At least one person is dead and five injured after a car exploded in front of a fertility clinic in Palm Springs, California.
“This was a powerful explosion,” a law enforcement source told NBC News, describing a very large debris field and damage to multiple nearby businesses.
Following President Trump’s endorsement of support for couples undergoing IVF, a blast devastated a fertility clinic. Was this explosion intentional?
The center, located close to Desert Regional Hospital in Palm Springs, California, suffered significant destruction. pic.twitter.com/xmZrXZh8AV
— Ian Miles Cheong (@stillgray) May 17, 2025
Source @_Mnimasworld
The explosion happened less than a mile from downtown Palm Springs, with a device that was either in or near a vehicle parked by American Reproductive Centers, mayor Ron deHarte said. Fortunately the clinic appeared not to be open on Saturday.
A car was on fire, I was driving by and took this. I can’t confirm the cause of the explosion (whether the explosion set the car on fire or vice versa) pic.twitter.com/0N8WyRLWeD
— malana (@meowbug) May 17, 2025
Reports of a loud boom and billowing smoke made their way around social media at about 11am local time, with some saying they heard or felt it miles away. A chunk of flesh could be seen on the street.
A website for the clinic lists fertility treatments, such as IVF and egg freezing.
Dr. Maher Abdellah, who operates the clinic, told AP that the office was damaged, but the IVF lab and stored embryos were not.
“I really have no clue what happened,” he said, adding “Thank God today happened to be a day that we have no patients.”
Damn crazy explosion in Palm Springs. Literally right where it happend pic.twitter.com/c0Hlj9tLYz
— NimasWorld (@_nimasworld) May 17, 2025
Police, firefighters, and the FBI were on scene, according to deHarte.
Claudio Chavez, who works at a nearby upholstery shop, told the NY Times “I was just in my shop waiting for clients, and all of a sudden it felt like a big explosion,” adding “It took out our window. I just saw a bunch of smoke.”
Chavez said he saw people coming out of homes and businesses to see what happened.
“That was a very intense explosion,” said another local, Scott Pastorius, who was sitting in his vacation home four blocks from the site when he heard a large boom.
Loading…
