An explosion outside a fertility clinic in downtown Palm Springs on Saturday is believed to have killed at least one person, authorities said.
The large explosion happened just before 11 a.m. local time near the American Reproductive Centers clinic on North Indian Canyon Drive, rattling nearby businesses and homes, according to the Desert Sun.
Officials have not ruled out terrorism, Lt. William Hutchinson told reporters at the scene, adding that there appears to be one fatality.
The American Reproductive Centers is Coachella Valley’s first and only full-service fertility center and in vitro fertilization lab, according to its website. It offers an array of services, including LGBTQ family planning, in vitro fertilization, egg freezing and surrogacy.
City officials confirmed the explosion in a social media post, urging residents to “stay away from the area so that emergency crews can work the incident.”
FBI agents were also on the scene Saturday and “will be investigating whether this was an intentional act,” said Bill Essayli, U.S. attorney for the Central District of California.
One man who was walking his dog at the time told the Palm Springs Post taht he saw what appeared to be human remains in the middle of the road. He also saw parts of a car scattered around, but they looked “completely disintegrated,” Matt Spencer told the outlet.
“I could see the back of the car still on fire and the rims,” he said, adding that it was “the only thing that distinguishes it as a car.”
Another person on the scene told reporters they too saw human remains.
Nima Tabrizi was inside a cannabis dispensary nearby when he heard an explosion, which sounded “like a bomb went off.”
“The building just shook, and we go outside and there’s massive cloud smoke,” Tabrizi said.
Palm Springs, a trendy hotspot for the rich and famous in the middle of California’s Coachella Valley, is about 110 miles east of Los Angeles.
With News Wire Services
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