Latest news with #ammoniumnitrate
The Guardian
13 hours ago
- The Guardian
Man charged in bombing of Palm Springs fertility clinic dies in prison
A man charged with aiding the bomber of a fertility clinic in California has died in federal custody just weeks after his arrest, prison officials said on Tuesday. Daniel Park, 32, was accused of supplying chemicals to the bomber, Guy Edward Bartkus of California, who died in the 17 May explosion. The two men connected in fringe online forums over their shared beliefs against human procreation, authorities told reporters Wednesday. The blast gutted the fertility clinic in Palm Springs and shattered the windows of nearby buildings, with officials calling the attack terrorism and possibly the largest bomb scene ever in southern California. The clinic was closed, and no embryos were damaged. Park, of suburban Seattle, was found unresponsive in Metropolitan detention center in Los Angeles on Tuesday morning and was pronounced dead at the hospital, prison officials said. No cause of death was provided. Park shipped 180lbs (82kg) of ammonium nitrate to Bartkus in January and bought another 90lbs (41kg) and had it shipped to him days before the explosion, authorities said. Park purchased ammonium nitrate online in several transactions between October 2022 and May 2025, according to a federal complaint. Three days before Park visited him in January, Bartkus asked an AI chat application about explosives, detonation velocity, diesel and gasoline mixtures, the complaint said. The discussion centered on how to create the most powerful blast. Authorities said Park traveled to California to experiment with the materials in the bomber's garage months before the attack. Park was taken into custody at New York's John F Kennedy Airport, after he was extradited from Poland, where he fled to four days after the attack. Park had been charged with providing and attempting to provide material support to terrorists.
Yahoo
13 hours ago
- Yahoo
Suspect linked to California fertility clinic bombing has died in federal custody
A suspect linked to the bombing at a fertility clinic in Palm Springs, California, last month has died in federal custody, the Bureau of Prisons revealed Tuesday. Daniel Park, 32, from Seattle, was charged earlier this month in connection with the bombing. He was found unresponsive at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Los Angeles, the agency said in a statement. Staff responded and initiated life-saving measures, and emergency medical personnel took Park to an area hospital, where he was pronounced dead. The cause of death was not immediately apparent. The bureau noted that no members of staff or other incarcerated people were injured. Park was a U.S. citizen who arrived at the detention center on June 13 following his indictment on malicious destruction of property. After travelling to Denmark and then onto Warsaw, a few days after the bombing, he was detained in Poland earlier this month. The bombing took place at the American Reproductive Centers fertility clinic on May 17. Park was taken into custody at John F. Kennedy Airport in New York after being deported from Poland. Park was accused of shipping around 180 pounds of ammonium nitrate to the bombing suspect, identified as Guy Bartkus, 25, who died in the explosion. Ammonium nitrate is usually used as a precursor to make homemade explosives. Four people were injured in the blast. The 32-year-old is alleged to have spent two weeks visiting Bartkus in late January and February as they conducted bombmaking experiments. Akil Davis, the FBI assistant director in charge, noted that Park and Bartkus encountered each other in online forums discussing the anti-natalist movement as they connected over a 'shared belief that people shouldn't exist.' Anti-natalism is a fringe theory arguing that people shouldn't procreate, with officials saying that Bartkus targeted the fertility clinic as part of a terror attack. Bartkus left behind written materials indicating that he was against people being born against their will, pushing for the end of childbirth and eventual human extinction. The FBI noted that he tried and failed to livestream the blast. The explosion severely damaged the clinic and blew out the windows of buildings in the area. Witnesses said they heard a loud boom and described chaotic scenes with a body found near a charred car outside the clinic. Investigators have yet to say if Bartkus intended to take his life as part of the attack or why he selected that particular clinic, which provides services to help people get pregnant, including in vitro fertilization and fertility evaluations. Davis has noted that authorities conducted a search of Park's Seattle home and found 'an explosive recipe that was similar to the Oklahoma City bombing.' Retired ATF explosives expert Scott Sweetow previously said that the damage caused led him to believe that the suspect had used a 'high explosive' similar to TNT or dynamite instead of a 'low explosive' such as gun powder. He added that while such explosives are usually difficult for civilians to get ahold of, more and more people are figuring out how to make explosives at home. "Once you know the chemistry involved, it's pretty easy to get stuff," he said. "The ingredients you could get at a grocery store." Davis said the explosion may have been the "largest bombing scene that we've had in Southern California." The blast was felt as far as a mile away. Park appeared in court in New York on a charge of providing material support to terrorists before he was sent on to California earlier this month, the BBC noted. He wore a t-shirt with the words 'fight like Ukrainians,' and his right hand was bandaged, according to CBS News. Waving his right to a detention hearing, he said he was aware of the charges against him. The Associated Press contributed to this report
