A bomb exploded near a reproductive health facility in Palm Springs, California, on Saturday, killing one person and injuring at least four in an incident the FBI called an “intentional act of terrorism”.
The authorities have a person of interest in the investigation and are not searching for a suspect, Akil Davis, assistant director of the FBI’s Los Angeles field office, told reporters.
The person killed was near a vehicle that had been blown to pieces outside the clinic, operated by American Reproductive Centres, Davis said.
The bomb, which detonated, was either in or near a car parked outside the clinic when it exploded, said Mayor Ron deHarte of Palm Springs, about 100 miles (160km) east of Los Angeles.
“Make no mistake, this is an intentional act of terrorism,” Davis said, adding the FBI would determine if it was an act of “international terrorism or domestic terrorism.”
Several other buildings in the area were damaged, some extensively, authorities said.
California Governor Gavin Newsom has been briefed on the explosion, his office said.
American Reproductive Centres, which has offices in at least three California cities, provides services including in vitro fertilisation, genetic testing, and in-house egg donation.
The clinic’s laboratory, including all eggs, embryos and reproductive materials, was safe and secure, and all members of staff were unharmed, it said in a Facebook post.
