centers and the surrounding area. An office building two blocks from the blast had its windows blown out, as did a Denny's restaurant five blocks from the fertility center. The shaking radiated far and wide, with residents reportedly feeling it more than two miles away. "Yesterday, a man intent on harming others in our city failed. Palm Springs survived, and we are stronger and more resilient," Palm Springs Police Chief Andrew Mills said Sunday. Authorities named the suspect as Guy Edward Bartkus, a 25-year-old Twentynine Palms resident who is believed to have died in the blast. There were no other fatalities. Mills said there was "no continuing threat" to the community, underscoring that he was "absolutely confident" that the city was safe. Palm Springs is "a beacon and a safe haven for all," Mills said. He urged residents to upload photos to social media to "show the world" how "wonderful" and "special" the community still is. Read more: One dead after suspected bomb blast near reproductive health clinic in Palm Springs American Reproductive Centers is 'Coachella Valley's first and only full-service fertility center and IVF lab,' led by board-certified Dr. Maher A. Abdallah, according to its website. The explosion damaged the practice's office space, where it conducts consultations with patients, but left the IVF lab and the stored embryos there unharmed. The clinic has helped more than 2,000 families become parents and highlights its work with LGBTQ+ families, according to its website. Mills, the police chief, spoke directly to the "IVF community" during the Sunday news conference, saying "the city is in your court" and characterizing the embryos housed at the clinic as future community leaders. "This was a place of hope. This is a building people go to to start and expand families," Palm Springs Mayor Pro Tem Naomi Soto said of the clinic. "This is a building where hope lives." Vintage store Iconic Atomic is located just outside the police line along one of Palm Springs' main drags. 'Closed due to explosion,' read a sign affixed to the door, 'will reopen Sunday if safe.' Store manager Amanda Hall sat outside, soaking up the desert sun and light breeze. Hall said she was talking to customers and dressing a mannequin Saturday morning when it suddenly felt like a wave violently crashed into the shop. The impact knocked a shelf off the walls, and vintage Kentucky Derby glasses shattered onto the floor. 'The blast is like nothing I've ever heard in my life,' she said. 'I've never been so close to a terrorist attack.' The scene outside was chaotic, with alarms ringing and people running along Palm Canyon Drive, she said. But even in that moment, she was comforted by how the community responded in a city with a reputation for being warm, friendly and safe. 'The lovely thing was — if there can be a good thing in this — everybody was stopping to ask everybody if they were OK and they needed anything,' said Hall, who moved from North Hollywood to the Palm Springs area in 2021. 'That doesn't happen in Los Angeles.' Just on the other side of the police line, Palm Springs still felt like an idyllic weekend retreat. Below swaying palm trees, people walked small dogs and tooled around on cruiser bikes. A group of friends who had spent recent days in nearby Joshua Tree National Park stopped to get drinks at Ernest Coffee and were shocked to find themselves near the crime scene. 'Wild!' one of them said. To some Palm Springs residents, the fact that the attack targeted a fertility clinic was particularly offensive to the city's values. When he heard about the explosion, Christian Agnelli said his first thought about the suspect was, 'where were they from? Because they're not from Palm Springs.' He was on a walk with his neighbor Deanne Stalnaker, who added about their community: 'We're friendly, we're open, we respect everybody.' Adam Neal and Todd Danforth, two other Palm Springs residents, said they have many friends who have relied on fertility clinics to start families. They said it didn't feel as if the attack targeted LGBTQ+ people, but it certainly sent a message that rippled through the community in a town long known as a queer magnet. 'Lots of different families utilize these types of services, but LGBT families specifically have a higher need for it because we don't really have as many options as straight couples do,' Neal said. Times staff writers Jenny Jarvie, Nathan Solis, Richard Winton, Libor Jany and Paige St. John contributed to this report. Sign up for Essential California for news, features and recommendations from the L.A. Times and beyond in your inbox six days a week. This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
Yahoo
18-05-2025
- Yahoo
1 dead, 5 injured by ‘intentional' Palm Springs, Calif., car explosion
May 17 (UPI) -- A car explosion killed one and injured five in Palm Springs, Calif., Saturday morning during what local police are calling an "intentional act." The explosion happened in a parking lot at 1199 N. Indian Canyon about 11 a.m. and damaged several buildings, Palm Springs Police Chief Andy Mills said in a Facebook post. "The blast appears to be an intentional act of violence," Mills said. "The blast field extends for blocks with several buildings damaged - some severely." Mills said the "incident appears to be isolated," and FBI investigators are on the scene. The identity of the deceased person is unknown. The FBI's Los Angeles field office confirmed it is investigating the explosion. "FBI assets being deployed include investigators, bomb technicians and an evidence response team," the FBI Los Angeles said in a post on X. Several medical facilities are located within and near the blast area, including the Desert Regional Medical Center, NBC News reported. Some windows were damaged at the medical center in a medical office building that was facing the explosion, hospital spokesman Rich Ramhoff told the Desert Sun. Although it is open and fully operational, access is limited due to the police response. Hospital officials ask visitors to stay away until full access is restored on local streets. An American Reproductive Centers fertility clinic is located near where the car was parked when it exploded, but none of its employees were injured. ARC officials said no damage occurred to the eggs, embryos and reproductive materials at the fertility clinic. "We are heavily conducting a complete safety inspection and have confirmed that our operations and sensitive medical areas were not impacted by the blast," ARC officials said in a Facebook post. The fertility clinic will be open and fully operational on Monday morning with staff available to address any concerns its clients might have. California Governor Gavin Newsom has been briefed on the explosion, his press office said in a social media post. The state is working with the FBI and local police to support the response to the car explosion.
Yahoo
17-05-2025
- Yahoo
At least one dead after ‘car explosion' at fertility clinic in Palm Springs
Firefighters in Palm Springs have responded to an explosion at the American Reproductive Center that has left at least one person dead and five people injured, according to reports. The deceased person is believed to be a suspect, law enforcement sources told ABC News. Speaking to the Palm Springs Post, Lt. William Hutchinson with the Palm Springs Police Department confirmed that a car was responsible for the explosion. The department confirmed that one person has been killed. 'Everything is in question, whether this is an act of terrorism,' Hutchinson told The Desert Sun. Palm Springs Mayor Ron DeHarte told The Los Angeles Times in a text that he could 'confirm it was a bomb in or near a vehicle parked at the building. One deceased.' A witness told the Post that he saw human remains in the street. 'In front of the building [the car] was blown clear across four lanes into the parking lot of [Desert Regional Medical Center],' the witness said. 'I could see the back of the car still on fire and the rims. That was the only thing that distinguishes it as a car.' U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli has confirmed that the FBI is investigating the incident to determine whether it was intentional. According to spokesperson Nicole Lozano, investigators from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives are also working to assess what happened. American Reproductive Centers, a fertility clinic and IVF lab, is located at 1199 N Indian Canyon Drive, across the street from the Desert Regional Medical Center. A hospital spokesperson has confirmed that the explosion did not take place in the medical center. It is the only clinic of its kind in the Coachella Valley. Authorities have warned the public to avoid the area. Palm Springs resident Tamara Cash told The Desert Sun the explosion 'was so loud it shook me. All I could hear was alarms going off in different buildings.' Dr. Maher Abdallah, who runs the American Reproductive Centers fertility clinic where the explosion occurred, told The Associated Press in a phone interview that all of his staff were safe and accounted for. The explosion damaged the practice's office space, where it conducts consultations with patients, but left the IVF lab and all of the stored embryos there unharmed. 'I really have no clue what happened,' Abdallah said. 'Thank God today happened to be a day that we have no patients.' Nima Tabrizi, 37, of Santa Monica, said he was inside a cannabis dispensary nearby when he felt a massive explosion. 'The building just shook, and we go outside and there's massive cloud smoke,' Tabrizi said. 'Crazy explosion. It felt like a bomb went off ... We went up to the scene, and we saw human remains.' Palm Springs is a city of roughly 45,000 people and has often been used as a vacation spot for the rich and famous, located about a hundred miles east of Los Angeles. The resort city is situated in the Coachella Valley within the Colorado Desert. The city's population triples between November and March as it has become a prominent retirement and snowbird destination. Most of the snowbirds have been Canadians, but some have started boycotting the city amid President Donald Trump's harsh policies and aggressive rhetoric against the neighbor to the north. The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Fox News
17-05-2025
- Fox News
Explosion rocks Palm Springs, damaging buildings and sending debris into the street
An explosion in Palm Springs, California, on Saturday left a swath of destruction on North Indian Canyon Drive. Posts on social media appear to show nearby businesses with glass blown out of windows. The City of Palm Springs confirmed on Facebook that just before noon local time, an explosion happened on North Indian Canyon Drive near East Tachevah Drive. Palm Springs Police Department and fire officials are currently on scene and request that residents stay away from the area so that emergency crews can work the incident, according to the city. The Palm Springs Police Department's active call log lists multiple responses for medical service on the 1100 block of N Palm Canyon Drive, beginning just before 11 a.m. local time. There were also various calls for burglaries in the area, according to police records. The Palm Springs Police Department, Palm Springs Fire Department, California Highway Patrol, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and Desert Regional Medical Center did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital's requests for comment. The Riverside County Sheriff's Office told Fox News Digital it is not responding to the incident. Breaking news. This story will be updated to reflect the most current information.
The Independent
17-05-2025
- Automotive
- The Independent
Authorities investigating ‘car explosion' at fertility clinic in Palm Springs
Firefighters in Palm Springs have responded to an explosion that took place outside of the American Reproductive Center in the city. NBC Palm Springs reports that the incident is being treated as a 'car explosion.' Authorities have not confirmed this. American Reproductive Centers, a fertility clinic and IVF lab, is located at 1199 N Indian Canyon Drive, across the street from the Desert Regional Medical Center. A hospital spokesperson has confirmed that the explosion did not take place in the medical center. Authorities have warned the public to avoid the area. Palm Springs resident Tamara Cash told The Desert Sun the explosion 'was so loud it shook me. All I could hear was alarms going off in different buildings.' Photos and pictures showing the smouldering building have spread online.
